I can't come up with enough complimentary adjectives to describe this layout! You can almost smell the hot oil, grease and coal smoke from that beautiful J1. Great structures, equipment and weathering. Love the scenes with a fast moving train and a slower one in the same shot. Very realistic. Makes me want more!
This guy has everything right. The sound, the camera angles, the landscape and the toys with the correct weathering effects. Please give us more and more.
I'm not a fan of 3 rail usually but your beautiful railroad is changing my mind . Great job on the uniform weathering all over your pike and rolling stock. Keeping with the era and keeping to a specific prototype is so cool. Thanks for sharing and great job !
The smooth operation is remarkable, as is the appropriate weathering. What I like best is your running the locomotive at correct prototypical speed. That makes all the difference in the world.
I’ve said this before, you sir are a pure detail genius ! Your videos make me proud to have grown up here in PA and to be a train buff, I’m still living right on the north east corridor.. Cheers
Hi Norm, I've got a B&O wagon-top boxcar like the one in the video, having a difficult time finding someone to weather it properly, do you know anyone?
I have this same locomotive with the mechanical smoke unit. I love the model but when I see and hear yours I would love to upgrade it to four chuffs per rotation.
Another excellent video Norm. Your layout is superb! If I may ask your advice I recently acquired an MTH Premier Big Four Hudson and would like to paint over the white striped running boards and driver tires. Any suggestions as to which paint I should use to match with the subtle sheen of the factory black paint? Thanks in advance and please keep your videos coming when time permits.
FOR ALL OF YOU THAT LOVE TRAINS TIME TO GROW UP???? AND HAVE A REAL RAILROAD AS THIS ONE, THE IDEA IS TO MAKE IT LOOK REAL AND AS WE SEE THIS IS AS REAL AS YOU GET?....THIS IS HOW REAL LIFE LOOKS THE GRIM BECOMES THE GOLD? AND THAT'S WHAT I HAVE ACHIEVED TODAY FROM LOOKING AT LAYOUTS AS THIS?..TOY TRAINS ARE FUN BUT A TIME WILL COME WHEN YOU WANT THE REAL DEAL? AS THIS IS / I CALL THIS MASTER CLASS LAYOUTS...THIS IS TRUE ART MY HAT IS OFF TO YOU FOR THE BEST OF THE BEST MR. DRUMS PHIL AMBROS SINATRA AND FRIENDS
Can you do a full overview of your layout, it's amazing and well detailed for a Lionel setup I usually see toy Lionel tables but yours is a historic Lionel table thumbs up for you!👍
The Pennsylvania Railroad J1 is a series of 2-10-4 “Texas”-type steam engines built by the PRR’s Altoona Works between 1942 and 1944. Based on a Chesapeake & Ohio design, they were used for heavy freight service. Sadly, none of the J1’s survive today.
Why Lionel put an underpowered mechanical smoke unit it such a high end locomotive is beyond me. Their newer Legacy model of course has four chuffs/revolution and a quillable whistle and whistle steam so they fixed the shortcuts taken on the TMCC model. The casting however is awesome. I have the TMCC version and I am going to get it upgraded to full Legacy after my TMCC B&O EM1 upgrade is finished. Your 4 chuff per rotation upgrade is so much better than the original 2 chuffs, it 'performs' better. As always, your layout is second to none. I wish I had your eye.
They did that on a few of the scale TMCC Hudsons too. I really wish the Legacy versions of this engine had the correct sounds like this one. It would have been an easy purchase last year.
Yes, cherry switch on a 2 lobe cam on one of the driver axles for the chuff. This also had the 32 step original Odyssey which could be fairly erratic at low speed. It also had an annoying hockey stick speed curve across the speed steps.
@@normstrains I have a Lionel L2a Mohawk I had upgraded to CCM cruise, super chuffer, 4 chuffs per revolution. Any time I got above yard speed or moderate crawl. The chuffs made the engine sound like a machine gun. So I switched it back to 2 chuffs. But this J1a sounds great with 4 chuffs at high speed. Did you change the sound file?
@@shanegonczi202 no this is the original J1a sounds, which I also used in my 3rd Rail J1a. Did you see my old L2a vid? That had 4 chuffs. If you think about the exhaust rate at high speeds, keep in mind a 72” driver is running around 280RPM at 60MPH.
@@normstrains yeah I saw that video. I have the same exact locomotive. Anything above the fastest speed you ran in that video, doesn't sound right. Maybe you did the install different?
@@shanegonczi202 not really. I’ve had mixed success with the chuff generator. I am going back to magnets and reed switches wherever I can. I have been collecting different size magnets and reed switches. I found some very small reed switches that look promising along with some very thin magnets. I’d prefer to install them on the drivers so I can attempt to synch the chuff with the crankpin angle.
