Hi, I have a couple of old O guage from the 70's Engines. They work on regular track, but they wont work on Fastrack. Why is this happening??
Thanx,
CS
Can you be more specific as to the problems.
Jason
B&O = Best & Only
coldstorage5 wrote:Hi, I have a couple of old O guage from the 70's Engines. They work on regular track, but they wont work on Fastrack. Why is this happening?? Thanx,CS
Could you explain a little more? Like which loco's and what do you mean that they won't work? The wheel flanges are too deep? They can't handle the turns?
Make sure the track is clean, even dust build up won't let the engine run smoothly.
laz57
Hey, The engine will will on standard O 27 gauge. Works fine
When I place it on the fastrack,... The light does work, The engine purrs and the wheels rattle, hesitates and goes no where, Its like it rattles.
When I lift it a little it sparks
The no is 8902, I know its a cheap engine, im concerned if I buy othe engines maybe they wont work as well.
I did just try to clean it.
Thanx
Life's hard, even harder if your stupid John Wayne
http://rtssite.shutterfly.com/
Coldstorage, RT has it right... it's not the track at all.
While nearly all current and recent production train engines come with DC can motors, they also have a circuit board which will allow the locos to run on either AC or DC current. Some of the lesser expensive starter Lionel locos came without the circuit board reverse unit, and thus run only on DC current. Meaning you need a DC power pack to run this loco.
I actually like and have several of these cheaper engines which I revamp and repaint. When I'm done with them, they look better than most could imagine and pull like champs. But I run my whole layout on DC current, so those locos are not an issue for me.
Trying to run this DC loco on AC current from a transformer could rather quickly burn the motor out and then it won't work at all even on DC current.
brianel, Agent 027
"Praise the Lord. I may not have everything I desire, but the Lord has come through for what I need."
My wife's cousin just bought an older, red plastic shelled 0-4-0 Lionel Docksider that he said just buzzed on the track. Is it one of the DC only locos?
Jim
Modeling the Baltimore waterfront in HO scale
So, the new transformers are Ac while the old ones are DC , does this sound right?
New engines have a component to go on both.
Thanx Men, You guys are so smart.
Yes, Jim that is most likely the Rock Island dockside. You've read that I've mentioned this loco many times as my "nephew" has one that I revamped and modified for him. Beleive it or not, after my modifications we had that little guy pull a 25 car train. Even I was amazed, though I advised the boy to keep the train lenghts to about half that, which the loco does fine with.
Coldstorage, the vast majority of Lionel transformers are all AC. A general key is a transformer puts out AC current, and a power pack puts out DC current. During the MPC period of Lionel, starting in the mid-1970's, Lionel put out some low cost starter sets tha utilized a DC can motor instead of the then-typical open frame Pullmor AC motor. These low cost sets came with a DC power pack similar to the ones that came with Life-Like and Tyco HO sets.
There are a couple paths you can take to run this loco: You can put a minature full wave bridge rectifier in the loco, which will allow it to run on AC transfomer current, but ONLY in ONE direction. You could also put one of the small circuit board reverse units in it (you'd have to cram it in there, and put some insulation on the sheet metal frame where you put the board). Or you can get (or make yourself) a Lionel Conversion Box, which Lionel made in the late 1980's - early 1990's for running DC current G-scale trains with a normal Lionel transformer. You can find these on eBay by searching for "Lionel DC."
I made my own box using a Radio Shack full-wave bridge rectifier, a DPDT switch, a plastic box with bvent holes in it and several screws with nuts for wire attachments.
You could also get yourself one of those small HO power packs. They're normall seldom more than a few bucks at train shows. But they won't have enough back up reserve power to run much more than the loco and maybe one lighted car. You can run more cars, just not illuminated or operating ones... the small HO power packs don't have enough amperage.
Lionel also made a DC version of their popular 1033 transformer, which you can see at times on eBay. I've seen several smaller Lionel DC power packs recently. Lionel did eventually make some bigger HO power packs for their DC sets, beyond the small HO Tyco type.
If you add weight to your steamer, it'll pull much better. The plastic shell makes addiing details like new handrails and marker lights quite easy. And there's enough cast-in detail to the plastic shell, to make a fine looking steamer when repainted, accenting some of those details.
Thanks, Brian. The loco is indeed Rock Island livery.
While Brian is a great proponent of running "O" Gauge trains in a D.C. environment, I would just point out that D.C. can ruin RailSounds and TMCC electronics.
My suggestion for guys inheriting Lionel's DC-only production like the Rock Island switcher or perhaps the James Gand set would be to up-grade the locos to TMCC with the Electric Rail Road Company's "Commander" series of products. They've got one that'll fit in a "Beep", and another that can fit in the 0-6-0T, so chances are pretty good they'll have something that can fit in the General's tender or the cab of the 0-4-0.
I've done installs of Jon's kits, and the design, operation, and customer support are second to none.
Jon
A less expensive way to go is to install a bridge rectifier in the locomotive between where the power comes in and the motor, must have both wires going to & out of the bridge rectifier. The bridge rectifier will smooth out the AC to use in a DC envirement, also you won't have direction control.
Also Lionel did not sell that many DC powered locomotives, but you may come across one at times.
Lee F.
phillyreading wrote:A less expensive way to go is to install a bridge rectifier in the locomotive between where the power comes in and the motor, must have both wires going to & out of the bridge rectifier. The bridge rectifier will smooth out the AC to use in a DC envirement, also you won't have direction control.Also Lionel did not sell that many DC powered locomotives, but you may come across one at times.Lee F.
