HO From Start to Finish - where to find parts

[Fxguy1]

I'm trying to complete the layout from the book HO Railroad From Start to Finish and it seems that some of the products are no longer being made. I've got a list of all the products used in the book and was wondering if anyone could help me out with suggesting either somewhere (besides eBay) to find the particular product, or a suitable alternative that could be used in it's place.

Some of the things (like the Floquil and Poly S Paints) aren't that critical to the layout while others (like the Faller Gravel Tipple and Overhead cranes ) are. Anyways, here is a quick list:

Critical:
Manufacturer                    Part ID       Description
Activa                              999   Rigid-Wrap (3 Rolls)
Alexander Scale Models    2705   Chimney
Alloy Forms                    2013   corrugated fence kit
Columbia Valley                      187   Gas Pumps
Faller                              164   overhead cranes (2)
Faller                              193   Gravel tipple
Magnuson Models              537   "Practice Kit" store
Model Power                       455   Burlington Mills Factory (2)
Wm. K. Walthers            3000   Don's Shoe Store

NON-CRITICAL
Manufacturer          Part Number         Description
Northeastern                      181   1/16"x5/64" stripwood, 24" long (2)
Northeastern                    3004   HO 1 X 6s
Northeastern               3012   HO 2 X 4s
Northeastern               3040   HO 6 X 6s
Northeastern                  111   0.02" X 0.04"
Northeastern                  113   0.02" X 1/16"
Northeastern                  115   0.02" X 3/32"
Northeastern                  117   0.02" X 5/32" (3)
Northeastern                  157   0.04" X 2"
Northeastern                  180   1/16" square (2)
Northeastern                  231   1/8" square (1)
Northeastern                  378   1/16" square clapboard siding (1)
Floquil Paint                 130009   Primer Spray, 1 Can
Floquil Paint                 110132   SP Lark Dark Grey
Floquil Paint                 110009   Primer
Floquil Paint                 110011   Reefer White
Floquil Paint                 110013   Grimy Black
Floquil Paint                 110087   Depot Buff
Floquil Paint                 120085   Antique White
Floquil Paint                 110081   Earth
Highball ballast                       10   Dirt
Highball ballast                      124   Cinders (N scale)
Highball ballast                      171   Light Brown Earth (fine)
Polly S Paint                 500014   Grimy Black
Polly S Paint                 410030   Reefer Orange
Polly S Paint                 410070   Roof Brown
Polly S Paint                     500082   Concrete
Polly S Paint                 500011   White
Polly S Paint                 500060   Khaki
Polly S Paint                50030-8   Brown
Polly S Paint                 501997   Stainless Steel
Polly S Paint                              Antique White
Polly S Paint                 410073   Rust
Polly S Paint                              Dullcote
Polly S Paint                 500030   Blue
Polly S Paint                 500051   Grass Green
Polly S Paint                 500305   Battleship Grey
Polly S Paint                 500820   Earth
Polly S Paint                 410011   Reefer White
Polly S Paint                 410012   Reefer Grey
Polly S Paint                 410020   Caboose Red
Polly S Paint                 410031   Reefer Yellow
Polly S Paint                 500103   Brown
Polly S Paint                 501990   Bright Silver
Polyterrain                               146   water gel
Polyterrain                               303   matte medium
Polyterrain                               833   black acrylic paint
Polyterrain                              7007   Mud


Thanks ahead of time for color suggestions and alternatives / locations to find some of this!

Tim

[Len]

Floquil/Poly-S was bought by Testors and phased out. Some of the colors will eventually be phased into their Model Master line, but no time-line has been announced I'm aware of. The 'Mfg#' below are for Walthers. Even if you end up getting things elsewhere, it's a handy place to look over to see what's available.

The good news is, Tru-Color (Mfg#: 709) has virtually the entire line of railroad colors Floquil/Poly-S had, plus a few they didn't.

Alternatives to the Polyterrain and ballast items are available from Woodland Scenics (Mfg#: 785), and Northeastern Scale Lumber is still around (Mfg#: 521). You may be able to substitute the Faller #130171 Quarry Rail & Truck loader for the Gravel Tipple. "Don's Shoe Store" is out of production, but if you really want a shoe store, 'Smalltown USA' makes Vivian's Shoe Store (699-6013). Most of the other buildings are easily substituted with others that are similar in size.

Model Power is out of business, but DPM (Mfg#243) has an assortment of building kits that could substitute for the kits. In fact, they sell wall module packs that let you design your own buildings.

Len

[Hunt]

Model Power acquired by MRC (Model Rectifier Corporation) however Burlington Mills Factory you are looking for not currently offered.

[Len]

Interesting, I hadn't heard about MRC picking up Model Power. From the few Model Power buildings being offered on the MRC site, I wonder if they got the tooling and will continue production, or if their just selling off existing inventory? There are a few of the MP buildings that worked real well combined with some of the newer Plasticville buildings.

Len

[ACY]

From the few Model Power buildings being offered on the MRC site, I wonder if they got the tooling and will continue production, or if their just selling off existing inventory?

MRC is just selling off existing inventory at this point in time as far as I know with the possible exception of one HO locomotive (0-4-0 Shifter I think it was) that went into limited production.

[Fxguy1]

Floquil/Poly-S was bought by Testors and phased out. Some of the colors will eventually be phased into their Model Master line, but no time-line has been announced I'm aware of. The 'Mfg#' below are for Walthers. Even if you end up getting things elsewhere, it's a handy place to look over to see what's available.

