# I won a couple lots in a local auction



## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

I came across an online auction that had a few N scale Train lots, and they had stuff I'd either like to have or can sell pretty easily. So, I bid on them... got caught up in auction fever, and bought both, lol.

I think I did good, but I'd like to hear what some of you have to say about it.

This first lot has a ton of double super elevated Kato Unitrack, some Digitraxx DS64's and Some other electronics that I'm not sure what they are because the photo is blurry.

I see at least 7 bridges, a double crossover and a turnout or 2.



































There are also a lot of structures, including an electrically controlled Ferris Wheel... no clue if it wors yet, I pick up the lots tomorrow.


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## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

Here is the second lot. It doesn't have the quantity of items that the first lot had, but it does have a complete MRC Prodigy Advance2, and probably a hundred dollars worth of rolling stock in addition to some more interesting looking stuff









































I'm looking forward to evaluating everything over the coming weekend.

Do any of you see anything in particular that catches your eye that may be a rare find?


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## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

Wow, all those bridges. 
My crystal ball is screaming that there’s a 4x8 add-on in your future.


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## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

I'm trying to imagine a shelf layout against one of the walls beside my bench


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## Viperjim1 (Mar 19, 2015)

Looks like a good haul! Question is, what did you pay? That’s the deal maker or breaker. And do you think you did good?


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## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

I paid more than I really wanted to, but I still think I got a great deal as long as the electronics work.

Including buyers premium, I paid $310.80 USD for everything. If the MRC Prodigy Squared system and the Digitraxx DS64's work, I think I covered my purchase, even on the used market.

At $5 per piece, the rolling stock comes to about $150. 

The Kato double track... There's at least 120 pieces there I figured that's easily worth $400.

I'm going to take my time with this, and figure out what I want to keep and what I will sell.

If I can make use of the electronics to control my turnouts through DCC / JMRI, I may go that route. An added benefit would be simple solution for indicator lights on the turnouts.

I would love to insert LED indicators on my control panel.


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## SF Gal (11 mo ago)

OMG...cool haul! I love the idea of incorporating a carnival into a layout...the ferris wheel is very cool.


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## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

I picked up the contents of the auction I won and spent the day taking inventory. Im pretty stoked.

I counted around 230 pieces of Kato Double-Track, plus 7 Double-Track truss bridges. Plus there are 3 turnouts and 2 double crossovers. There are also a lot of single-track pieces of Unitrack.

There is a complete MRC Prodigy Advance squared system that seems to work perfectly. I set up a test track, and found a newer Kato SD80M with DCC & Sound that seems to function fine. Could probably use a cleaning.

Here are some pics of the structures.


































































I'm pretty stoked! I still have a lot of stuff to go through.

Im grateful to have come across this auction, and fortunate enough to spot a few jewels in the shadows.


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## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

Oliver is thrilled


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

Oliver looks like a Himalayan cat. A real N scale haul!


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## prrfan (Dec 19, 2014)

That is an amazing find. Congratulations. 
It’s also good news/bad news type of information. 
Good news for the new hobbyists starting out. Auctions and estate sales are a great way to obtain inexpensive items for your layout. 

Bad news for people getting out of the hobby or trying to dispose of relative’s train items. They’re not going to bring what you’d expect, especially in large lots like that. 
This type of deal is an extreme case but not unheard of.


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## Gramps (Feb 28, 2016)

At $310.80 you got a huge bang for your buck especially since there is about double the Unitrack you estimated and the electronics work. Fantastic deal!!


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## Murv2 (Nov 5, 2017)

If that cat was in the box you got gypped.


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## Cycleops (Dec 6, 2014)

Looks like someone was having a clear out or perhaps a rail enthusiast passes away?
You did well, if you put it on eBay you'd be bucks in.


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## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

I agree, @Cycleops

This auction had a ton of really cool old stuff. Lot's of old cash registers, 3d models, some fully assembled, some still new in box. A picker's dream.

One of the items really has me scratching my head. It's a homemade wooden box with 5 transformers, and some sort of rheostat controller. Based on the materials, I'm pretty sure Dr' Frankenstein would be jealous... LOL!

It's the wooden box in this picture. I wouldn't dare plug it in. But I'd let you try it, lol!

I'm not sure how much of this stuff I'll keep. There are 2 turnouts that that may be ok, but look to have some damage, most likely from when a layout was torn down.

