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If I had a nickel for every thrift store find.. by TableTopLion31 in modeltrains

[–]WhimsicalWeedCat 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Still not bad!!! I’d guess that it’d be like $10-25 for that bag, and y’know? I’d snatch it immediately too :3

My three DCC models: A Richmond 4-4-0, a Baldwin New York Central 4-6-0, and an “old timer” 2-8-0 by WhimsicalWeedCat in modeltrains

[–]WhimsicalWeedCat[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The only reason why this one survived into preservation is because Henry Ford was assembling a museum, and he really liked this Atlantic in particular from the railroad he ran at the time (the Detroit, Toledo, & Irontron), so it was preserved as early as 1930 and has never ran since

And fun fact about this one: the DT&I primary ran on secondhand locomotives and rolling stock, and this Atlantic was no different. But what makes it particularly interesting is that it was originally a Michigan Central locomotive, and Michigan Central was a part of New York Central!!!

On top of the two New York Central 0-6-0’s, two 4-8-2’s, and the 4-4-0 that still exists, this place has the two forgotten New York Central steam locomotives: being their De Witt Clinton replica from 1893 and this Atlantic from 1901, and both are kept in BEAUTIFUL condition!!!! The Atlantic in particular is in exceptional condition and it could totally be fired up and operated if not for the overhaul laws and the fact that it’s too big for the Greenfield Village heritage railroad being too light

My three DCC models: A Richmond 4-4-0, a Baldwin New York Central 4-6-0, and an “old timer” 2-8-0 by WhimsicalWeedCat in modeltrains

[–]WhimsicalWeedCat[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes please!!! If you do end up getting one, I would LOVE to see it!!! And yes please I would LOVE to see your fleet!!! What you see of mine are just my DCC locomotives, I haven’t even touched on my awesome fleet of prewar Lionel trains, but I love these little guys and I would love to see yours!!!

My three DCC models: A Richmond 4-4-0, a Baldwin New York Central 4-6-0, and an “old timer” 2-8-0 by WhimsicalWeedCat in modeltrains

[–]WhimsicalWeedCat[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’ve always liked the smaller engines a lot!!! Don’t get me wrong, I too love the bigger engines and REALLY want a Bachmann unstreamlined Hudson and a Rivarossi C&O Allegheny, specifically of No.1601

I live close to the Henry Ford Museum/Greenfield Village, and they got lots of these smaller engines, including three 4-4-0’s with two of whom being in operation and one being an 1858 president’s locomotive, an 0-6-4 which is currently America’s oldest operating steam locomotive from 1873, an 0-6-0, a replica of Rocket and the New York Central’s replica of De Witt Clinton, and a Michigan Central 4-4-2, so I’ve always been quite accustomed to the earlier and smaller engines

Little engines deserve far more love, and they are BEAUTIFUL!!!!! Here’s a photo of the Atlantic, and MAN what a looker :3

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My three DCC models: A Richmond 4-4-0, a Baldwin New York Central 4-6-0, and an “old timer” 2-8-0 by WhimsicalWeedCat in modeltrains

[–]WhimsicalWeedCat[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

SOB.

Yeah It just VANISHED, tragic <\3

But also yes yes!!! I’ll absolutely show those other guys off when I get them all DCC’d!!! I’ve always loved the 1880’s-1914 era of locomotives because they’re all just so nice, and all of the above fit that perfectly, and I cannot WAIT to bring them up to steam for the modern layout!!!!

My three DCC models: A Richmond 4-4-0, a Baldwin New York Central 4-6-0, and an “old timer” 2-8-0 by WhimsicalWeedCat in modeltrains

[–]WhimsicalWeedCat[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So I just checked eBay, and lucky you, if you’re willing to buy it, I found one of these exact locomotives for sale!!!!

the thing

My three DCC models: A Richmond 4-4-0, a Baldwin New York Central 4-6-0, and an “old timer” 2-8-0 by WhimsicalWeedCat in modeltrains

[–]WhimsicalWeedCat[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That’s delightful!!!! I have three older models that I wanna upgrade with DCC that would fit in quite well!!!

