Author Topic: Old Trains and more... anybody know anything anout em? (Read 2723 times)

the technological J · « **on:** March 01, 2011, 11:09:40 PM »

I lost my grandfather a little over 2 weeks ago and i inherited a crap load of his old stuff along with some ratty guns(some old 22 and iver johnson 32 revolvers) however ive gotten a crap load of train stuff (i mean crap load) everything is ho gauge and i tried hooking up everything to one of the 5 or so transformers to the santa fe (they look like the engine pictured here but not in as good as condition http://cgi.ebay.com/260743165931) and tons more of cars and all kinds of stuff ( at least 16 engines maybe more) and prob 200 feet of track( at least)
a buddy told me to make a test area of track and go from there( he claims to know about trains) another guy is telling me i dont have em hooked up right.... i had a transformer with 2 pegs and hooked it up to the track and i put 4 engines on the track and they all lit up but they on made noises like they wanted to go but for some reason wouldnt.. i tryed to move the wheels on the engines but they seemed locked..i dunno of that means anything but i dunno where to go from here

dave500 · « **Reply #1 on:** March 01, 2011, 11:51:57 PM »

the transformers might be tired?dont try to force the wheels around!they are worm drive i think and only work one way.

TwoTired · « **Reply #2 on:** March 02, 2011, 01:03:14 AM »

Are the rails nickle? Brass? Do they look oxidized, dull? Or, bright and shiny? I know there are track cleaners so the engines can pick up power from the rails. You may well have one or two among the boxes. The wheels wear off the oxidation as they roll. But, if either the rails or the wheels have oxidation where they make contact, it interrupts/ limits power flow.
A quick search found this one:
http://www.centerline-products.com/rail_wheel.htm

Anyway, polish some rails near the transformer connections and maybe some loco wheels.

The motors have a lot of gear reduction. So, the motor can spin the wheels easily. But, wheels have a reeaally hard time spinning the motor. If they do have worm gear drive, unlikely to have the wheels turn the motor.

Looks like a lot of fun with your inheritance.

Cheers,

dave500 · « **Reply #3 on:** March 02, 2011, 01:09:02 AM »

id do a gomez adams,get em going then pick em off with the 32s! joking some of that stuff is irreplaceable ill bet.

faux fiddy · « **Reply #4 on:** March 02, 2011, 01:19:20 AM »

Make it work an have fun with it before you worry about selling it. It's windfall, keep it around as a memory of your folk.

Retro Rocket · « **Reply #5 on:** March 02, 2011, 01:48:16 AM »

Some of those old trains are worth good money. My old neighbour was a train collector and travelled far and wide chasing that sort of stuff....If you decide to sell it get someone that knows old train stuff to check it all out for you...

demon78 · « **Reply #6 on:** March 02, 2011, 04:07:27 AM »

TechJ I've a buddy that is a guru of model RR things writes for one of the Model RR mags sets up conferences etc I'll ask him if he's interested ( he had what is thought to be a small stroke a couple of weeks ago and I don't really know how he's doing) if he is, I'll give him your email and you can sort it out.
Bill the demon.

nomad · « **Reply #7 on:** March 02, 2011, 06:30:48 AM »

Over Christmas at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, there was a pretty cool model train display set up. You could call the CSC and ask them the name of the person in charge of that (or the group/ model train club that help set it up). Then call them and tell them what you have and go from there. I'm sure they could tell you everything you ever wanted to know about your grandfather's stuff (or at least direct you to someone that can). You might even find a couple of buyers in that group if you're wanting to sell some of it locally.

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Carnegie+Science+Center+Miniature+Railroad+%26+Village&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

bender01 · « **Reply #8 on:** March 03, 2011, 08:23:48 PM »

25+ years ago some engines sold for $200 or more. Thats long before e-bay. I have a small stash that i havent looked at in 20 years. I acquired an older kids stuff on a ping pong table. Not as many engines as you though. I remember the little connectors splicing the the rail sections together giving me grief. Certain engines surely are to some like Sandcasts are to others. I think those H.O. scale trains are cool. Id set it up for my kids but after 5 minutes they would lose interest. The heavier the engine the more valuble it was when I was a kid!

Duke McDukiedook · « **Reply #9 on:** March 03, 2011, 09:13:58 PM »

Mmmmmmmm... O scale Lionel, nothing quite like it.

Except for my super O set I got from my dad- Minneapolis- St. Louis train set.

Rushoid · « **Reply #10 on:** March 03, 2011, 09:16:22 PM »

Looks like some nice stuff there. Do you think he could have converted any of it to digital? That's quickly becoming the standard in model railroads. I'm not sure what, if anything, would happen if you tried to run a digital loco on a DC setup. My bet is that the track and wheels need cleaning though.
The hobby is strong so you can find out just about everything you never wanted to know with a little research. Here's a couple of sites:
www.nmra.org (National Model Railroad Association)
www.trains.com (Prototype and model rail magazines)

Also try the Western Pennsylvania Model Railroad Museum www.wpmrm.org as they appear to be in your neck of the woods.

Hope this helps!

Lee

333 · « **Reply #11 on:** March 04, 2011, 05:09:22 AM »

Despite what has been said here, very little HO stuff is all that valuable. The old Lionel is the expensive stuff.

