"Scale Tinplate" Christmas

[Guy64]

A rare but recent sighting of the Tinplate Tunnel polar bear...

This bear was the first inhabitant of this cave (opened by that previously mentioned railroad accident during the steam era). He hasn't been seen much since Bumbles the Abominable Snowman moved in. Maybe Bumbles makes him nervous.

 

[CBCNSfan]

What happened to Bumbles, I kinda liked him
Cheers Willis

 

[Guy64]

What happened to Bumbles, I kinda liked him
Cheers Willis

Bumbles is still there. The pic of the bear was from 1998.

No, Bumbles has every indication of "cave ownership" attitude. Apparently he's become quite a railfan too, being seen more often each winter month. Still hasn't been seen in town, though. The town council has had many discussions about whether a "Bumbles sighting" in town would be good or bad for tourism. Would he become the official town greeter, or just chase people away and make a mess?

 

[Guy64]

Diesel Locomotives fascinated me as a kid. My first electric train set had an AF 303 Atlantic steamer for power, and I never got a diesel to go with it. Too expensive, I was told. So, even though diesels had taken over the real world in my childhood days, my toy train world was exclusively steam powered. (Some friends had Lionel diesels, but they wouldn't run on two-rail track, oddly enough.)

During those Christmas seasons, I would spend what seemed like hours thumbing through the 1954 Gilbert instruction book, musing over the drawings of AF's Alco PAs, wondering what it would be like to have my own. More than thirty years would pass before I found out.

Happily, the C+D System fleet is well-stocked with diesel power, most of it by American Models and S Helper service. But, in the interest of tradition, one of the two American Flyer Alco PAs we now own appears below...

 

[Guy64]

Another of Di's Christmas present cars, for 1995...

Quite a bit of farm equipment travels over the Mountain Division. (Di collects 1/64 scale farm stuff.) Some brands have their own designated flats, like this Case steam tractor. The flatcar is another modified Marx 4-wheel chassis, with "rub rails" added.

 

[Guy64]

The same flat was fitted for alternate loads, like this Case threshing machine...

 

[Guy64]

Tinplate Pond (aka: "Catbed Creek"), popular ice skating spot and favorite resting place for 1/1 scale cats, ca.1988.

 

[CBCNSfan]

Kind of nostalgic, brings back memories of a time long ago. Thanks again Chuck, this is a great series, keep them coming.
Cheers Willis

 

[Guy64]

Glad folks are still enjoying this. Christmas 2004 went by fast, and I'm simply not ready to stop celebrating yet.

More from the late 1980's...

Not every 0-to-S conversion done in the C+D shops gets repainted like the Marx 6" hopper at the right in the pic below. Lithography that's in decent shape usually is left alone. The hi-side gon at center retains it's original finish, as does the 6" tank car to the left (though both bases were repainted after the needed cuts for conversion were made).

I wish Bill the Tree Man's customers wouldn't park so close to the line...

 

[Guy64]

Bill, the Tree Man, is one of those people who began at the bottom of the ladder, with just a few shrubs. Opening up a small nursery business first, things didn't go well for him until he began to specialize in Christmas trees. Then the boom started. No wonder, given Bill's trade secret, a patented process for growing the best shaped, longest lasting trees. (No, he won't tell us what it is.) Bill's Christmas trees are known far and wide, and carry a hefty price because of the high demand. Even though traffic is seasonal, winter sales are more than enough to sustain the operation through the year.

Here's a 1989 view of Bill's second location, across the main line from Tinplate Station. (A view of the current location is on page 2, post #17.) Looks like Bill's little boy is attempting to expand the product line...

 

[Lady_Railfan]

Chuck, I'm SO glad you're continuing the celebration. "Now that the rush is over" it's a special treat to savor and delight in your fabulous collection. You can run this series all year, if you want!

 

[CBCNSfan]

You can run this series all year, if you want!

I second the motion, if there are no Nays, motion carried. Keep em coming Chuck
Cheers Willis

 

[Guy64]

Shortly after the clean-up from the incident with the derailed 4-8-4, the dinosaurs that had lived in the AF tunnel tried out the newly discovered cave. It wasn't as warm and roomy as the old AF fiber shell, so they went elsewhere. Not sure, but I think Miami was mentioned.

The headlight of a westbound freight exposes the looky-loo lizards...

 

[Guy64]

As seen below, by the mid '90s all temporary buildings (cannisters) in the commercial district had been replaced with lit, hand-painted plaster buildings. Street lights also added interest to the scene. It looked complete at the time, but it's amazing how many more decorating ideas come to mind when new stuff shows up in the craft stores. It's also a challenge to find space for "just one more building" each year.

"There's only so much real estate on this board, you know..."

 

[Guy64]

Besides what craft companies come up with, there's the stuff we find at club meets. This lithographed metal house was a no-brainer addition, filling a vacant lot next to the church...

 

[Guy64]

One of the latest downtown decorations guards the roof of the 5+10 store. Murray, the Christmas Robot, is another tree ornament adapted to non-tree use. Unlike some current robotoid machinery, Murray is decidedly "old school", eschewing any techno-reptilian nonsense.

 

[CBCNSfan]

roof of the 5+10 store

LOL, five and ten store, the five and dime store, long time since I've heard them expressions. Guess it's all but forgoten now days.

 

[Guy64]

I hope another pic of Cookie Monster isn't too repetitive...

Cookie Monster and friends wave to the crew aboard UP #3824 as the caboose clears the freight depot. Unlike post 55 on page 6, this pic was taken after the new mountain was finished (background). An attempt was made to arrange the lights to cast a shadow consistent with the "shadows" litho'ed onto the converted Marx caboose. Marx's particular style of toy lithography has such a joyful mood to it. Seems to belong on a Christmas layout.

 

[CBCNSfan]

5 cent Pepsi, now that goes back a long way, eh!
Willis

 

[Guy64]

Another view from 1989...

The station master waves to a passing UP engineer while digging his way out of his snow-covered El Camino.

This American Models FP7 was the 2nd AM loco the C+D acquired. Shipping damage caused it to spend some time in the C+D shops (as opposed to sending it back to AM) before it entered the fleet, but the C+D motive power superintendent prefers to handle such problems himself. Since those repairs it has been "a very VERY useful engine"...