I may end up with a shelf style layout with a double-track main and some yards... not really sure yet.

I have a thing for double-track and bridges... 2 things I have plenty of right now, lol.









The Ferris Wheel is interesting. There are a couple more carnival type structures.. a merry-go-round, and a swing twirling ride that is missing a couple swings.

A lot of the structures have a European flair to them. Some of the others will fit into my existing layout, but not many.

I know I got a screaming good deal, but a lot of this stuff I will most likely pass along to someone else who really could use it.

I'll be keeping the MRC Prodigy system... not sure if it will replace my NEC PowerCab, or if I'll end up with 2 different layouts, one with the NEC and one with MRC.

Lot's of decisions for sure. 🤓


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## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

Lemonhawk said:


> Oliver looks like a Himalayan cat. A real N scale haul!


Pretty close! He's a lilac point Siamese. Lilac points are a bit rare in Siamese, but more prevalent in Himalayans. A lilac pint is basically a blue point, but with softer colored points. He's a big ole' tub-o-kitty.


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

Big cat!


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## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

Lemonhawk said:


> Big cat!


I'm hoping you or somebody better versed in electronics than I am can help me figure out what the hand made array was doing? I'm thinking since there are 2 wires coming from each output terminal, that one was actuating something like a turnout, and the others were controlling lighted signal lights, or crossing gates or something.

Could those be rectifiers for LED lights, or maybe capacitors?


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

What is under the potting? The DS64's are wired for stall motor type switch machines (Tortoise or Switch Master) and it looks like there are 2 sets of wires one each output, ones been clipped and the other goes to mystery board. one output is most likely to the stall motor and the other to an indicator. since there are no wires to the 8 pin screw terminal, the control must have been done via JMRI or the throttle all on the Loconet. Its also possible that the mystery board may have gone to signals, as the DS64 is also used to control signals and the 680 ohm resistor could be a resistor in series with a signal LED.


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## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

Lemonhawk said:


> What is under the potting? The DS64's are wired for stall motor type switch machines (Tortoise or Switch Master) and it looks like there are 2 sets of wires one each output, ones been clipped and the other goes to mystery board. one output is most likely to the stall motor and the other to an indicator. since there are no wires to the 8 pin screw terminal, the control must have been done via JMRI or the throttle all on the Loconet. Its also possible that the mystery board may have gone to signals, as the DS64 is also used to control signals and the 680 ohm resistor could be a resistor in series with a signal LED.


Sorry.. when I said signal, I meant indicator. Something to show me which way the points are thrown. I have all my turnouts controlled electronically, from a central switchboard. I am considering making use of these DS64's to control the turnouts, and also to have indicator LEDs based on which way the points are thrown. I use Peco motors, so, not only will the wiring be a little different for me, the impulse to the switch motor need to be momentary, but I'd like the indicator lights to always indicate the last way the points were thrown. I'm thinking a couple relays per switch would help accomplish that, so I'm hoping that's what's under the covers. But I am clueless when it comes to electronics.

Your ability to read into the way the original guy wired things is pretty amazing. I have found all sorts of notes and manuals about Arduino, JMRI, C++ and Python in the stuff I bought, so your conclusion that the guy was using JMRI is spot on... or at least he was heading in that direction because I see nothing in any of the hardware that would have a way to interface with a computer.


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## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

On a different "find" in this auction... This one made me laugh out loud

I was clearing out the contents of one of the drawers, and came across some paperwork for an old E-7 locomotive. It was brown colored thin cardboard, tri-folded. It says" Made exclusively by Lima for AHM"

Now... I've never been enamored by the E or F series of locomotives. They just don't do much for me. But when I was going through all the stuff, I did find a few older DC only locos, and sure enough one of them looked like it could be an E-7. So I got really excited, hoping I found another gem in the shadows. I went to Spookshow.net to see what his review of this diamond in the rough... Surely a good clean and lube would make this a great runner again. Here is an excerpt from Spookshow.net after he explains the 2 different versions of this particular model locomotive:

"Regardless of which version you're talking about, what we have here is another stunning flop from Lima - and featuring that wonder of wonders, the Lima "pancake" motor. Crummy looks, light weight and a motor that barely works leads to one heck of a bad locomotive. Tack on single truck pickup (the forward truck), single truck traction tire drive (the rear truck), a shell that barely mounts to the chassis, truck-mounted Rapido couplers and non-directional lighting and we might just have a bad locomotive for the ages here. *It almost brings tears to my eyes, thinking of the poor kids who got one of these lemons as part of an AHM trainset.
Dummy versions of this locomotive were also produced, which seems pretty redundant to me. As far as I'm concerned, they're all dummies..."*

I read the last three sentences, and almost spit my coffee on my keyboard... That has to be one of the most brutally honest reviews I have ever read.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Unfortunately, there were a lot of lousy locomotives in the past….it’s a wonder that people hung in there with the hobby….bad product has the tendency to drive people away and never come back….