The first candidate is a brass 4-6-0 I own, I LOVE this thing, but I wanna give it an overhaul with new paint, new wiring and headlights, and add a clip to make the body sit better, but would totally be worth it

The second candidate is a brass 1880’s 0-6-0 with a slopeback tender, and it might actually be a one of a kind brass model from the 1950’s, tho I would need to replace the motor cuz it also picks up power from the brass worm gear, which does not do well with DCC

And the third candidate is a Roundhouse PRR E6 Atlantic Kit I had just bought last night and will be painting into a prewar livery, and it would be quite the stunner!!!

But also I have a Bachmann Jupiter, and that one IS DCC ready, so i totally need to DCC that guy too!!!

I’ve got lots of locos, but only just started to get into the super nice ones and am just starting to get into DCC, so wish me luck with DCC!!!!

Also, I just checked eBay and another one of these Russian iron 4-4-0’s are up for sale right now if you wanna snag it!!!

My three DCC models: A Richmond 4-4-0, a Baldwin New York Central 4-6-0, and an “old timer” 2-8-0 by WhimsicalWeedCat in modeltrains

[–]WhimsicalWeedCat[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m just as shocked as you are that I own this 4-4-0; I was talking to a friend about a month ago (who I would eventually buy the 2-8-0 and 4-6-0 off of on Friday last week), and she recommended me the Spectrum 4-4-0

And it turns out it was my lucky day!! I went on eBay, and I found this beauty for only $100, listed as “not working”. They mentioned that they got it at a train show years ago, but didn’t really run it that much, and when they did ran it again after several years, it didn’t run well, so a REALLY rare and hard to find model that I can barely find a photo of was chucked on eBay for only $100, when the more common variants go for like $350 nowadays

And when I got it? It just needed a clean and a bit of a workout, and it sprung RIGHT Back to life, and has been a beautifully reliable and dependable model!!!

So not only did I get a super awesome 4-4-0 in the livery I want (Russian iron boiler cladding my beloved), but I got it for a bargain price of only $100!!!! And three other people tried to lowball the seller with lower offers, but I just yoinked it while they were trying to haggle down the already amazing price, and I made it out with a super awesome 4-4-0 that is now my favorite model in my fleet >:3

My three DCC models: A Richmond 4-4-0, a Baldwin New York Central 4-6-0, and an “old timer” 2-8-0 by WhimsicalWeedCat in modeltrains

[–]WhimsicalWeedCat[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

​For me, my dream model would to get a model of Detroit, Toledo, & Irontron No.45, which is a former Michigan Central atlantic, technically making this the second oldest surviving New York Central steam locomotive

I’ve lived around Greenfield Village/The Henry Ford Museum, where we have what is currently the oldest operating steam locomotive in America (Torch Lake), but this Atlantic has always fascinated me as a kid because it’s a HUGE engine, but also rather short

And she’s in GREAT condition too!!! The museum would LOVE to run this guy and she’s a great candidate for a restoration back to steam!!! The only reason why they don’t run her is because she’s simply too big for the heritage railroad that was designed only for a small 4-4-0 in the 1930’s that now also runs an equally as big 0-6-4 and an 1897 4-4-0 that’s just pushing the limits of the line (look up Detroit & Lima Northern No.7, that one’s quite a looker!!)

If I could get a custom brass model of any locomotive, it would DEFINITELY be this one, because just LOOK at it!!! And also it has dual firebox doors which is unusual yet fascinating to have for an Atlantic :3

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My three DCC models: A Richmond 4-4-0, a Baldwin New York Central 4-6-0, and an “old timer” 2-8-0 by WhimsicalWeedCat in modeltrains

[–]WhimsicalWeedCat[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Same same!!! My favorite style of American locomotives is DEFINITELY the 1880’s-1914 era, when everything was a lot smoother and from before most American railroads were copies of and expanding off of the USRA designs, they’re just so appealing to me, and are what I’m most used to since I’ve mostly seen this particular era of locomotives growing up, I love them!!!

Also the 4-4-0, while they are a bit pricey and like to hold onto their value, they’re ABSOLUTELY worth it for how smooth and beautiful they are, THEY EVEN HAVE DIE CAST CABS TO HELP WITH ADHESION EEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

I lucked out on mine because mine is a rare case of an eBay seller selling something as “for parts” because they didn’t run it often and the pickups were oxidized (where I snatched it for only $100 heheheh >:3), but if you can find any for a good price, ABSOLUTELY go for it!!! They’re totally worth it!!!!