The good news is, Tru-Color (Mfg#: 709) has virtually the entire line of railroad colors Floquil/Poly-S had, plus a few they didn't.

Alternatives to the Polyterrain and ballast items are available from Woodland Scenics (Mfg#: 785), and Northeastern Scale Lumber is still around (Mfg#: 521). You may be able to substitute the Faller #130171 Quarry Rail & Truck loader for the Gravel Tipple. "Don's Shoe Store" is out of production, but if you really want a shoe store, 'Smalltown USA' makes Vivian's Shoe Store (699-6013). Most of the other buildings are easily substituted with others that are similar in size.

Model Power is out of business, but DPM (Mfg#243) has an assortment of building kits that could substitute for the kits. In fact, they sell wall module packs that let you design your own buildings.

Len

Thanks Len! I was basing some of my information off the Hobbylinc.com website but I do have a copy of Walthers 2015 HO Reference and was able to find some (most) of the northeastern lumber stuff in there. I haven't read the all of the chapters to see how big of an impact not having some things will be, but knowing some alternatives will be helpful. Also helpful knowing some of the acquisitions because lots of times the part #'s stay the same and just the manufacturer changes.

Tim

[Len]

This takes you directly to Walthers main search page. A good one to bookmark:

http://www.walthers.com/exec/page/search

There's a link over on the right side of the search page to get the manufacturer ID's to use in the search. Or you can bookmark this to go directly to the list:

http://www.walthers.com/exec/manulist

Bachmann's manufacturer ID on Walthers is 160.

Len

[Fxguy1]

So I read the next chapter entitled Clyde's Cycle Center: Your Introduction to the Art of Kitbashing. The idea behind the chapter is to kit bash two buildings to make a bicycle shop for a triangular piece of real estate near the road. The two kits the book uses are Model Power #488 - The Sullivan's House (easy enough to find) and Tyco #7772 Drugstore (hard to find).

So I'm looking for opinions for alternatives to the drugstore. I'm thinking of HO Klein's Pharmacy Wooden Kit by JL Innovative Design --http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/jli/jli531.htm

Any other corner store suggestions?

Thanks!
Tim

[Len]

Maybe the City Classics #114 'West End Market' seen here: http://www.cityclassics.biz/market.html

Or use DPM and Small Town USA wall and door sections to design your own building.

Len

[Fxguy1]

So it looks like my post about where to find a track piece was deleted (seems like I've had a few topics deleted, even after there had been replies) anyways, I'm trying to find an Atlas Code 100 #6 Custom Left Hand Turnout to complete my layout. Seems everywhere I look they are out of stock, and was hoping someone might know where I could find one.

Thanks!

Tim

[Bucksco]

This is actually the BACHMANN forum - a place to discuss BACHMANN products and other manufacturer's products when it is related to BACHMANN products..
Maybe a google search might be a better way to search for other manufacturer's products?

[Fxguy1]

I find it unfortunate and discouraging that BACHMANN feels that way. As someone completely new to the hobby I naively thought that BACHMANN would openly welcome discussion of the hobby regardless of products involved. If thats truly the case, then I would expect not to find discussions about Woodland Scenics, or Faller, or any other manufacturer's products or techniques here.

As it so happens, the piece is for a layout controlled by a BACHMANN controller, but perhaps that will now change.

[Len]

This is actually the BACHMANN forum - a place to discuss BACHMANN products and other manufacturer's products when it is related to BACHMANN products..
Maybe a google search might be a better way to search for other manufacturer's products?

Sounds like the forum description:

General Discussion
Feel free to talk about anything train related in this board.

May need to be changed then.

Also, most of us participating in this discussion are aware it actually started back here http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,28991.msg213620.html#msg213620 with Fxguy1 purchasing the bits and pieces of a Bachmann Thomas set and got "...hooked on the idea of model railroads."

Like many beginners, he got ahold of Kalmbach's "HO Model Railroad That Grows", and is trying to follow it exactly. Which is why, when he got to that chapter, he requested help with the list of buildings earlier in this thread. He hasn't learned to use Walthers as a "search engine" yet, and why I made a point of specifically listing Bachmann's Mft#: 160 in my reply.

As for the #6 switch, the reality is EZ-Track's switch geometry, and physical size, often doesn't lend itself to recreating "book" layouts exactly, so other track pieces have to get spliced in to make things work.

So the real question should be, does Bachmann want to discourage beginners because a particular discussion, in a series of discussions, doesn't specifically mention Bachmann?

Len

[Bucksco]

The purpose of the forum is to discuss model railroading. This thread appears to be a request by the original poster to locate products (most of which are not Bachmann products). Please feel free to talk about "anything train related" but product requests and searches really don't fit that description. The intent is not to discourage a "newbie" the intent is to avoid having the forum become a virtual flea market.

[Len]

Yardmaster,

I'm not trying to give anyone a hard time, and don't want to see the forum turn into a 'flea market' either. I'm just thinking it might have been better to give the new guy a nudge in the right direction by suggesting, "These Bachmann buildings can substitute for the one's your looking for that are out of production.", rather than dropping the "This is actually the BACHMANN forum" hammer on him.

Or maybe I've watched the original "Miracle on 34th Street" on how to win customers for life too many times.

Len