Turbine Power on “Lionel Lines”

e*Train Issue: May 2008 | Posted in: Collecting, Combined Eras

By Mike Stella

Big, Bigger, Biggest is always what comes to mind when the Union Pacific Railroad motive power is mentioned. Big Boys and 4-12-2s and Centennial DD40Xs and of course the General Electric Turbines from the 1950’s. Has there ever been another locomotive of any design that produced the 10,000 HP of the Big Blow’s? I can’t think of one. These Giants of the real road are equally Giants of the “O” Gauge road and on “Lionel Lines” (The Largest Lionel Railroad on my Block).

I have bowed to the builders at MTH and I have added every Turbine they have produced (My three unit Coal Turbine is in storage). Dual motors in the smaller units and FOUR motors in the Big Blow produce ample pulling power for the longest freight trains. On “Lionel Lines” it is not uncommon to watch a 50 car train pass. I often wish that 0-96 and 0-120 “O” Gauge track had been available 25 years ago! Then 100 car freight trains might have been possible! To add to my Turbine roster I took a second Propane Turbine and reconverted it back to Bunker C by adding a regular fuel tender.

**UP Turbine #60 is a bit “dirty” but looks great to me**.

The picture of this Turbine shows a “weathered” look and soon the Big Blow will take on a similar appearance. I do not know if this adds value to a piece or takes away from it but I collect Lionel and not MTH so it matters not.

**The #75 Veranda Turbine is a favorite**.

While the Union Pacific is a favorite road of mine I did add that beautiful Chessie Turbine to my locomotive roster and I hope that some day I will see a N&W “Jawn Henry” show up in a catalog!

I think that will about cover the Turbine field.

**The #5 Big Blow has four motors and will haul a ton**.

Shop Amazon and Help TCA

TCA members who shop at Amazon.com can have each of their normal purchases generate a modest payment to TCA! And it won’t cost you anything!

The Train Collectors Association is now a participant with AmazonSmile, which is a special website operated by Amazon that lets customers enjoy the same wide selection of products, low prices and convenient shopping features as on Amazon.com.

The difference is that when customers shop at AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com), the AmazonSmile Foundation donates 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to the charitable organizations selected by customers.

The process is simple. Just search for and select Train Collectors Association when you sign up and shop at smile.amazon.com.

You use your regular Amazon.com username and password, but when you log in to smile.amazon.com, you’ll see that you are supporting TCA with your purchases:

Note that if you just log in to the regular amazon.com, this benefit does not operate.

There are no costs to either you or TCA, but TCA benefits!

This is a great way for TCA to earn extra cash to offset costs, so sign up today to help support TCA.

* Note: TCA is not a party to any of your Amazon transactions, and does not endorse any products or vendors.

Helping TCA with your ebay purchases when you use PayPal

If you’re an ebay user and have a PayPal account you use to make payments, you can designate a donation for TCA when you’re checking out — any amount, small or large.
If you’re a regular seller on ebay, you can pre-designate a percentage of your sales to be donated automatically in your name to TCA as long as the purchaser pays with their PayPal account.

In both cases, you will receive a donation receipt from the PayPal Giving Fund, and enjoy applicable tax advantages.

How to do it:

Click on the image above, or use this link. This will take you to ebay, where you will see the following page (log in to ebay if you are not already):

This offers TCA as an option. Click on the “Add to My Charities” button where indicated with the red arrow. Thereafter, when you make a purchase, at checkout you will be offered the option to make a donation to TCA in any amount of your choosing. Small amounts add up, larger ones are great! It’s always up to you!

The option will appear at the lower part of your checkout page, something like this:

If you’re a regular seller on ebay, you can allocate a portion of your sales proceeds to be donated to TCA. Look at the green arrow marked “Optional” above to see how to do it. Details on how ebay calculates the donation may be read here. This is a wonderful way to share the financial benefits of your hobby with the organization that promotes it!

An added benefit to TCA is that these donations are not subject to normal processing fees, so that makes your donation work harder!

* Note. TCA is not a party to any of your eBay transactions, and does not endorse any products or vendors. PayPal issues the receipts to you for your donation, not TCA.

Turbine Power on “Lionel Lines”

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