DjsOgaugeTrains the old two magnets and a reed switch on one of the tender wheels. They were close enough to half the driver diameter to get 4 chuffs. 2 chuffs/tender wheel dia. = X chuffs/loco driver dia.
I faked it with the two magnets and a reed switch on the backside of one of the tender wheels. This was close enough. There is an input for the trigger on the RS motherboard in the tender. A lot of later TMCC engines started getting proper exhaust rates but it was hit or miss at the time.
Beautiful modeling all around! I'm getting ready to paint my Atlas bridge, and was wondering if you would share how you painted/weathered yours. I love the way it looks, subtle, and not overdone.
OScaleMike I just bombed it with Model Masters Engine Black, then oversprayed it a bit with Grimy Black and a bit of Rust here and there. Ties were done with RR Tie Brown, rails were Floquil Rail Brown and MM Grimy Black. I dry brushed everything with some tube acrylics.
I should check sometime huh? I believe PRR was one of only a handful of RRs that built or spec’d their steam like that. Standard of the world for ya...
I gotta ask since I'm not into 3 rail, but everything about your rolling stock and scenery is awesome but why keep the pizza cutter wheels. Isn't there something more to scale? Since I don't know three rail forgive me for my ignorance , maybe it's a requirement , but they still look really out of place.
Christopher Kauffman the .100" flanges are a fact of life for Hirail/3RS due to the way turnout frogs are set up. I don't really bother describing what 3RS is. It is what it is.
According to what I've read in the Staufer's books, just a couple different sets of cab numbers and all the J1a's had cast frames (J1 had fabricated and cast frames).
While my favorite is the 2011 version, this one is also really nice. It just really irritates me that they messed up the whistle on the new one that just shipped. They should’ve used the M1a or T1 whistle. Hopefully they’ll get it right on the next run. I also heard that some in Lionel claim that the Banshee whistle is the right one. Clearly whoever made that claim is not an expert on the Pennsy, as it’s pretty obvious that the real J1’s had a PRR 3-Chime.
TrainfanJackson4023 they were very arrogant about that whistle too. My favorite Lionel era was the early 2000s when this engine was produced. They were much more focused on getting things right. Now not so much. Really wish someone like BLI would start producing O scale trains. I really like their approach.
@@normstrains how did you make the drop plate and secure it so it doesn't snap off on grade changes? I know that's a common problem on the Century Club Niagara.
The old two magnets and a reed switch on one of the tender's wheels. It's not quite 4 chuffs but close enough. I use the chuff input on the RS motherboard in the tender and disconnect and remove the cammed cherry switch in the engine.
Excellent video and high quality detail. Now if we can get our club layout to look like yours then we are doing well. I just subscribed to your channel and please do the same. Cheers from the Train Lord in South Australia
I can't come up with enough complimentary adjectives to describe this layout! You can almost smell the hot oil, grease and coal smoke from that beautiful J1. Great structures, equipment and weathering. Love the scenes with a fast moving train and a slower one in the same shot. Very realistic. Makes me want more!
This guy has everything right. The sound, the camera angles, the landscape and the toys with the correct weathering effects. Please give us more and more.
Wow very impressive steam loco, and I love the weathering on it too👍
Beautiful layout you don't even notice the middle rail runs great the scenery is awesome
Masterful layout 100 % realistic.
Bravo I never tire of watching your videos.
I'm not a fan of 3 rail usually but your beautiful railroad is changing my mind . Great job on the uniform weathering all over your pike and rolling stock. Keeping with the era and keeping to a specific prototype is so cool. Thanks for sharing and great job !
I love this model! The J1a is a beauty!
Beautiful realism great weathering
Your weathering and landscaping details are the best I've ever seen.
The smooth operation is remarkable, as is the appropriate weathering. What I like best is your running the locomotive at correct prototypical speed. That makes all the difference in the world.
Love the cinematography as much as the layout
Always love the stacktalk on those TMCC steam locomotives.
Honestly I thought this was real for like the first minute amazing looking layout along with beautiful engines
I’ve said this before, you sir are a pure detail genius ! Your videos make me proud to have grown up here in PA and to be a train buff, I’m still living right on the north east corridor..
Cheers
Hi Norm, I've got a B&O wagon-top boxcar like the one in the video, having a difficult time finding someone to weather it properly, do you know anyone?
I have this same locomotive with the mechanical smoke unit. I love the model but when I see and hear yours I would love to upgrade it to four chuffs per rotation.
The J1a looks like it has been a workhorse for your railroad Norm. I am a fan of your layout and I enjoy the Pennsylvania railroad power.
