Here are some better shots of the “Christmas Collection 2023”. My family knew I wanted trains for Christmas which is always a good gift, but no one knew what type I wanted so it was money and gift cards for trains. My kids and Wife got me these. Same ones I posted blurry pics of last night. The Rivarossi passenger cars were purchased a couple months ago so they are not a Christmas present. My friend Bill got me a couple TTX box cars for my layout. I had a couple other gift cards and a few $$ extra cash in my pocket from work I had recently done so the rest are to me from me gifts. My layout will need a couple tank cars to switch out so… And since I’m a sucker for specialty cars like the Micro Trains Xmas collection, I added 2 more to my fleet with a 1991 and 2003 vintage. And lastly I am planning on doing a T-Trak of the Tenino Depot from Tenino Washington and they have a restored Great Northern caboose on the property that is going to be on the module. Problem is the caboose is the wrong type, but it is a pretty close stand in. Oh and I found a kit of the correct caboose so there’s that, but that will be a later post. Merry Christmas everybody!
Finally broke down and bought the Model Power Lackawanna semi-streamlined Pacific, quite a few years after it was released. The DL&W is part of my heritage as my great-grandfather and others in my family worked for that railroad. This engine is done in the style of, but isn't an exact replica of, the locos that were called "The Merchant's Engines" for their service on the Lackawanna's "Merchants Express" passenger train. It's noted online that of the four, the 1115, 1117, 1123, and 1136, only the 1123 was "colorized" (by workers at the Elmira, New York Roundhouse) while the others including the 1136 stayed in black with silver and stainless steel trim and lettering. Ah, close enough, and Rule #1 applies. I'll do something about the Rapido coupler on the tender eventually. This will probably stay DC analog, as it appears to be "DCC Hostile."
Not N Scale, but since I'm an N Scaler, I'll post a photo of two books delivered by Santa Claus per request by Hardcoaler.
P.S. ...did a couple more(ESU installs in Atlas legacy locos). IMHO the ESU decoder board, where it makes contact with the frame for track power, is a little too narrow. I also reverted back to not soldering to the motor leads as I need those motor contacts to push that decoder board up (evenly) to help with the track power frame contacts. I also used a 9x16 speaker (with no frame mods) and a smd led for the rear headlight and the included LED soldered to the front. No shell mods. Everything fits and runs/sounds great EXCEPT it takes 3-4 times as long to install in these "legacy" Atlas locos as it does in a KATO loco. I have some older Atlas Dash8 locos that have brass (colored) wheelsets; they are not going to get converted. Those wheelsets get dirty just looking at them! Brian
I visited my local train store today and brought this stuff home with me. I might have bought more track than I will use on the layout but a friend and I will be building T-Trak modules soon so all of the track will be used.
@country joe Usually they say, "It followed me home. Can I keep it"? Nice selection of materials. What turnouts are you using?
6+, do you meet the age requirement Guess so, you built it already BTW, what a great idea for a gift for a train person
Picked up a few items at the not so local LHS's year end sale. The total was even less than I expected which was a big win.
Newest diesel: Atlas Dash8 in SP livery. Installed a LokSound decoder, using the Atlas "in the fuel tank" speaker. Boosted the output a bit, and it sounds good. Drilled a few extra holes in the plastic speaker mount frame to improve the sound (forgot to take a picture...).
Hi One thing you might try is to "wipe" a thin layer of solder onto the decoder to frame contact pads- just a thin layer This will make a better contact. It may require a bit of pushing to install, but works like a charm. Work fast with a small tip and fine solder. You could put a touch of rosin flux on the pads before you solder, but it will slow down the transfer of heat- be careful.
