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crystallakerr.bsky.social
Hello there, I’m a huge railroad and railway enthusiast, a ttte fan, and model railroader. I also really like filmmaking and art.
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Here’s a current work in progress loco, an o scale rock island boxcab. Its a 3D print, and the files come from Chris33333 on thingiverse. The chassis is a 2 rail motor bogie I found. Everything fits together nice and the shell is great. The chassis runs great too. Still lots to do. #modelrailroad

An interesting repair, an old Marx tinplate f unit. I haven’t found its twin yet. It’s in rough shape cosmetically but it runs a lot better than it looks after it got a quick cleaning. I don’t think I can fix the paint but I think it looks ok as is, just rough. #modelrailroad

Another older restoration, a Marx Commodore Vanderbilt. No more rust and a new coat of paint, and working great again and running after a lot of cleaning and a few part replacements. I don’t have the right tender yet so this one is a stand in. Another favorite restoration project. #modelrailroad

Another restoration on a marx diesel switcher. Cleaned and fixed up the mechanism and repainted the metal parts in black. The plastic shell is warped but there’s no fixing that. The mechanism for the trucks is pretty clever so that it could use an existing motor unit. Runs great now. #modelrailroad

This is one restoration I am very proud of, the Marx 333. Found in an antique store completely rusted with little to no paint with a destroyed mechanism. After a lot of work she now looks almost brand new with all original parts. Its slow to start so some parts may be replaced. #modelrailroad

Though I mostly model in Ho I do sometimes venture into O. Here’s one of my best runners and more favorite o gauge locos, it runs quiet and smoothly, and is just a fun loco. #modelrailroad

Here’s an interesting find and repair, a metal loco from Japan. Its an American design and looks really good, but when I got it a part that holds the side rods had metal fatigue and began to break apart, but with lots of glues and putty it’s stable enough to run until its replaced. #modelrailroad

This other 0-8-0 was also the same case, but with less damage and more of its original parts present. This one is a custom painted one too. #modelrailroad

Here’s a recent loco repair, a rivarossi 0-8-0 that did run but had its front smashed in. After a lot of piecing back together, filler putty, and scratch built steps the loco looked good enough to go back to running. Other smaller parts where replaced that where missing originally. #modelrailroad

Here is the completed caboose. It uses spare parts of older cabooses that fell apart and a small tender chassis. It’s one of my more unique cabooses and it rolls really well. It’s also my smallest car that has rotating trucks. #modelrailroad

Another repair project, a tyco Chattanooga steam loco. Needed some cleaning and rewiring to run again, but the chassis is a strong unit. Has a scratch built smokebox door since the original was missing. I did choose to disconnect the smoke unit. Runs and looks good now. #modelrailroad

After some work on the newest chassis it is finally able to run again. The chassis is not the best and sometimes stalls out, but most of the time it will run well, just needs careful driving.

Here are two winter cars I’m working on. The snowplow is a kit I got used from a show. Repainted and weathered it looks a bit better but needs work as the trucks don’t move. The caboose was repainted and weathered. These are my first snow cars, and they turned out nice so far. #modelrailroad

Another great find, a custom rock island A-B set. It runs good and looks great, and is quite shiny. The B unit is a dummy unit. #modelrailroad

This is a loco I found at a model shop while on vacation a while back, a custom model of rock islands 154. It looks amazing and runs great. The chassis isn’t secure to the body shell though, and most of the frames are still silver, but it’s a great model and well made. A great loco. #modelrailroad

Not a train but something else cool, a live steam Tonka truck. It is a kit built engine and uses very simple steam tech. This one is in great shape but needs a new wick. It’s a very cool thing to have, I just love steam engines! #livesteam

This loco was in a bad shape when I got it. The smokebox was halved and caved in, it was missing many parts, and the chassis needed repairs. After a lot of work it’s now ready to run again. The smokebox is still a bit rough but it’s way better than not having a smokebox. #modelrailroad

Here’s another train show find repaired and ready to run. It’s made completely of die cast metal. When i got it was shorting badly and the paint was almost gone. The motor was touching the cab and the wheels where not insulated correctly, but after fixing those issues it worked well! #modelrailroad

The Frog, made because why not, it’s funny and fun! #modelrailroad

Here’s a 2-8-0 loco kit I finished putting together. It’s a great kit, mostly plastic with die cast frames. I repainted to boiler black as it did need some sanding and the black looked more SP like. No fancy features for the model, just a simple build that works nice. #modelrailroad

Real O scale, 1:48 with 2 rails, is so awesome! The detail is so great it really feels like a real engine shrunk down, and they are really heavy. These are my only two locos I have, the Hudson is undergoing on overhaul, the 0-8-0 needs cosmetic repairs. These are very special to me. #modelrailroad

My collection of locos is ever expanding, I’m well over 100 now, and I will not stop buying them despite the pain it causes my wallet. This picture only shows about a third of what I have gotten so far. Mostly Ho scale but I have a few O and other scales. I like trains a LOT. #modeltailroad

The early bachmann GE-44 is a great source for small chassis, and can be better than the gandy dancer. Just a few mods and it’s good to go. It runs smoother without stalling, and is better to maintain. Perfect for small kits or kitbashes. Only older GE-44 have the duel motors though. #modelrailroad

Thomas and the Empire State Express #modelrailroad #modelrailway #ttte

Here’s my latest custom wagon, Elsie. Her body and chassis design was created by @craftymodeler.bsky.social, and the model is awesome and really well done! she rolls nicely too. her main body and chassis are 3d printed with pla and the parts like the roof and buffers where e scratch built. #ttte

Here’s what happened to the parts for the other undecorated loco, put them onto this shell so that it could finally be complete again. The chassis still needs work but it’s all there now too so this engine should run again. #modelrailroad

Here’s the final product with all its parts added in and painted.

This is an old Tyco diesel I found new in box that I got for cheap. it runs well and pulls well. It may be outdated but having a brand new model from many years ago is quite amazing. Even got some new spare part packs in case something breaks. It’s such a fun loco to have! #modelrailroad

Here’s a loco I picked up at a train show a while ago. It’s a nice model that was customized by its previous owner with brass and metal parts, and painted nicely too! The loco is a bit over scaled but it looks and runs good, just needs a few wires change to get the lights to work. #modelrailroad

The latest and greatest new addition to my locomotive collection, a Bachmann spectrum 2-6-6-2 steamer! This loco is phenomenal, the detail is amazing, is mostly metal construction, has lots of separate parts, and is a super smooth runner! Looking to dcc chip and add sound to it. #modelrailroad

Now these locos are not know to be good, but mine is. Runs smooth, is reliable, can pull a decent load, and is really durable, and is in good shape. I don’t like how it’s built mechanically or how it looks but it works and is a great cheap model for anyone. He’s ugly but he’s proud! #modelrailroad

Here’s a really sweat loco I was able to get, a mantua 0-6-0 switcher with dcc + sound. Was being sold for really low so I grabbed it. I did modify it slightly by painting the wheels and changing some small details. The sound is really good and it has lots of functions! #modelrailroad

Father and son It’s really interesting to see the difference scale makes between two of the same locos

It’s quite interesting to see how small Thomas really is compared to a smaller type of boxcar. It really puts things into scale of how small Thomas really is. My switcher and Hudson tower over Thomas as well! All models are o scale. #ttte #modelrailroad #modelrailway

Huh, a lionel Thomas on a bachmann catalog, interesting. Also how and why?! #ttte

Here are some great looking freight cars I picked up used from a shop. They all look amazing and are very unique, especially the three silver cars! I can’t wait to run them in a consist! #modelrailroad