More trains
Dec. 15th, 2011 11:27 pmWe went to Rockford to look at trains this afternoon, rather than Chicago. The first place we tried was no longer there. A different hobby shop, which did have a few trains but mostly gaming figures and plastic models, seems to have replaced it. The owner told us that the original place closed back around 2008. So much for using Google to find train dealers.
However, the second try was Midwest Rail Exchange in Loves Park, and they are very much alive. Not a large shop, but all they stock is HO and N scale train stuff. I got enough track to start playing around, and Gary insisted on buying two more box cars since they had some with DT&I logos. We got a 60 ft. metal body auto parts car, and a 40 ft. wooden box car with the old round DT&I logo from the steam days. The latter has real sliding doors on both sides which Gary found particularly delightful.
The mail today brought the locomotive I purchased with![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
casey382's advice, and a covered triple hopper gondola car, also with DT&I paint job. The two cabooses are still in transit, but probably will show up tomorrow or Saturday.
Here's a photo of the train as it exists so far, assembled and running a brief locomotive test so I could do the Ebay feedback.
And here's a closeup of the engine. Note that it isn't yet painted, but I'll be doing it in DT&I's orange scheme from the 1950s, with the steam era logo that appeared on their GP-7's (the first Diesels they bought.) The US quarter is in the photo for scale. It's just under an inch in diameter, or 24 mm for the metric folks.
When I got a small loop of track assembled and under power, we were pleased to find that the locomotive runs smoothly and quietly both forward and reverse. The headlights on front or back activate appropriately depending on the direction of movement. The cars make amusing teeny little clickety clack sounds as they pass over the track joints. I've only ever seen N scale equipment running in noisy environments, so I was really pleased with the actual sound in a quiet room.
However, the second try was Midwest Rail Exchange in Loves Park, and they are very much alive. Not a large shop, but all they stock is HO and N scale train stuff. I got enough track to start playing around, and Gary insisted on buying two more box cars since they had some with DT&I logos. We got a 60 ft. metal body auto parts car, and a 40 ft. wooden box car with the old round DT&I logo from the steam days. The latter has real sliding doors on both sides which Gary found particularly delightful.
The mail today brought the locomotive I purchased with
casey382's advice, and a covered triple hopper gondola car, also with DT&I paint job. The two cabooses are still in transit, but probably will show up tomorrow or Saturday.Here's a photo of the train as it exists so far, assembled and running a brief locomotive test so I could do the Ebay feedback.
And here's a closeup of the engine. Note that it isn't yet painted, but I'll be doing it in DT&I's orange scheme from the 1950s, with the steam era logo that appeared on their GP-7's (the first Diesels they bought.) The US quarter is in the photo for scale. It's just under an inch in diameter, or 24 mm for the metric folks.
When I got a small loop of track assembled and under power, we were pleased to find that the locomotive runs smoothly and quietly both forward and reverse. The headlights on front or back activate appropriately depending on the direction of movement. The cars make amusing teeny little clickety clack sounds as they pass over the track joints. I've only ever seen N scale equipment running in noisy environments, so I was really pleased with the actual sound in a quiet room.