Hay norm I'm finally taking the big step and ordered my J1 from MTH(ex).
The Pennsylvania Railroad J1’s were based on the Chesapeake & Ohio T1’s, another series of 2-10-4’s.
I don't know how you do it, but keep up the good work I love your content
Awesome work as always!
Another excellent video Norm. Your layout is superb! If I may ask your advice I recently acquired an MTH Premier Big Four Hudson and would like to paint over the white striped running boards and driver tires. Any suggestions as to which paint I should use to match with the subtle sheen of the factory black paint? Thanks in advance and please keep your videos coming when time permits.
FOR ALL OF YOU THAT LOVE TRAINS TIME TO GROW UP???? AND HAVE A REAL RAILROAD AS THIS ONE, THE IDEA IS TO MAKE IT LOOK REAL AND AS WE SEE THIS IS AS REAL AS YOU GET?....THIS IS HOW REAL LIFE LOOKS THE GRIM BECOMES THE GOLD? AND THAT'S WHAT I HAVE ACHIEVED TODAY FROM LOOKING AT LAYOUTS AS THIS?..TOY TRAINS ARE FUN BUT A TIME WILL COME WHEN YOU WANT THE REAL DEAL? AS THIS IS / I CALL THIS MASTER CLASS LAYOUTS...THIS IS TRUE ART MY HAT IS OFF TO YOU FOR THE BEST OF THE BEST
MR. DRUMS PHIL AMBROS SINATRA AND FRIENDS
Wow thanks man, glad you like my layout!
Can you do a full overview of your layout, it's amazing and well detailed for a Lionel setup I usually see toy Lionel tables but yours is a historic Lionel table thumbs up for you!👍
Maybe someday, idk. If you have Amazon Prime, you can see my part in TM Books' 3 Rail O Scale Trains, which was filmed about a year ago.
The Pennsylvania Railroad J1 is a series of 2-10-4 “Texas”-type steam engines built by the PRR’s Altoona Works between 1942 and 1944. Based on a Chesapeake & Ohio design, they were used for heavy freight service. Sadly, none of the J1’s survive today.
Why Lionel put an underpowered mechanical smoke unit it such a high end locomotive is beyond me. Their newer Legacy model of course has four chuffs/revolution and a quillable whistle and whistle steam so they fixed the shortcuts taken on the TMCC model. The casting however is awesome. I have the TMCC version and I am going to get it upgraded to full Legacy after my TMCC B&O EM1 upgrade is finished. Your 4 chuff per rotation upgrade is so much better than the original 2 chuffs, it 'performs' better. As always, your layout is second to none. I wish I had your eye.
They did that on a few of the scale TMCC Hudsons too. I really wish the Legacy versions of this engine had the correct sounds like this one. It would have been an easy purchase last year.
Great job!!👍🏻
Outstanding!!!!
This is the most realistic model I have ever seen. The best on youtube. You are to be congratulated it is awesome 🚂🚂🚂🇦🇺
Красиво и очень реалистично!
Was it a originally 2 chuffs per revolution and Odyssey cruise?
Yes, cherry switch on a 2 lobe cam on one of the driver axles for the chuff. This also had the 32 step original Odyssey which could be fairly erratic at low speed. It also had an annoying hockey stick speed curve across the speed steps.
@@normstrains I have a Lionel L2a Mohawk I had upgraded to CCM cruise, super chuffer, 4 chuffs per revolution. Any time I got above yard speed or moderate crawl. The chuffs made the engine sound like a machine gun. So I switched it back to 2 chuffs. But this J1a sounds great with 4 chuffs at high speed. Did you change the sound file?
@@shanegonczi202 no this is the original J1a sounds, which I also used in my 3rd Rail J1a. Did you see my old L2a vid? That had 4 chuffs. If you think about the exhaust rate at high speeds, keep in mind a 72” driver is running around 280RPM at 60MPH.
@@normstrains yeah I saw that video. I have the same exact locomotive. Anything above the fastest speed you ran in that video, doesn't sound right. Maybe you did the install different?
@@shanegonczi202 not really. I’ve had mixed success with the chuff generator. I am going back to magnets and reed switches wherever I can. I have been collecting different size magnets and reed switches. I found some very small reed switches that look promising along with some very thin magnets. I’d prefer to install them on the drivers so I can attempt to synch the chuff with the crankpin angle.
Excellent!
Are some of the wheels flanged?
I wish ho scale models could sound this good
Very nice! What did you use to get 4 chuffs per revolution on it?
DjsOgaugeTrains the old two magnets and a reed switch on one of the tender wheels. They were close enough to half the driver diameter to get 4 chuffs. 2 chuffs/tender wheel dia. = X chuffs/loco driver dia.
