I really like the baggage car. I have recently aquired 3 Mantua 1880 combines.. I was sorely tempted to cut two of them up, and make a baggage car and a coach, but I had purchased them to use as cabeese, so I painted them red with black roofs and trucks, and put them into service as cabeese. . I am close to capaciry on passenger cars, could use a few more once I get my RR rebuild done, but bu that time I should have more time and $$ on hand, and may opt to build the rest od the fleet from Labelle Kits, hard to beat those.
My RR rebuild did away with most of my photogenic scenery, here is my #1 and #5, amidst my best remaining scenery. both started life as Mantua Generals. #1 came with my first HO train set at Christmas of 1966. it has been in continual service since; although it has been heavily rebuilt. It now has an AHM tender, a big Sagami motor salvaged from a broken G scale magic carpet. a home made drawbar that deals with the deck hight diferences between the AHM tender and the Mantua Locomotive. It also has a Hobytown universal (now available from Micro-mark). Cosmeticly #1 has a brass stack, pilot, bell ,whistle, and I mave milled out a large prtion of the frame, so one can see through the locomotive under the front of the boiler as God intended.
#5 started it's life ans a Mantua General; but got rebuilt with a Cary Conversion boiler, and an MDC tender. It has a cannon coppier motor in the MDC tender. it runs very well, as does #1. These locomotives were limited to my Valley division on my previous layout. but the ruling grade on my rebuild will be 3.3% just like the valley division of my old layout , so these critters will be abvle to work most of my new system, once it is up and running. Odly after I built it I aquired a book on the L&N's Memphis line, that runs just in front of my house. The L&N han a 4-4-0 that worked that line that looked identical to my #5
Nelson
My RR rebuild did away with most of my photogenic scenery, here is my #1 and #5, amidst my best remaining scenery. both started life as Mantua Generals. #1 came with my first HO train set at Christmas of 1966. it has been in continual service since; although it has been heavily rebuilt. It now has an AHM tender, a big Sagami motor salvaged from a broken G scale magic carpet. a home made drawbar that deals with the deck hight diferences between the AHM tender and the Mantua Locomotive. It also has a Hobytown universal (now available from Micro-mark). Cosmeticly #1 has a brass stack, pilot, bell ,whistle, and I mave milled out a large prtion of the frame, so one can see through the locomotive under the front of the boiler as God intended.
#5 started it's life ans a Mantua General; but got rebuilt with a Cary Conversion boiler, and an MDC tender. It has a cannon coppier motor in the MDC tender. it runs very well, as does #1. These locomotives were limited to my Valley division on my previous layout. but the ruling grade on my rebuild will be 3.3% just like the valley division of my old layout , so these critters will be abvle to work most of my new system, once it is up and running. Odly after I built it I aquired a book on the L&N's Memphis line, that runs just in front of my house. The L&N han a 4-4-0 that worked that line that looked identical to my #5
Nelson