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

You will have to reprogram the DS64 to operate solenoids, they usually come programed or them, but it looks to me that they are wired for stall motors and hence have had their program changed. I believe that the DS64 generates a momentary pulse for the solenoids so they won't burn out. they can be triggered via a momentary switches wired to that 8 pin screw terminal, Youi can use one button that will alternate the turnout throw or 2 where the button only throws one way. Get the manual at the digitrax site as this device is very universal and needs to be programed via DCC Loconet (you only need to program it once). Another nice thing about the DS64 is that it can be powered by a 12v wall wart instead of using precious DCC power. One of my DS64's is programmed for a route, each of my 3 yard spurs only has a single button the triggers all the turnouts necessary to get to that spur.


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## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

Thanks @Lemonhawk , that is right in line with what I've been reading. I found the manual online. I haven't studied it yet, but I have read enough to see the instructions to program it using Loconet.

They seem easy enough to use. I examined the "globs" on the array a little closer. It certainly looks to me like there is a diode and resister for each output (4 per DS64). Is any of that worth trying to reuse? Or is just best to scrap everything except the DS64's themselves. At this point, I'm just thinking about having led indicator lights on my switchboard to tell me which direction the last throw was (is that even possible?). I will need to buy new wall warts. No power supplies came with these.


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

easy to do with stall motors as you just put a 2 lead bi color LED in series with the motor. With solenoids, you need some contacts controlled by the solenoid, or you may have to use some other circuitry to "remember" the turnout position.


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## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

That's what I was afraid of. I was thinking a relay may work if the DS64 sent constant juice to a CDU in the circuit. Then just send a second set of leads to the LED


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

As an alternative to a control panel light, Proto87 stores sells a really nice looking turnout switch stand that will rotate a signal flag 90 degrees as the turnout switches between main line and spur. Unlike the plastic one that Central Valley sells, the proto87 stores one has metal gears and looks very realist on the layout. It has no lights only a flag type indicator.


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## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

I finally had some train time this evening and cleaned & lubed the N scale Kato SD80MAC with DCC & Sound.

It's a good runner. There is on cosmetic ding on a front corner, but it still functions just fine and has pretty solid slow speed crawl.


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## Chops (Dec 6, 2018)

The Faller Tram Way is da bomb! Smooth running locos. Always amazes me how far N has come from the 1970's Postage Stamp stuff.


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## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

I’ve got an idea for hiding that cosmetic ding. Did you see that topic about the T boned car with the rear drivers side car door stuck to the locomotive pilot?


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## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

OilValleyRy said:


> I’ve got an idea for hiding that cosmetic ding. Did you see that topic about the T boned car with the rear drivers side car door stuck to the locomotive pilot?


That would be fun! But you can't see it unless you pick it up and inspect it closely.

Not sure I'm going to keep this one. It's a good runner, but it doesn't really fit into my theme... It's too modern. 

I am azed how well this thing handles tight turns. I have a few 11.5" radius curves, and this thing handles them without issue, even at high speeds. It looks awkward on such tight curves, but it does navigate them.


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## SF Gal (11 mo ago)

Thanks for sharing...you layout brings back a lot of memories of my N scale layout I had in the late 80's. I still have all my old rolling stock and I might just make a christmas tree layout in the future. 
Those Kato locomotives were always top notch in my book, I have a few that ran very smooth.


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## Matison (12 mo ago)

While I have purchased many things from auctions, and have gotten some good deals, I don’t ever consider myself to have “won” anything. That’s good money that you paid for the items, and I do wish you luck in selling some of them. 

The gotcha’s in auctions are usually the sellers fees, the shipping, the buyer’s premiums, taxes, etc… Once you figure in all of those things, the deal doesn’t always seem so good.


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## rhikdavis (May 19, 2015)

One things for sure, you may never have to buy LED's again.


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