Was it up graded to 4 chuffs per rev? I noticed most tmcc has 2 chuffs per rev
I faked it with the two magnets and a reed switch on the backside of one of the tender wheels. This was close enough. There is an input for the trigger on the RS motherboard in the tender. A lot of later TMCC engines started getting proper exhaust rates but it was hit or miss at the time.
@@normstrains oooo. Interesting
I like how the models are dusty
Thanks Norm!
No prob!
Beautiful modeling all around! I'm getting ready to paint my Atlas bridge, and was wondering if you would share how you painted/weathered yours. I love the way it looks, subtle, and not overdone.
OScaleMike I just bombed it with Model Masters Engine Black, then oversprayed it a bit with Grimy Black and a bit of Rust here and there. Ties were done with RR Tie Brown, rails were Floquil Rail Brown and MM Grimy Black. I dry brushed everything with some tube acrylics.
@@normstrains Thanks Norm
Are these scale models left hand lead like the prototypes?
I should check sometime huh? I believe PRR was one of only a handful of RRs that built or spec’d their steam like that. Standard of the world for ya...
I gotta ask since I'm not into 3 rail, but everything about your rolling stock and scenery is awesome but why keep the pizza cutter wheels. Isn't there something more to scale? Since I don't know three rail forgive me for my ignorance , maybe it's a requirement , but they still look really out of place.
Christopher Kauffman the .100" flanges are a fact of life for Hirail/3RS due to the way turnout frogs are set up. I don't really bother describing what 3RS is. It is what it is.
@@normstrains OK thanks. Just curious.
Hi Norm, I’m curious: Do you use Lionel Legacy on your layout, or just TMCC?
PokèmonPready The Pokemon Maniac I have both hooked up.
Is there something that makes J1a’s different from Standard J1’s?
According to what I've read in the Staufer's books, just a couple different sets of cab numbers and all the J1a's had cast frames (J1 had fabricated and cast frames).
@Norm Charbonneau ok
This sucks what is the 0-60 and is it even affordable I can’t believe this
You should put in a fan driven unit in it. Wonder if you could retro fit an MTH one then it'll blow smoke like a real one!
Zechariah Frink this did have a TAS Turbo at one time but I hate what leaking smoke fluid does to my weathering.
@@normstrains Gotcha yeah it would destroy that worn in woking engine look.
While my favorite is the 2011 version, this one is also really nice.
It just really irritates me that they messed up the whistle on the new one that just shipped. They should’ve used the M1a or T1 whistle. Hopefully they’ll get it right on the next run.
I also heard that some in Lionel claim that the Banshee whistle is the right one. Clearly whoever made that claim is not an expert on the Pennsy, as it’s pretty obvious that the real J1’s had a PRR 3-Chime.
TrainfanJackson4023 they were very arrogant about that whistle too. My favorite Lionel era was the early 2000s when this engine was produced. They were much more focused on getting things right. Now not so much. Really wish someone like BLI would start producing O scale trains. I really like their approach.
What camera are you using?
This was shot with a first gen iPad Pro.
@@normstrains Thanks. Very good quality and nice layout.
@@ulmasvids sorry about the slooow response, for some reason your comment was held in UA-cam purgatory..??
Is this the model from 2001?
Yes, 2001 or 2002. I think I got this one used in 2006 maybe.
@@normstrains did it come with the drop plate between the cab and tender?
@@shanegonczi202 no it did not.
@@normstrains how did you make the drop plate and secure it so it doesn't snap off on grade changes? I know that's a common problem on the Century Club Niagara.
@@shanegonczi202 this doesn’t have one!
GREAT
How do you do the 4 chuff mod?
The old two magnets and a reed switch on one of the tender's wheels. It's not quite 4 chuffs but close enough. I use the chuff input on the RS motherboard in the tender and disconnect and remove the cammed cherry switch in the engine.
Can the smoke be synched to this too or no?
Michael Scalera yes I have this similar setup in a few engines like my L2a Mohawk.
Nice video Norm? You should add a fan driven smoke unit.
Sid's Trains it has a TAS Turbo Smoke years ago. Made a mess as usual. I yanked it when I changed the cruise over to ERR.
@@normstrains I see. I think I remember seeing that on Lionel Nation.
Hey may i Copy some of the buildings and make it on minecraft
Yeah man let me know if you need some measurements!
( Buddythetruck2018 ) like that locomotive it looks strong
Excellent video and high quality detail. Now if we can get our club layout to look like yours then we are doing well. I just subscribed to your channel and please do the same. Cheers from the Train Lord in South Australia