Friday, January 30, 2009

HO Brass RWC CB&Q 1948 Nebraska Zephyr - F/Ptd


This is an HO brass, factory painted, Railway Classics 1948 CB&Q Nebraska Zephyr. This is a 7 car articulated set and it is in mint condition. It is factory finished - with the pressed fluting - and has full interiors. This is the A set and has the following "Gods" car names: Apollo, Neptune, Mars, Cupid, Vulcan, Mercury, and Jupiter. The set has been corrected to have the accurate "Burlington" name on the corners. Not all sets were correct, but these are. RWC imported very few of these sets - this train is fairly hard to find. This set has never been run or displayed. It comes in two separate boxes - all in very good condition. As you can see from the picture, these cars are beautifully done. This set was manufactured in Korea by Ajin Precision.

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BRASS W&R NORTHERN PACIFIC Z-3


~~ BRASS W&R NORTHERN PACIFIC CLASS Z-3 ~~

~~ CAB # 4020 ~~

~~ DOUBLE AIR PUMP 2-8-8-2 ~~


UP FOR AUCTION IS A VERY RARE AND EXQUISITE MODEL: THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, CLASS Z-3, FACTORY PAINTED GRAY FROM W&R! MANUFACTURED BY SAMHONGSA, THIS MODEL IS IN MINT CONDITION WITH NO WHEEL WEAR. IT IS FACTORY PAINTED GRAY & GRAPHITE WITH FORWARD & REVERSING LIGHTS, AMAZING FULL CAB INTERIOR AND ALL THE FINE, ACCURATE DETAIL AND QUALITY W&R MODELS ARE KNOWN FOR. EVEN THE TENDER WATER HATCHES OPEN! THIS MODEL HAS BEEN TEST RUN ONLY AND RUNS VERY SMOOTHLY IN BOTH DIRECTIONS. IT IS OFFERED WITH ITS ORIGINAL BOX AND FOAM AND IS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION.


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HO Brass, PRR, 6-4-4-6, S1 streamlined steam engine.


HO, Brass Import, PRR, S1, 6-4-4-6, Streamlined Steam Engine, Imported by Challenger, built by Samhongsa Korea,- 1997, Cat # 2228.1, Factory painted, Rare model, highly detailed in every way, working headlight, can motor, fully skirted, Was the Worlds Fair engine, Cab is fully detailed - gauges, levers, seats etc, the engine was 140'-2 1/2 " long, stood 16' high over the rails, has been in my collection since 1997, test run only. Tender highly detailed also. Has been in my closed display case or in the box, box and foam is like new.

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Tuesday, January 27, 2009

BRASS W&R D&RGW L-131

~~ BRASS W&R DENVER & RIO GRANDE WESTERN (D&RGW) L-131~~

~~ VERSION 1 ~~

~~ GREEN BOILER ~~

~~ 2-8-8-2 ~~


THIS IS A VERY RARE AND EXQUISITE MODEL: THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, CLASS L-131, FACTORY PAINTED GREEN BOILER FROM W&R! ONLY 56 MODELS PRODUCED! MANUFACTURED BY SAMHONGSA, THIS MODEL IS IN MINT CONDITION WITH NO WHEEL WEAR. IT IS FACTORY PAINTED GREEN & GRAPHITE WITH FORWARD & REVERSING LIGHTS, AMAZING FULL CAB INTERIOR AND ALL THE FINE, ACCURATE DETAIL AND QUALITY W&R MODELS ARE KNOWN FOR. EVEN THE TENDER WATER HATCHES OPEN! THIS MODEL HAS BEEN TEST RUN ONLY AND RUNS VERY SMOOTHLY IN BOTH DIRECTIONS. IT HAS ITS ORIGINAL BOX AND FOAM AND IS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION.


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Vintage 50s Americana HO Train Layout & Marklin Trains


This is a custom built, HO gauge, 3 level, 5'x 9' train layout that cost $10,000 to build. There is a 1950's village, lake, bridge, tunnels, etc. There are two long main track lines that wind along the perimeter of the layout and in and out of tunnels in the interior on two levels, and a short single-track American made shunt on the top level. The main tracks on the first and second levels are all original Marklin parts. It also includes several very expensive Marklin train sets of American vintage-50's trains, with original cost of over a thousand dollars. The 2 main lines on the first two levels include all Marklin electronics, transformers, keyboard, controller, etc. All wired to operate 4 Marklin trains at one time on the two main lines using the block.