I'll pass along this advice to my wife's cousin, Lee. He has a DC powered Rock Island Dockside switcher. He'll hand the loco to me and ask me to install the rectifier.
Lionel will sell you all the parts to install a basic electronic e-unit in one of these DC only engines.
The parts run a little under $20, or at least they did the last time I checked.
Must be I write tooooo much - but I did cover Lee's and Ben's advice in what I said above.
While it might be cheaper to install the bridge rectifier in the loco as Lee mentioned again, I will note that the operator will probably quickly tire of a loco that only runs in one direction. Getting a small used HO power pack is really probably the cheapest thing to do for versatility.
And the Lionel e-unit circuit boards are not that expensive. It's just that in these small locos it will take some cobbing to get the circuit board to fit.... it can't touch the sheet metal frame or you'll short the board. When Lionel re-issued the 2-4-0 steamer around 1994-6, they put the e-unit board in the tender, with a tether wire. There are very small after market boards made, as mentioned above - but now you run into extra costs. BUT if you got a bargain on the loco, it could be worth it.
"While Brian is a great proponent of running "O" Gauge trains in a D.C. environment, I would just point out that D.C. can ruin RailSounds and TMCC electronics."
KoolJock, you are absolutely right!! But I've always made the case for DC operation if you are a budget buyer who runs the DC can motored only locos without any command or on-track sounds. You do get better speed control on the cheaper locos with DC power and less loco growling noise on the dual motored units.
Although what I am really a great proponent of is having fun in the hobby without breaking the bank. You do not need all the latest electronic features to enjoy the hobby. And a lot of the cheaper locos can easily be visually improved and mechanically enhanced to be better.
Given the failure rates of the high end electronically ladden locos, I'd say I could really be on to the right idea. Funny that I'm not married... I bet a lot of women would like to hear "honey, I just spent $20 on a new train loco" over "honey, I just spent a grand on a new train loco."
Brian,
I did read what you wrote. All you mentioned was the option of installing an e-unit.
The intent of my post was to mention a specific source and an aproximate cost for doing so.
I appologize for the misunderstanding in that regard-I was only trying to supplement, not repeat, your information.
In any case, I'm not familiar with that specific engine. I can add, however, that I have, from my early youth, a Lionel Crayola set engine, which is basically the same as Lionel's LASER set engine. As I'm sure you know, this is quite a tiny engine, yet my Crayola version(unlike the LASER version) has a circuit board reverse. It's mounted by self-adhesive foam within the long hood.
And all this time I thought EHarmony was a social network. Then I read this forum and find out it's about trains. No wonder all those girls give me funny looks when I ask them how their e-units are working or whether they are ac/dc.
Jack
IF IT WON'T COME LOOSE BY TAPPING ON IT, DON'T TRY TO FORCE IT. USE A BIGGER HAMMER.
No need to apologize Ben. And you bring up a good added point... your Crayola loco is nearly all plastic: plastic frame and body. The e-unit circuit board is installed at an angle with self adhesive foam in that loco. On the 8902 (which has the same internal chassis as do the Lionel 4-4-2 starter steamers) there might not be the room to install the board, at least attached to the frame the way it is on the 4-4-2's via a plastic housing box that clips on to the sheet metal frame. You could probably cob the board in, as I said above, maybe wrapping it in a plastic bag or foam to insulate it.
RockIsland, just be sure you don't tell the girl she has a nice looking caboose, unless of course, she happens to be showing you her train layout! And if she does have a train layout, she's a rare find! Just be sure then, she's using the same control system... so many relationships end over irreconcilable differences between DCS and TMCC.
ok, I've read a few of the posts and I think this may be going the wrong direction. I have had the same symptoms when trying to run older engines on my nephews new setup. the problem in my case was simply that the older engines need a bit more poop. we switched out the transformer from the one with around 35 watts to mine with 100 watts and voila! everything runs great. if you are running with the new transformer from a starter set it is possible that you need a bit ,more wattage. maybe I'm wrong but it was the case in my situation.
Scott
37fleetwood wrote: ok, I've read a few of the posts and I think this may be going the wrong direction. I have had the same symptoms when trying to run older engines on my nephews new setup. the problem in my case was simply that the older engines need a bit more poop. we switched out the transformer from the one with around 35 watts to mine with 100 watts and voila! everything runs great. if you are running with the new transformer from a starter set it is possible that you need a bit ,more wattage. maybe I'm wrong but it was the case in my situation.Scott
I've seen that also but we found out in this case it was trying to run an ac engine with a dc power pack.
"No childhood should be without a train!"
Brian
My Dad bought a Lionel Illinoise Central #8030 and I am trying to figure out how he can run this locomotive on his current Fast Track set up. He has a stem loco that he currently runs on it and I believe it is running on AC current. Dad is 87 so I am trying to help him stay engaged in a hobby and he really enjoys this one. However i am not very knowledgeable on how these Lionel trains work.
On investigation I believe this train he picked up is an MPC from the early 70's and I believe it has the open frame Pullmor motor ( itr matches all of the oictures I found on the internet for that motor. and definetly has an e-unit with a 3 way switch on it.
I tested it for him with my HO transformer and had it running on my work bench for 30 minutes or so. But when I hooked the transformer up to the fast track ( Positive on the center rail and Negative on the outside rail) it was a no go. I surely dont want to burn up the moter, but I am at a loss what to try next. Do you have any advice I can follow to help my Dad out?
Daddyo58...when I hooked the transformer up to the fast track ( Positive on the center rail and Negative on the outside rail) it was a no go...
Rob
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