And +1 on what Lloyd said. Track gets oxidized easily, and wheels too. I have a wire brush device that has wires that hook to a transformer. it then gets pressed against the wheels and as the power is applied, the wheels turn and get cleaned by the wire brushes. Your track is probably brass(most prevalent), and can be cleaned easily with a fine emery cloth or a liquid track cleaner.

333 · « **Reply #12 on:** March 04, 2011, 05:12:24 AM »

Quote from: dave500 on March 02, 2011, 01:09:02 AM

id do a gomez adams,get em going then pick em off with the 32s! joking some of that stuff is irreplaceable ill bet.

Gomez never shot at his trains. He would run them head on at each other.

Bob Wessner · « **Reply #13 on:** March 04, 2011, 05:17:58 AM »

Interesting thread, brings back memories. As a kid, most of my friends had Lionel. I was an American Flyer fan. Two tracks seemed more realistic to me. The trade-off was the the switches. The wiring could be a pain. $:-\$ AF used little tablets you dropped into the engine stack to make smoke.

333 · « **Reply #14 on:** March 04, 2011, 07:36:24 AM »

Most of what I've seen these days are drops. And I'm with you-2 tracks. Although, I've always had HO since I was a kid, so no choice in the matter. I had to put my layout (4'X6', multi-level) in storage when my daughter had to move back in with us 2 years ago. I still get an oval under the Christmas tree each year.

Rushoid · « **Reply #15 on:** March 04, 2011, 11:25:43 AM »

I've got mostly HO stuff but I do have some N scale too. When my wife's great uncle passed I rescued a couple of brass locos and a decent 4-6-6-4 all new in box. I have yet to run them as my stuff has also been in storage for many years. We're about to start finishing the basement and I already have spot picked out for the layout.

Took my 4yo son to his first train show/swap meet a few weeks ago. Someone had a G scale 4-8-8-4 running on a circle of track on the floor. That thing was HUGE! Very cool though.

78 k550 · « **Reply #16 on:** March 04, 2011, 12:32:58 PM »

Quote from: Rushoid on March 04, 2011, 11:25:43 AM

I've got mostly HO stuff but I do have some N scale too. When my wife's great uncle passed I rescued a couple of brass locos and a decent 4-6-6-4 all new in box. I have yet to run them as my stuff has also been in storage for many years. We're about to start finishing the basement and I already have spot picked out for the layout.

Took my 4yo son to his first train show/swap meet a few weeks ago. Someone had a G scale 4-8-8-4 running on a circle of track on the floor. That thing was HUGE! Very cool though.

Is that what they call the Bigboy?

Paul

333 · « **Reply #17 on:** March 04, 2011, 01:03:48 PM »

Brass. Now there's some money.

I have some cheap G scale as well. One day. I will have some of the G around my patio.

Rushoid · « **Reply #18 on:** March 04, 2011, 04:42:20 PM »

Paul, yes that's the Big Boy. What I wouldn't give to see one of those in action.

bender01 · « **Reply #19 on:** March 04, 2011, 07:59:14 PM »

Despite what has been said here, very little HO stuff is all that valuable.

Im pretty out of the loop. A search on e-bay and I wasnt seeing some of the engines I remember. The pricey ones were in a shop catalog at the wallpaper/hobby shop early 80s. Now hear what i did as a kid! I took my Fathers(handed down to him) Lionel set apart! Left alone in the basement i would get at that engine and slowly destroy it

After some time he found what I had done and figured I liked trains. Lucky for me He didnt like model trains

Frankencake · « **Reply #20 on:** March 05, 2011, 02:01:03 PM »

I had trains just like yours from my childhood. They aren't worth tons of money but just you wait. Put them away in dry storage and guys like me will hit their 50's and start collecting them. It'll be worth the wait.

My trains? My brother asked me for them so his kid could play with them. He picked them up and took them home. The last time I saw any of them they were shattered and destroyed from the little bastard. Hate? You bet.
Looking at your pictures reminds me of my childhood. We'd always go shopping every weekend in Reading Pa. at this place called Boscov's. I'd always look and drool over the model trains they had for sale. They were all just Tyco and Bachman but they were still cool. I bought this one that made smoke when it ran..........

Let's see pics of the guns. We all like gun pics. Except for those who don't like gun pics. That "old" .22 may be worth something.

78 k550 · « **Reply #21 on:** March 05, 2011, 05:20:24 PM »

Quote from: Rushoid on March 04, 2011, 04:42:20 PM

Paul, yes that's the Big Boy. What I wouldn't give to see one of those in action.

Nice,
Like to see it also in action.

I have a 2 or 3 of them (BigBoys) and about 7 boxes of stuff from my dad.

Paul

Don R · « **Reply #22 on:** March 05, 2011, 07:42:27 PM »

I grabbed some lionels about 30 years ago at my in-laws yard sale. My brother in-law didn't save things like that. They always throw away and donate such things. A couple years ago I put a train around the christmas tree and he heard about it. He asked me if "we" still had those old trains. I replied yes "I" do. I loaned them all my ho car stuff and they trashed it so we're even.

There is most of a tin passenger train also, I need to check it out someday to see what it is.

News:

Author Topic: Old Trains and more... anybody know anything anout em? (Read 2723 times)

nomad