Lets see your Arnold N scale!

Indeed, those Geeps are in great shape! One of the things I miss most about Arnold's locomotives is their ease of service, all so easy to work on. I compare them with today's N Scale, which often invites breakage just getting a shell off. Ask me how I know. The new stuff is leagues ahead in every other facet, but Rapido locomotives still make me smile.

 

I took a couple of pictures of all 15 of my Rapido Geeps running together today on the Treble-O-Lectric layout. They are on the far right rail in the first picture and the near rail on the second (I couldn't get all 15 in in the second photo). There is a dark blue F.E.C transition box car in between the S.P. GP7 and Soo Line GP30 because the front group of locos have Rapido couplers and the back group have MT couplers.



Doug

 

Hi Doug, That is quite an impressive collection of Arnold / Rapido locomotives, rolling stock, vintage buildings and Treble-O-Lectric track.

 

Dang, I almost got emotional looking at your two photos. Lots of happy Arnold memories are stored in my head - I felt like I was a kid again. Rich_S and Russell said it all -- what a beautiful sight! I see some of your Arnold steamers too.

 

Thanks, guys. There are actually four early OOO/N scale makers/importers represented in the photo - Lone Star, Arnold Rapido, Atlas, and Minitrix. There's an Atlas E8 and chassis (and don't let that mislead. I have A LOT of early Atlas) two Trix F9's and two K4's; yup, all four of my Rapido steamers, the GP's of course, and the vast majority is Treble-O-Lectric. Almost everything available in the line is shown.

The earlier part of last year was concentrating on getting as much Treble-O-Lectric as possible with only a few rare pieces to get and then, in about October, I suddenly had an overwhelming urge to start buying Rapido so that's all new to me.

My first ever 9 mm gauge loco, a Treble-O-Lectric U.P. F7 is easily seen in the first photo, right behind the Atlas E8 chassis and, of course, I obtained a few more like it over the years.

Oh, I have a Rapido U.P. GP30 and Atlas/RoCo U.P. GP30 on the way, too. They were in the same auction.

I have a lot more recent stuff (the Kato U.P. SD90MAC is incredible!) too but I always seem to be drawn back to the old stuff.

Doug

 

Greetings. I'm Henry aka taillamp, a new Board member, and this is my first post. After first considering a 2x4 or 3x5 layout, I've been looking closely at options for an n scale layout to be built on a hollow core door, so 80 by 30-to-36. I have little experience with model railroading (and that was decades ago). I've put in a lot of study in recent months but I'm fairly considered a beginner with much to learn about the hobby, one of the reasons I've signed on here.

I came across this thread while getting acquainted with the TrainBoard setup and thought I'd take the opportunity to ask for opinions on this Arnold SW-1 (image below, if I've done things right) that I've seen for sale on Amazon and eBay, priced in the mid $50s. I really like the look of it. I've read a review of the model that was quite favorable and I've thought it might work well as a first loco purchase that I could use as I set up and test layout wiring and other aspects of the build. I saw a number of posts upthread that mentioned the SW-1 and figured there's some good knowledge hereof just how well (or not) this loco does on a layout. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

The Arnold/Hornby SW1 garnered an 'A' rating here: http://www.spookshow.net/loco/arnoldsw1.html

 

Thanks, Point353, for that very thorough review. It sure looks like this little switcher would be a good choice.

 

Buy it.



Doug

 

Done. Thanks, Doug.

 

Hi Henry, Welcome aboard and to answer your first question, yes a 30" x 80" Hollow Core Door is a very good starting point for a N scale model railroad. My current N scale model Railroad is built on a 24" x 80" Hollow Core Door.



Many folks use folding table legs with conduit or PVC pipe added to the bottom of the folding table legs to extend the height of the layout. When you start building your layout, be sure to start a build thread here on the Train Board. It's a great way to get input on questions you may have while building your new layout.

 

Thanks for the input and encouragement, Rich. I will indeed start a build thread, probably even before I start to put the layout together. I still have many questions to resolve. What a fine looking layout you've built. I'm looking at it on my cellphone right now and will check it out more closely on my big screen tomorrow. Very much appreciated.

 

I have 14 of them, some custom painted. Aside from one that got dropped (not hardly the locos fault), I have never had a bit of trouble with any of them. The couplers are a little shakey as Spookshow mentioned, but not enough of a problem that I felt the need to install Micro-Trains Z scale 905s. As for hollow core doors, I wholeheartedly endorse them. I strongly recommend the 36 inch width. Mine are built with Kato Unitrack, and that allows room for 15 inch radius curves at each end, as well as plenty of room inside for track or scenery.

 

The 0633 Locomotive shed:




Doug

 

Thanks for the post, ogre427. 14 Arnold SW-1s! I'm pleased to see such a positive report on and clear endorsement of this little switcher. I expect to receive mine any day now, not that I have a layout to run it on since that's all still in the research stage. In the meantime, I'm thinking of setting up a little stretch of test track just to make sure it runs as expected, and just to watch it go.

As for the hollow core door, I've been all over the map as to the width/depth. I get what you're saying about going with the 36 inch door, since it would accommodate a 15 inch radius curve. My layout would reside in our little "sun room" where space is definitely limited, though I believe it's doable.

As far as track is concerned, I'm sold on Kato's Unitrack, despite the expense. From my brief and distant past experience with a small and simple oval track as well as from all that I've read and heard in my study, it seems that reliable track is the key to success.

Thanks again. Your input is much appreciated.

 

Here's a just-rebuilt Arnold-Rapido FA. It's been repainted and has DCC (in the fuel tank), an LED headlight, and NWSL wheels so it can run on code 55 track.
George

 

Another Arnold classic, a beautiful kit. Do I recall that someone made an enginehouse kit in that era with doors that closed when a locomotive bumped against something near the back wall? I just can't remember.

 

That sounds familiar and Faller was the first name that came to mind, but I'm not sure as well.