Author: Dave Farquhar

Coming soon to 7597 S Lindbergh: Harbor Freight Tools

Dave Farquhar St. Louis
Coming soon to 7597 S Lindbergh: Harbor Freight Tools

The site of 7597 S Lindbergh has a bit of an up-and-down recent history. It’s been vacant since Home Town Buffet closed in 2015, but it’s getting a new tenant soon: Harbor Freight Tools.

Read more

Marx steam freight train set 52875

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
Marx steam freight train set 52875

There is more than one Marx train set numbered 52875. For some confusing reason, at least four variants of this set, dating to the mid 1960s, exist. All of them are similar in that they feature a 2-4-2 steam locomotive with a slopeback tender pulling three freight cars and a caboose. But the consist varies. And in one case, the locomotive varies.

Read more

TRS-80 Model 100

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
TRS-80 Model 100

The TRS-80 Model 100 was an early laptop computer manufactured by Kyocera in Japan and marketed in North America by Radio Shack. Kyocera’s own version, the Kyotronic-85, didn’t set any sales records. But the TRS-80 Model 100 and the line it spawned proved widely successful in the United States.

Read more

Kenny Lofton’s Hall of Fame case

Dave Farquhar Baseball
Kenny Lofton’s Hall of Fame case

Kenny Lofton was a big star in the mid 1990s. He made five consecutive All Star teams and played a key role in Cleveland’s late ’90s resurgence. In between stents with Cleveland, he also helped Atlanta to a division title. So why isn’t Kenny Lofton in the Hall of Fame?

Read more

Human after all 80s song lyric: Something About You

Dave Farquhar 1980s
Human after all 80s song lyric: Something About You

The iconic 80s song lyric “Human after all” appears in a couple of lines of “Something About You,” a New Wave hit for the British band Level 42 released in September 1985. It charted in the top 10 on three continents.

Read more

When Marx sold trains at Radio Shack: The Hot Shot

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
When Marx sold trains at Radio Shack: The Hot Shot

Low budget electric trains and Radio Shack don’t necessarily seem like the most obvious pairing. Here’s why Marx and Radio Shack teamed up for an exclusive train set, and why it didn’t go as well as either of them hoped.

The Marx Hot Shot, set number 4378 and Radio Shack Catalog# 60-2106, was part of the Great American Railroads series. It was a Radio Shack exclusive, sold only in 1974.

Read more

Five Alive juice: The taste of the 80s

Dave Farquhar 1980s
Five Alive juice: The taste of the 80s

What did the 1980s taste like? If we’re going to limit ourselves to something available then that you can’t get anymore, I would submit Five Alive juice for your consideration. Five Alive was a citrus beverage, containing orange, lemon, grapefruit, tangerine, and lime juice. It was a product of the Minute Maid division of the Coca-Cola Company.

Read more

Tandy MMS-10 under-monitor speakers

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
Tandy MMS-10 under-monitor speakers

The Tandy MMS-10 is a self contained speaker unit that sits under a monitor, providing external speakers for vintage computers. Radio Shack sold them for use with 1990s multimedia PCs. But the MMS-10 looks and works well with an Amiga computer too. And who would blame you for using one with a Tandy 1000?

Read more

Tandy CM-5 monitor

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
Tandy CM-5 monitor

The Tandy CM-5 monitor, introduced in 1987, was the less expensive CGA-compatible monitor from the Tandy 1000’s heyday. It was a very basic monitor and had a reputation for being reliable, but Tandy cut some corners on the picture tube.

Read more

Marx 80982 and 30982 Wabash gondola

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
Marx 80982 and 30982 Wabash gondola

The Marx 30982 and 80982 Wabash gondola is a colorful yellow gondola with lettering for a midwestern railroad. It was part of their short-lived 7-inch line, though it’s easy to convert to a 3/16 car if desired. The 30982 dates to 1949-1954, with the number switching to 80982 from 1955 to 1961. Read more