Lionel Giraffe Car

[Buckeye Riveter]

Please bear with me because I did ask this question before under another post, but never received any responses.

Below is a classic Lionel Giraffe Car. To make the giraffe duck under using Lionel tubular track there is a tell tale with a special slide type bracket.

[?] Does anyone know how to make this car work on MTH Realtrax? I might have a way to do it, but I am looking for simple and best.

[rlplionel]

I've never attempted what you want to do, but it seems to me the Realtrax will need to be modified to accept the telltale pole bracket. This would entail cutting into the Realtrax track bed as necessary until the bracket can clip to the track..

Another alternative would be to come up with a device of your own making to place along the track that would catch the giraffe cam like the Lionel bracket does. I guess MTH doesn't have any kind of Realtrax track trip that would help you out?

[Big_Boy_4005]

This sounds like a situation where you are going to have to get creative, and make your own gizmo, or at least a special holder for the Lionel actuator. The easiest way may be to notch out part of the roadbed, and use the normal clip.

I just happened to pick up a piece pf Realtrax at the hobby store the other day, so I could look at it. It may be as simple as carving away enough plastic to get the clip to go right on. I think you would have even more trouble with Lionel's Fastrack, because the rail has no base to hold the clip.

The more I look at the Fastrack and Realtrax systems, the more I like the Realtrax better of the two.

[spankybird]

Hi Buckeye,

The realtrack has a place in the roadbed that snaps out for the lockon. Can you fit or adapt the telltale in there.?

tom

[Buckeye Riveter]

Everyone's suggestions are appreciated, and are basically the same as I have been thinking about. Thank you. [bow]

What is interesting is that the by using a new plastic style clip I might also need to add weight to the car to prevent derailments. The original metal clip that came with these cars had a spring tension to avoid the derailment problem but would be difficult to attach to the RealTrax.

[Anonymous]

Or you could put in a piece of tubular track using Realtrax adapting track sections.

[jprampolla]

Hi Buckeye,

I use my giraffe car on a section of GarGraves and with a strip of 1/4" plywood, about 12" long and approximately 1/2" wide instead of the metal blade to activate the ducking mechanism. In other words, I matched the height of the original blade as compared to the outside rail. I used two finish nails to attach it to the plywood beneath the ballasted track. I tapered the ends so the yellow bar will slide smoothly up over the homemade blade. For the tell tail pole, I used a block of wood, painted gray, and drilled a hole to accommodate the base of the pole. The block of wood is screwed to the plywood also. This keeps the giraffe's head down longer than the original device that slid under the track. Just be sure your other equipment doesn't get hung up on your homemade blade. I painted the homemade blade black. Hope this helps!
Take care, Joe.

[Buckeye Riveter]

Thanks Joe! I think your suggestion gives me something to work with and develope it further for my layout. Did you need to put extra weight in the car?

[jprampolla]

Hi Buckeye,
No I didn't need any additional weight in the car. I have the finish nails glued into the homemade blade but just friction fit into the plywood of the benchwork, so it is adjustable. I can raise or lower it to fine tune it, and the taper on the ends is gradual, which helps. I did have a clearance problem with my center cab 44 ton diesel, so the blade is perhaps just a bit farther away from the outside rail than the original metal blade. Here is a diagram that might help: http://yourpage.blazenet.net/jprampolla/blade.gif
Take care, Joe

[Buckeye Riveter]

Thanks Joe. I appreciate the sketch.

[Anonymous]

Hi Buckeye,
No I didn't need any additional weight in the car. I have the finish nails glued into the homemade blade but just friction fit into the plywood of the benchwork, so it is adjustable. I can raise or lower it to fine tune it, and the taper on the ends is gradual, which helps. I did have a clearance problem with my center cab 44 ton diesel, so the blade is perhaps just a bit farther away from the outside rail than the original metal blade. Here is a diagram that might help: http://yourpage.blazenet.net/jprampolla/blade.gif
Take care, Joe

Any chance you could re-post your homemade Giraffe mechanism online or in this forum?  I just picked up the Giraffe car at a train show and I need to rig something up to work with FasTrack.  Anyone have any suggestions specific to FasTrack?  Thanks in advance.

