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Post by keithb on Nov 22, 2023 21:37:26 GMT
Don't have an original, but I have Schylling's clockwork version purchased for my daughter some 25 years ago:  Finding an original in good shape is a great achievement. Most of the originals I've found are pretty rough, the Mickey/Minnie made from some sort of composite material that breaks down over time (or eaten by varmints). This repro saw a lot of play-time on the layout. That is very nice!
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Post by keithb on Nov 22, 2023 21:38:37 GMT
My dad worked for D&H as a fireman. Standard O box car.
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Post by Adam on Nov 25, 2023 22:01:33 GMT
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Post by healey36 on Nov 25, 2023 23:07:53 GMT
That Saturn-V looks a bit undersized.
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Post by Adam on Nov 25, 2023 23:40:27 GMT
That Saturn-V looks a bit undersized. Just a bit, but still cool. Clearly no easy way to get a scale version of Saturn V on cars. I enjoy space themed items and have been thinking about getting one of these for a while. Had to finally scratch the itch. Its neat regardless of size.
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Post by healey36 on Nov 26, 2023 0:55:01 GMT
Totally agree...anything Space Age is epic. Sixty years later, I still look at those early accomplishments with awe.
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Post by rockymountaineer on Nov 27, 2023 15:47:43 GMT
Well I know Lionel is doing its best to blitz dealers with an ENORMOUS amount of train shipments in recent and upcoming weeks. Big-ticket stuff too. Vision Line Big Boys, Strasburg #90 brass hybrids, Dreyfus Hudsons, other Legacy steamers, passenger sets, Vision cabooses, reefers, stock cars, etc... They're really determined to NOT carry much if anything from this year's Big Book into 2024. Gotta be hundreds if not thousands of SKU's!!!
Ironically, despite the high prices YouTube is filled with "youngsters" unboxing all these high-priced goodies practically every day. There is seemingly no end in sight. Everyone and their brother is posting YouTube videos -- even peeps without permanent layouts... many just have carpet central RR's. And there's a culture all to its own that's living vicariously through these videos. One of the Strasburg #90 videos already has 8,000+ views in the 4 days it's been online. Amazing!!! 
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Post by atsda on Nov 27, 2023 16:00:12 GMT
Rockymountaineer, very interesting observations - I certainly don't have a fat wallet. As for me, I will be putting an order in for some wire, and replacement horses for the horse car in my General set. Somehow, there was a stampede and I lost all of them during my childhood. alfred
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Post by healey36 on Nov 27, 2023 16:52:30 GMT
Very few offerings from Lionel that I wouldn't categorize as "big-ticket stuff". I wish them well, but barring blow-out sales events, they'll have to continue on without me.
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Post by af3020 on Nov 28, 2023 19:57:15 GMT
Here's my latest  Yes, I know. For a latest purchase this lone manual American Flyer semaphore doesn’t look like much, however, it means I have managed to find another piece of an American Flyer set I’ve been attempting to complete for quite some time. A little history
While walking the Blue Hall at York back in 1994 I happened upon an incomplete American Flyer #26 train set which I decided to get. Included in the purchase was the complete train consist in like new condition, an oval of very bright track, the large set box, and the Flyer instructions for care and maintenance. I had a number of reproduction Flyer catalogs spanning the years 1918 – 1936 and I knew set #26 had first been offered in 1918.  Unlike Lionel, Flyer was, shall we say, somewhat lax when it came to updating their catalog pictures so the image of set #26 from 1918 remained in the catalog clear up until it was dropped. Among the many things that had changed from 1918 was the lead engine, the track style, and much more. By pouring over the catalogs and comparing what I had with catalog descriptions as well as catalog pictures of offerings of things like track and accessories I was able to figure out what should have been in my circa 1923 set….and then the hunt began. First item found was the double semaphore  A few years passed and I learned from another Flyer collector that the square turntable had been replaced with a round one well before 1923….so I started looking for one of those and managed to find one.  An additional couple of years went by and I found the dead-end bumper.  Somewhere in there I found a tunnel – it wasn’t period correct but it was correct in terms of size. Last year I finally found one of the switches and early this year I found a pair of switches. So by June of this year I had the following.  In August I found the freight shed…and last week, as noted above, I found the single arm semaphore.  ![]() All that remains is the bridge and a period correct tunnel...and so the hunt continues. |
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Post by healey36 on Nov 28, 2023 20:25:03 GMT
It's all about the hunt! Seriously, it's always a rush when you find that last bit to complete something. Looks like you're closing in on the final bits.
Did Flyer ever make a metal tunnel? All of the ones I've seen are some sort of composite material...it's a miracle that any of them have survived.
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Post by atsda on Nov 29, 2023 1:06:12 GMT
AF3020, great detective work. Happy hunting. Alfred
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Post by af3020 on Nov 29, 2023 2:49:00 GMT
Healey36, to the best of my knowledge Flyer never made a metal tunnel. They did list, and I have seen examples of, metal tunnels in their very early years but all of these were imports and those I've seen were made by KBN. Going forward from around 1916 the tunnels were all composite material and appear to have been made by one or more outside manufacturers. The one in the picture is composite and was made around 1928. The tunnels for the 1923 period look almost like the catalog illustration.
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Post by af3020 on Nov 29, 2023 18:06:25 GMT
A side issue Healey36, I thought I remembered your commenting on another members new acquisition of a Russian Moskabel station but I can't find the post (it could, of course, have been on another forum). In any event if I remember correctly you made the comment that the Moskabel station would make a good suburban station. If we ignore size then it could be viewed as a suburban station but not really in O gauge. I thought you might like to see a comparison of an American Flyer Flossmoor suburban station and the Moskabel model.  |
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Post by healey36 on Nov 29, 2023 20:15:26 GMT
A side issue Healey36, I thought I remembered your commenting on another members new acquisition of a Russian Moskabel station but I can't find the post (it could, of course, have been on another forum). In any event if I remember correctly you made the comment that the Moskabel station would make a good suburban station. If we ignore size then it could be viewed as a suburban station but not really in O gauge. I thought you might like to see a comparison of an American Flyer Flossmoor suburban station and the Moskabel model. Okay, that's a pretty big difference, lol. Were the trains the Russkis made this for 1/48-scale, or approximately? Might even be passable as a small standard/wide-gauge station. With regards to the tunnels, I used to see many of them in local antique shops and at flea markets, but I never bought any of them because I didn't know what they were. That's unfortunate, as I haven't seen any for quite some time. I am a great admirer of the Flyer tunnels that had signal lights at either end and telegraph poles that went over the top. Have never seen one of those in person....
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