Thought it might be fun to share pics of our first locomotives. For me, my very first was this Lionel switcher. I don't remember how old I was when mom and dad got me the trainset this was in. Maybe 3. Then my first HO loco was this Tyco 0-4-0 that came in a trainset I got when I was 8. And then this was my first N scale engine in the early 80's and I have stayed in N ever since
My Dad was a big Great Northern fan, growing up in Snohomish, Wa, so naturally my first loco was an HO Athearn GN Geep in the orange/green paint. Locos long gone, (since I'm in Z-scale now), but I recently bought one for nostalgia.
Unofficially, this American Flyer Atlantic in the fifties: Officially, this Treble-O-Lectric UP F7 in 1962: And official first actual N scale locomotive, an Atlas SF E8 in 1967: Doug
I no longer have it. Nor can I find any of the photos. Unknown what or why those disappeared. It was my mother... Mine was a second hand Lionel 1666E with the 2689W whistle tender, acquired from a no longer interested neighbor, for me. A pre-WWII version. Faded memory is the original owner had acquired it in 1942. The transformer which came with it was definitely a 1942 or earlier. This was built upon interest I showed, via a book I was given for my second birthday. At least I still have that crumbling book.
Model Power RF-16 Sharknose, way back at Christmas 1973. My first love, and she's still with me after nearly 47 years, still running strong. S2230A_Mike_Train_Set_Christmas73 by Mike VE2TRV posted Dec 9, 2016 at 4:47 AM I overhauled it a few years ago, a complete teardown, cleaned and lubed and reassembled and it runs like new. I also managed to reconstitute the entire trainset with some train show finds. The hunt was half the fun! Best Christmas ever.
Hi, my very first locomotive did not survive my childhood, plenty of later trains did indeed. It was an articulated FS electric E646 from LIMA like the second from right in the picture (I bought another one 10 years later). One of the oldest surviving is the brown one in the same picture, it dates from about 1976 (I did some upgrades like the new pantographs, DCC and other small details, but 70% of the hardware is original). As You can see I loved articulates..... there are another two of the following model E656 in my roster.
Triang TT layout built by my dad for me when I was six. Loco was an LMS Jinty 0-6-0T TT 1961 by kevsmith posted Nov 23, 2020 at 11:37 AM Kev
No photos - as she is tucked away -- yes, I still have her. For my 8th birthday (1971) - my Father bought me an Arnold Rapido train set with an Americanized 0-6-0 (N-Scale) Thanks, Wolf
My first locomotive was a Lionel 685 Hudson handed down from an older cousin when I was 6. That set, along with some plasticville buildings and a small fleet of Tootsietoy trucks provided me with many hours of enjoyment. Still got it, but it's packed away, so no photo. My first HO locomotivewas a Tyco ten wheeler. Still got that one, too, but again no photo as it's in pieces right now. It will live again to pull passenger trains on the new Huron Central.
Had 3 of them: American Flyer S Gauge STEAM ENGINES 1) 0-8-0 switcher 2) 4-6-2 Pacific 3) 4-8-2 Mountain. These three started my LOVE with Model railroading, Trains and STEAM ENGINES. THANKS DAD.
I like the miniballs. I have a never fired miniball that was found just outside the Gettysburg battlefield. It is in really good condition with the exception of a small nick from the shovel that dug it up.
My first loco was a Chattanooga GP20 from Tyco. Got it in 79/80 ish and it was only to come out for X-mas. I finally convinced my dad to let me play with it any time but the pancake motor didn't last much past 85 or so. My sister had a boyfriend around that time who gave me his old trains and I found a BN GP20 in the mix of stuff he left. That BN train resided on my desk/dresser/shelf when it was not on one of the temp loops of track I would make. They are both long gone now but I had them until I started working with more modern and powerful locomotives from Athearn and Kato. Here is a picture of the Tyco model. Mine had chrome handrails not plastic.
Ah, it had the Power Torque drive. I have a 2-8-0 with that drive. It's a smoker with the drive in the tender. The GP20's originally had the Tyco drive with the motor in the rear truck. Doug
It was a Penn Line HO PRR F, received at Christmas of 1962, long gone. This photo is from an 8mm movie frame.
Let's see...Santa brought me a crappy Lionel 0-4-0 that was cheap plastic, the first loco that I bought was an N Scale Botchmann GP40, the oldest one that I have in N is my Kato U30C, and I also have some post war Lionel
I haven’t been modeling as long as all you guys have, so my first locomotive isn’t really that old in the grand scheme of things. My starter set was the Bachman Challenger. I got rid of the 18” radius steel track not that long ago, but I still have the trains, and I use the DC controller from time to time as well. It looks like one of the horns is missing from the roof too. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Hehe, the "Dantunnel". Looks like a new bike sitting there, too. Same year I got my Treble-O-Lectric train set. Doug
This one may not be the first, but is for sure the oldest..... This is an Italian 428 electric "high speed" locomotive, very similar to the famous GG1. The model is a Rivarossi from the 60s that I got from a friend of mine who started upgrading it with a number of brass custom made parts (eg the carrying trucks, and some part of the frame) in the 70s, but then decided to give up, and gave it to me in 2009 to complete. What you see in the picture is an intermediate state of work...I had replaced the pantographs, and other parts like the driving wheels with original Rivarossi parts (albeit from a later production) to better reflect the prototype. Later I put the photo etched parts, the inscriptions …..
