Greetings All,
Welcome to another episode of the ongoing and seemingly never ending Hello, my name is John and I'm a trainaholic series*.
In early 2023 while "innocently scrolling thru ebay"* (again!) I came across an ebay listing for ten freight cars for $50.00 that appeared to be Athearn Blue Box products with metal wheelsets and Kadee couplers. I put it on my watch list and was aggravated with myself for not placing a bid when notified the auction had ended without a single bid. I could have had them!
A short time later the seller relisted the item with a lower buy it now price and a make offer option. Like the fictional Don Corleone I made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Actually I made an offer at a price point I thought was fair to both the buyer and seller. As you can see the offer was accepted!!!
Here's a closeup of the freight cars as delivered sitting in Terminal Yard. A pair of Northern Pacific 40 boxcars with grain doors.
ATSF boxcars #149149 and #143455.
ATSF boxcars #142032 and #148447
Some of the boxcars came with this unusual to me weight and all boxcars have Atlas trucks and metal wheelsets.
Here is another ATSF boxcar with the more traditional Athearn weight that I'm used to seeing. Note that both weights are painted black which a plus for me as I would have had to do this myself before putting the cars into revenue service on the layout..
Having the six cars with different numbers has me wondering if they were part of a custom run or limited set of some sort. But the different weights on the ATSF cars are intriguing.
The two Illinois Central boxcars are now ready for service. The IC #30130 is a duplicate of a PCCM car that PC Ralph gifted me several years ago when were getting the virtual ops up and running.
1:87 scale PC Ralph checks out the unusual reporting marks on IC boxcar 1C 30114. It looks to have been painted in Chicago in September 1952. Maybe it was on a late Friday afternoon? Or the Tuesday after the Labor Day Weekend?
ATSF boxcars #146044 and #142739.
After checking and adjusting coupler heights as needed, giving the cars a shot of Testor's Dullcote and painting the wheel faces burnt umber I lined up the cars in Terminal Yard. The ATSF boxcars feature various train names on one side and two have big Buy War Bonds lettering.
On the other side the boxcars has the traditional "ship Santa Fe all the way" slogan and system map.
The Northern Pacific boxcars are ready for service ACI labels were added as seen in some prototype photos.
Final Thoughts and Comments
Ten boxcars with Atlas trucks and metal wheelsets and Kadee #5 couplers installed for a unit price of $6.50 each including the shipping cost. I ask you how could I have not made a move on these cars?!
After this purchase I placed myself on probation with a 30 day moratorium on train purchases. The moratorium has since expired but I haven't been back to ebay or the other online train dealers. Yet...
The Atlas trucks and wheels were a real nice bonus as these trucks are extremely free rolling and raised the car height just enough for the Kadee #5 to be very close or spot on with the Kadee height gauge.
Based on my observations and the work done on the ten cars I firmly believe they were owned by a model railroader who cared greatly about good operation of his / her rolling stock.
* The phrase "My name is John and I'm a trainaholic is borrowed from my trainaholic sponsor and enabler 1:1 Sir Neal who originated the phrase and is used here with permission.
* The phrase "innocently scrolling thru ebay" was originally coined by 1:1 PC Ralph and is used here with permission.
Thanks for reading!!!
See you soon!!!
I must say that's a very impressive score you made on those box cars! They do look good on the railroad with very little fine tuning.
ReplyDeleteAs your sponsor and enabler, I am surprised that you didn't reach out for some support prior to purchasing these items. I do hope that you think about your actions going forward and try to pace yourself on buying more.
Yes, it is true that we can never have enough, but the massive buying leads me to believe we need to have further conversation, as you don't want an intervention, do you? We certainly don't want you to go off the end of the tracks and have a difficult time getting back on track!!
Greetings sponsor and enabler Sir Neal,
DeleteAs you know in the heat and excitement of a train purchase all else gets set aside as the pulse quickens and you hit the pay now button. Oh well, I've been behaving more responsibly since but I do have a couple of preorders placed.
Thank you for your continued support,
Sir John, a confirmed trainaholic
Hi John! The coffee urn is at the back of the room. That's an excellent eBay score!! I think that noting the price per car is around $6.50 actually absolves you of any feelings of guilt. That's a great price for cars with those trucks, wheel sets, and couplers!
ReplyDeleteHi Ralph, The coffee and donuts are very good here! Thanks for understanding the pressures of making deals such as these and recognizing a great bargain that just could not be passed by.
DeleteJohn