MY MODEL RAILROAD PAGE 28

N1GY- The simple Approach to Ham Radio

and My Model Railroad Hobby

Today, I had a very unpleasant experience. I had as usual ordered a small locomotive (HO scale) via Ebay. Usually, these arrive well packed and in great condition. When I opened this particular box, I was shocked to see that NO care had been taken atr all by the vendor. THe locomotive was not only broken but missing vital parts and surrounded by what can only be described as foam dust. I immediately emailed the vendor to take him or her to task for such a disaster. While he did refund my money, this item never even shoul;d have been sold, it was in such deplorable condition. I finally just trashed the entire package and contents. I will NOT deal wirh that vendor again, ever.

Here is number 144. A New Haven RS-3. I do hope to be able to install a DCC & sound decoder into this one..

Here is another electric locomoptive, this one actually runs. Custom built, it is a model of anotjher New Haven locomotive, The B-1.These two locomotives bring the roster up to 143 locomotives currently on display.

Finally my home brewed "critter" is almost done. As soon as I figure out what I did with the horn and bell and get them mounted on the roof, the project will be done. I am moderately proud of the result but i would not dare to match against the work of my fellow hobbyists.

Thi one is a little different. It is an unpowered all plastic 1/87th scale model of a New Haven EP-3

The three photos above are the latest arrivals in the collection. THe Boston and Maine RS-3 is DCC and Sound equipped. The Union Pacific is actually a brass model that was given to me by the manager of the club store where I volunteer 2 or 3 days a week to thank me for my help with the store over the past year or so. The two steamers came from E-bay. I bought the 0-4-0 because it had full valve gear. and the 4-4-0 because I did not have an exaple of a "modern" 4-4-0. In railroad nomenclature this loco is called an "American" because of its wheel arrangement.

The other purchase today was a little brass 0-4-0 with a 4 wheel tender that cost less than $10. I mounted Kadee couplers on both ends and did the same with a blacksmiths car I picked up at the same time for less than $4. These are all display only pieces but they add a unique scene to the collection.

Here is the completed kitbashed locomotive, a kind of mini boxcab. This will be based at the restoration shop as a "yard goat".

This was a spur of the moment purchase at the club today. It was around $25 and the only flaw is a small nip out of the stack, which most people will not even notice.

This is number 145. I got it at the model railroad club for pennies on the dollar so I had to buy it.

In contrast to the horror story above, this little gem arrived today. Properly packaged, complete and in perfect shape. This is known as a "Mother Hubbard", why I have no idea. THe reason for the design was because the railroads needed a bigger firebox to burn cheaper less effective coal. This left no room for the cab. THus the engineer got moved half way down the boiler where it was too hot, and the poor fireman got stuck out in the weather stoking the fire. Needless to say, nopn of the crews liked this arrangement and so the "Mother Hubbard" did not last too long on most railroads.

The local handyman answered my call today and came over to help me mount a new display case on the wall. Of course, first he had to move the caboose display down to give us room to mount the second 36" x 24" display above it. I have already moved 13 locos from other areas into the new display. More will follow as time and the budget permit.

This is a sort of mini-display that I call "the long and the short of it". Both are demonstrator locomotives, and both are from the same manufacturer (EMD). The blue one is the longest and heaviest diesel loco ever made and the black and white one is probably the smallest locomotive the company ever made. EMD is a division of General Motors so both came from the maker of Camaros and GTOs.

I appologise for the poor quality of this picture. I did not realize the lens needed cleaning so badly. The picture just illustrates the latest additions to the locomotive roster and a little demonstration of the relative sizes of the Big Boy and the little 0-4-0 in front of it. I will attempt to substitute a better picture when I have time.

The above 4-4-0 was a surprise purchase at the club today. I was not planning on buying anything but a nice couple came in with six bins of his fathers trains. THe father had recently passed away and the family donated all of his trais to the club. Among them were several DCC and Sound equipped locomotives. I just could not pass up this gorgeous 4-4-0 even though I had just bought one on Ebay a few days ago. With the discounts being offered by the club store, it was an absolute bargain at less than 1/4 of the list price.