Marklin is the premiere model train and track manufacturer in the world. This setup utilizes the best Marklin materials, but features extremely popular mid-20th century vintage American trains, layout and ambiance. Trains include: the California Zephyr with a Western Pacific triple engine and several famous Zephyr passenger cars including dome cars, which are equipped for interior lighting; the dual engine passenger Santa Fe Warbonnet; triple engine Texas and Pacific passenger train, all three of which are diesel; and one Marklin Santa Fe branded steam freight train with a multitude of different freight cars. For a railroad afficianado, this combines the best of both worlds: the finest German materials but with an Americana spirit.

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1954 CCS800.6 Marklin Crocodile Locomotive


1954 CCS800.6 Marklin Crocodile locomotive in excellent condition

This loco is part of a larger set.

This CCS800.6 is an excellennt example of a vintage Marklin Crocodile. You'd be very hard pressed to find one in this fine condition. It has had only one owner... ME! I have had this loco and the rest of the set since 1954 as a child. It has been well cared for.


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Monday, January 26, 2009

Kato HO SD40 Cust. Painted-Detailed Canadian Pacific RR


Model shown is an HO Canadian Pacific Railway SD40. I have custom painted and detailed this unit to prototypical photos acquired at time of modelling through research on these units. It is made by Kato and runs excellent. Comes with Kadee couplers. Most details are from Miniatures by Eric, Detail Associates & Details West and/or hand made to replicate prototype. The paint is Accupaint Canadian Pacific Maroon, Grey and Yellow, there is light to moderate weathering applied. Decals used at the time are from Accucals, unit was then given two coats of Dull Coat to preserve decals and paint. This is from the first batch of SD40's from Kato. It can be converted to DCC by purchasing the correct module for such applications. It is not DCC equipped.

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Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Model Trains and Their Attachment to the Past

There is a deep and flowing tie to the past between model trains and their full size kin. Without the big locomotives of the past the models would have never realized such a long and glorious reign as a popular hobby and pastime. It is hard to imagine a train without a model or a model without a train and it would seem that they are destined to remain hand in hand.
The locomotive first began as an idea to make life easier by carrying heavy loads across the land in such a way that man or beast would not have to struggle as much. The many innovations that came along with rail travel did not come over night nor were they created by one super genius. Much time and thought went into these developments.
The man that is considered the inventor of the very first steam locomotive for use on rail lines was George Stephenson. The world's first locomotive, however, was actually built by Richard Trevithick. An Englishman, Trevithick also operated this steam engine from 1803 to 1804. The father of American railroads is considered to be Colonel John Stevens. George Pullman was the first person to design the sleeping car for the railway making the railroad much more traveler friendly. This car became appropriately known as the Pullman Sleeping Car.
A huge innovation toward making the railroad much safer was the system of air brakes that was invented by Mr. George Westinghouse who held many other patents as well. Railroad Car Couplers were invented by Eli Janney and were named after him and a former slave, Andrew Jackson Beard, created an improvement to the Jenny Coupler. George B. Dorey himself had more that 175 rail transportation patents.
Women have made very significant contributions to the history of the locomotive as well. The safety feature that has saved innumerable lives over countless number of years, the railroad crossing gate, was invented by Mary L. Riggin. In an attempt to reduce the number of derailments Eliza Murfey created a lubricating system to use on railroad car axles. The infamous L-Trains in New York City also benefited from a woman's touch. Mary Walton created a noise reduction system for them.
These great iron horses though would likely not have enjoyed their birth and subsequent reign either had it not been for the foresight of some of the great minds of the world who once built a model. Great inventors have often made a model before they ever tried their hand at the full sized project and locomotives are no exception. Even the great Leonardo DaVinci drew sketches of great machines that he imagined would one day fill the world. One of these drawings appears to greatly resemble a steam engine. Who knows, it might have been or it might not. All that matters now is the fact that they are here to stay no matter how many changes take place. The railroad as well as model trains are here to stay.

By Victor Epand
Victor Epand is an expert consultant for model cars, model trains, and model trucks. You will find excellent hobbying and trading resources here for model car tricks and model train history.
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