Cade brought an HO scale Bachman 260 steam locomotive with DCC and sound. Since we didn’t have any HO track or power, we couldn’t experience any of its features. However, we discussed the possibility of setting up a small HO loop and transformers so that we can explore the world of HO scale in the future.
Mike Toppings shared his Williams scale Southern Pacific Daylight Passenger cars from the 1980s. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a working engine to pull them around. We’ll ensure we have a working locomotive for future meetings to showcase these beautiful cars properly.
Nick Pearce displayed New York Central glassware. The interesting backstory is that the Meredith Publishing Company, known for Better Homes and Gardens, had an employee who had to travel to New York City for business. To get there, he took the Rock Island and then boarded the New York Central 20th Century Limited to New York. After each trip, he brought back a set of glassware, and one set was passed down to Nick.
Dr. Charlie presented his 763E locomotive with a 2203 whistling tender, a number 2814 boxcar, number 2812 gondola, number 2816 hopper car, and the number 817 caboose. It was fascinating to watch these vintage pieces run around. We had a slight issue with traction, but it turned out to be a track-related problem, and they looked and sounded great.
Dave showcased something he purchased from the Ventura show – a Happy Time train set. This Sears Marx train set features plastic couplers, metal wheels, and a wedge tender, which is unique as the engine is wider than the cars, and the tender narrows down to the width of the train cars at the back.
Al shared his Lionel number 50 gang car. We had fun running this little car, as we’d extend our hands to change its direction, making it go back and forth. It was a delightful and entertaining addition to the meeting.
Leo brought in his standard gauge passenger car, which he was able to purchase on eBay.