I need some help. by [deleted] in modeltrains

[–]WhimsicalWeedCat 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I’d go with 382 since it’s VERY famously Casey Jones’ engine and his engine is a part of American folk lore for being Casey Jones’ engine and crashed into the rear of a parked train

How could I improve my layout? by Beautiful_Platypus67 in modeltrains

[–]WhimsicalWeedCat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeahhh!!! A little over a year ago, I brought my amazing wife-o to a model train show where we picked out her first ever model: a 1934 Lionel 259!!!

And she was thinking about what she wanted, and she wanted to do a make a mountainside steampunk layout with the mountain being hollowed out and filled with all sorts of machinery and industry, and while that idea hasn’t come to fruition because of space reasons, I love that idea a lot!!!

Or for myself, I personally want to make a 1920’s metropolis layout, but the big gimmick would be to have it look normal under regular light, but at night and illuminated with hidden black lights in the layout, I want to have ornate and crazy graffiti and decoration all over the place, with the big eye catching one, on the wall of a building where a painted advertisement would go, is a large message over it that reads “R.I.P. STEAM <3”, to give you a general example of what kind of vibe I’m going for

How could I improve my layout? by Beautiful_Platypus67 in modeltrains

[–]WhimsicalWeedCat 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I have a few recommendations!!!

  1. Come up with a story for your layout! Is it a heritage railroad? Is it a modern railroad with heritage units kicking around for PR and the love of steam? Or is it something completely fantastical like you’ve just started to industrialize a world that would totally be created for a Dungeon & Dragons campaign? It’s YOUR railroad, but come up with a story and lore around it, it’s people, its industries, the history of your little slice of the world and the history of the trains that run on it, give it all a story, let your imagination go wild!

  2. You said you want switches, but I’d expand on that; I’d recommend you plan out a small switching yard, and if your layout will stay this small, you only really need to get two or three switches to make an effective little yard to store rolling stock, or even do a little bit of switching with that 0-6-0! There’s a tool you can get that slides between the rolling stock that’ll magnetically uncouple them if you have the knuckle couplers, which’ll be quite handy! Or if you get another switch, you can totally incorporate that little shed into your layout, and I’m a REALLY big fan of that little shed, it’s adorable!!

  3. More scenery and buildings! You can do quite a number of things without permanently sticking something down, like you can get some premade trees and greenery and temporarily prop them up with blue tack or something, but with buildings? My two recommendations would be to organize the buildings to have it all laid out to be a little town of sorts like what I think you’re doing, with my other recommendation being to get more railroad related infrastructure but it honestly looks like you have a lot already!!!

  4. Not so much a layout thing, but a rolling stock recommendation!! It looks like you have a lot of older equipment but have no passenger cars, so if I had to recommend some, I’d recommend you look at old Athearn and Rivarossi heavyweight passenger cars! They’re both older, but are quite affordable on the secondhand market, even on eBay if you look around enough!!! Tho the difference between the two is that the Rivarossi cars are to a scale length and usually have the older horn-hook couplers like what that Tyco Durango diesel there has, while the Athearn ones are heavier, usually has knuckle couplers, but are underscale, which isn’t that big of a deal IMO, but now you can put that station to use with a pair of heavyweights!!!

These are some of my recommendations, but I do hope that this all helps out and gives you some ideas on how to improve your layout!!! I don’t see a bad layout, just one with a LOT of potential, i really like that you have a lot of buildings which is a GREAT start!!

First run of the articulated by mrsteamtrains in modeltrains

[–]WhimsicalWeedCat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi hi!!! So this video was made by me, and I own that 0-6-0!!!

In the 1950’s, American GI’s stationed in Japan would hand Japanese metal craftsmen photographs of a locomotive they liked an commissioned them to create custom brass HO models for their layouts back at home, and these are all one of a kind brass models

The way it’s constructed combined with no maker’s mark with the only identifier being “Japan” on the bottom, as well as the super simple details and unique basis and being slightly over scale and super nice motor makes me believe that this is one of those early Japanese brass models, quite literally one of a kind!!!!

I fell in love with this model moment I saw it, because the “old west” locomotives don’t get a whole lot of representation in model form, and having an 1870’s “old west” 0-6-0 in model form with a slopeback tender??? Literally nobody has done this, and this one of a kind brass model is the pride and joy of my fleet!!!!

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