Yet another Spud Valley Show

 Mid-October means another Spud Valley Hobby Show. 

Trains, toy tractors, die cast cars and assorted modeling items are offered for sale. This year the model airplanes did not make an appearance. And of course a few tables of railroad memorabilia. Notably a few tables with railroad lanterns- very popular but on the high end for an antique that can be well worn.

A good flea market and display show.

I found a few items worth buying- a Lionel GP-38 for repairing, 2 Lionel automatic switches, N-scale interurban, a box of wires and electrical items for layout.

Here is the GP-38. It was missing a pilot, some screws, and needed a new coupler with a spring. The parts was slightly difficult to find- although it is amazing how much some vendors charge for such small parts. The challenge was finding a good deal. Shipping charges are crazy for parts that only weigh a few ounces. The engine runs very good. 

Model stationary steam engines are pretty rare at shows. I saw one last year. Even more challenging to locate are the accessories. Here are a few steam accessories that I saw at the show. Most of these accessories are made in Europe or are antiques. Seeing them in action attached to an engine is a splendid treat. You can usually see them running at the Rollag Steam Thresher's Reunion in the model engine building.

Layouts of O, HO, N, and Z were on hand. One in particular focuses on the Marx line of O scale trains. Marx was a competitor of Lionel. Marx made numerous toys in addition to trains some of which were also being sold at the show.  Below is the Marx 333 (I think) rounding the bend past the Girard station heading towards the Marx steel trestle bridge (outside the frame of this photo). Also note the Marx tunnel. Marx is interesting and it seems you can find a toy train item you never knew they made. As I have said elsewhere on this blog, K-line bought up the molds from Marx so you see quite a few Marx items in the K-line catalog- mostly the plastic buildings, a few freight cars, maybe the RDC. The K-line S2  is based on the model for the Marx diesel switcher. But now K-line is gone and the manufacturing molds et al are somewhere else- not sure if any manufacturer is using them currently. I think Ready Made Trains might be producing some cars based on the K-line models.