No cap required to run a train.
No I don't blow them up.
Gear is various from Walthers, Athearn, Atlas, Peco, Woodlands Scenics, Broadway Limited etc...
Trains are all fully digital (i.e. they each have a microchip installed).
Mainly model US between 1940 and 1960 (steam and diesel transition eras).
Santa Fe, Burlington Northern, New York Central.
Nice layout. Model trains were another thing l started collecting, but never got around to putting together a decent layout, as l am way too nomadic. l got up to about 25 locos and was starting to do some rebuilds, until a boarder stole them and sold them. l think all l have left is Big Boy in mont condition.
Slot cars, l still have a few of these. A couple of 1/24th scale Tamiyas,one is a Lola T 70 roadster, and another a McLaren Elva. l also have a couple of 1/32nd scale cars as well. One is a V6 Ferrari F1 car, from about 1960, l built a rear suspension for it, to make it look a bit better. l also have a Pontiac GTO, and it took me hours to get it right in terms of the ride height, it looks like a true lowrider.
Walking sticks. Started collecting these when l was in college. One day l was up in the Dandenongs and just found an interesting stick about 120 long, and decided to keep it. l lost one a mate gave me when l left it at a bus stop. l attached the dreamtime flag to it, and used to wave it a lot at Essendon games, long before Michael Long was drafted. l have only a few sticks now. Actually l am not even sure where they are. l was thinking of buying one last week in Hue, but couldn't be bothered bargaining and carrying it. My favorite is from Lake Toba, where l will be in a couple of days time. lt is made of water buffalo bone sections, is carved with local symbols and is not processed, so it is not dead straight, and each one of them is unique.
Vests. l began to collect these after l started work. My first one l bought in Afghanistan. A bright magenta number with plenty of brocade and lots of little plastic mirror panels. l sat down one night and took off all the mirrors which improved it 100 %. l often picked up a vest on a trip as a souvenir, a story of the road to tell, like the two times l went to Canberra l bought a Christopher Palmer number. l also bought a neat couple of vest from a little shop that used to be on Toorak Rd and also one of the arcades off Elizabeth St. The shop was called Borries, they have been gone for quite a well. One of the vests is brocaded roses and is really quite beautiful, it cost me $ 150, in the late 1980's. They also had a jacket made from the same material for sale for $ 500, but it was a bit too much, Bowie would get away with wearing it, but no one else l can think of. The other one l got from Borries is a plain electric blue number. l can't remember the price, or which one l bought first. l have them both with me now in China, although l have limited opportunities to wear them due to the tropical climate. l was never able to wear them in Thailand, it was just too hot. l had a few of the others refurbished with new backings a couple of years ago. l think l will eventually donate them all to a museum of some sort.
Stereo equipment. lf you collect lps/ cds etc to any great extent, you end up also collecting stereo equipment as well. Right? Damn right. More on this one later, as it partly a tale of woe.
Sports Shoes. l am glad that others have mentioned these already, as my own collection now doesn't sound so frivolous, not that l care if others find it so. Although l am a devout non believer l follow the Thai buddhist tradition, where every day of the week has its own colour.
Monday is yellow.
Tuesday is pink.
Wednesday is green.
Thursday is orange.
Friday is light blue.
Saturday in purple.
Sunday is red.
Following Dame Edna's old tenet about how new Australians love colour and movement, l set out a few years ago to follow this schedule with my attire, in particular with shirts, shorts, jackets and sports shoes. l would have to sit down and count them all but estimate that l have about 45 pairs in all. l find sports shoes much more comfortable than business shoes to wear and more fun also. l was also going to start a thread related to this theme a while back, and may still do so in the near future. l find HK is good value for buying them, but a Chinese on line website called Toabao.com is even better. A few months ago l picked up 3 pairs of Puma Ferraris for roughly $ 15 each, which includes the delivery charges. Delivery usually takes about days, and individual vendors are rated by customers to show how reliable they are for service etc. So far, so good, l have had no problems. l don't know if they deliver o/s, you might need someone who reads Mandarin to help, but they sell just about anything on there.
A couple of friends say l am addicted, but l counter by saying that l am a collector. What is the difference? l go months between buying pairs. l follow the daily colour theme at work. The staff all know and some of the locals try to remember how the schedule goes, most don't. l also like to see how long it takes each class of trainees l have to pick up on the different days / different colours theme. The last group was the quickest, they got it on the second morning, other groups have taken two weeks. Why the colours? Call it a climate thing? Most guys go for simple black, grey, navy, brown stuff. l find it boring and constricting. l have lived in hot climates for over 20 years, l like to dress in a way that reflects such a climate.
Back later with more about the stereos.
