Long Haul Tender Conversion

[jonathan]

Again, thanks very much.

Just for fun, I was going to make a video of the tender in action.  However, I got so excited about it, I forgot to actually connect the tender to the Mantua.

Anyway, here is a video (warning: 98MB).  The Mantua is double headed with a Spectrum Connie.  They are pulling 40 cars.  It's a cheap camera and I am no photographer (film is jerky, not the trains).  Funny, I had a hard time finding 40 steam era cars in my collection.  I gotta go shopping...

Enjoy,

Jonathan

[J3a-614]

Jon,

Great to see the Mike in action; even with the jerky camera footage, I can tell you have a nice-running engine.  And it was interesting to note the vintage cars in the train, including at least one Varney hopper, MDC "moonshine" hoppers from the 1970s and 1980s (the cars with the "XXX" on the sides, named "Moonshine" by railfans who thought of the caricatures of hillbillies with their jugs of homemade whiskey with similar markings, and used to designate cars with frames over 40 years old that were restricted to home road service, which actually makes them a diesel-era car), and what I think is a Bowser/Varney Roller-Bearing demonstrator car, which was originally issued in the 1950s, although the car itself, if it is a Bowser job using Varney dies, may not be that old.

Brings back memories, yes indeed. . .thanks for sharing. . .and have fun building up a steam-era fleet. . .

[jonathan]

J3a-614,

Thanks for looking.

I have a number of Varney cars from my grandfather's collection (he started in 1947).  I'm gradually retrucking and recoupling all the cars that aren't too damaged, from years of tossing around in old moving  boxes.  Wish I knew what I had when he passed this stuff to me.  I was somewhere between 10 and 12 at the time.

So, if you suspected you saw more than one Varney, you did (and some ancient Athearns as well).

Regards,

Jonathan

[Woody Elmore]

Jon - pardon my lack of Photobucket sophistication, but I cannot seem to find the video among your many pictures. Please enlighten me.

As for old cars - you should shop around for some of the older all metal cars by MDC, Athearn or Ulrich. Mantua made some interesting cars. I had a gondola that had a stamped tin body, and die cast parts. To the sides you glued on embossed paper sides. These were the true old timers.

With a few MDC and Ulrich die cast cars in a consist you really would have to double head!

[jonathan]

Woody,

You should be able to click on the picture, in my post, and a new window should open and run the video.  If it doesn't work, my videos are located in my "Rolling Stock" album.  Again, if you click on them, a new window should open up, etc...

http://s642.photobucket.com/albums/uu146/jsnvogel/Rolling%20Stock/

I actually have some of the old metal cars (from grampa, again).  My prize is a "Land o' Lakes" box car, made almost entirely of brass.  It has the old Mantua couplers (loops and hooks).  The metal is a little dinged, but the paint job is in fairly good shape.  Doubt if I'll ever upgrade that and put it on my layout.  I suspect my grandfather got it around the same time he bought the Varney Li'l Joe.


Regards,

Jonathan

[Woody Elmore]

Hi Jon - I found the videos. That Mantua mike sure does look nice. Nice to see that Penn LIne tender being used.

I wish I had held onto all the old metal cars I had. I belonged to a club and when one of the real old timers moved away he gaave me about 20 cars of assorted heritage. The Ulrich and MDC cars weighed a ton by my Hobbytorn RS-2 had no problem pulling them. I still have the Ambroid snow plow that he built.

The old varney lithographed cars, done on tinplate, were actually really nice for their day. Bowser later brought them out undecorated in brass.

Today the detailing on those cars wouldn't pass muster.