[jprampolla]

Hi Folks,

      Here it is:

Take care, Joe.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Joe!

[brianel027]

I did something very similar to what Joe did above, only I use long pieces of brass that are bent at a slope on each end. I use these on the straight away sections. On my previous layout, I made manually operated shorter trips for curves made from basswood and attached to a rod with a spring mounted in the layout surface, held down by fishline going to the front of the layout. When I would release the fishline lock the trip would "automatically" extend up ward and operate the car on my 027 curves. Then I could pull the trip back down to not interfere with any other car's overhand on the 027 curves.

I may adapt this idea for the curves on the new layout, space permitting, since the new layout is smaller than the previous one I had. I may also operate the curve trip with bicycyle brake cable.

[Anonymous]

I may have to do some very creative work to get my Giraffe to work properly.  From what I've been told the Giraffe is usually up (head above the roof) by default and its switch lowers it (perhaps to go through a tunnel).  My Giraffe must be shy because she likes to hide inside.  Upon further inspective I believe my car is missing a few components (broken plastic piece and perhaps a spring?).  

[Buckeye Riveter]

I may have to do some very creative work to get my Giraffe to work properly.  From what I've been told the Giraffe is usually up (head above the roof) by default and its switch lowers it (perhaps to go through a tunnel).  My Giraffe must be shy because she likes to hide inside.  Upon further inspective I believe my car is missing a few components (broken plastic piece and perhaps a spring?).  

Yes, your giraffe is broken, but parts are readily available for repair from just about any Lionel parts dealer. 

Has anyone painted the giraffe to look more like a giraffe than a yellow stick?

[jprampolla]

Hi Buckeye and Folks,  

    I have touched up the paint on the sheriff and outlaw figures which are sort of rubbery, with acrylics paint, but I guess you could repaint the giraffe with craft acrylics paints, too.  I have had good luck without priming many plastics, just wiped down a clean figure with rubbing alcohol, let dry, then painted it with acrylics, but you wouldn't want to paint the figure on a valuable giraffe car since it would lessen its resale value to collectors.       

   Take care, Joe.

[rlplionel]

Wow, this thread is almost three years in the making! Here's a little video clip of the giraffe cars in action to commemorate it.

Giraffe cars video 

 

[ChooChooMan2]

Got one of these Giraffe cars when I was 6 in 1962.  Very cool car.  A lot of fond memories.  I still have it.

Jeff

[Buckeye Riveter]

Hi Buckeye and Folks,  

    I have touched up the paint on the sheriff and outlaw figures which are sort of rubbery, with acrylics paint, but I guess you could repaint the giraffe with craft acrylics paints, too.  I have had good luck without priming many plastics, just wiped down a clean figure with rubbing alcohol, let dry, then painted it with acrylics, but you wouldn't want to paint the figure on a valuable giraffe car since it would lessen its resale value to collectors.       

   Take care, Joe.

Thank you JOE!!!  I have been waiting for someone, with better artist skills than me to discuss the painting of the Sheriff and Outlaw Car.  My car is a 1960's model.  What colors did you use?

As to the Giraffe, I believe the Giraffe that was used in the old and new cars are the same mold.

[jprampolla]

Hi Buckeye and Folks,      

        I didn't repaint the sheriff and outlaw, just touched up their hats and the clothing a little leaving the faces as they were.  I used black acrylic for the outlaw's hat, and for the sheriff's hat and neckerchief, I used Burnt Umber with Sable, with just a dot of Orange, but a craft store, even Wal-Mart, will probably have the same color of brown as the original hat.  I have repainted plastic animals and I use a shading method, similar to the old furniture antiquing technique, of applying a tinted wash made from a drop of Rust acrylic paint, Flow Medium, and Extender, or a drop of paint in about a teaspoon matte acrylic varnish.  My page: http://www.josephrampolla.com/lions.html shows repainted Fisher-Price lions.  After just repainting in sold colors, the wash brings out detail and adds shading automatically.  Just apply the wash and wipe off the excess.  The less you fuss, the better it looks.  I used the same technique of the wash to bring out facial features on figures of people.  The wash stays in the sculpted recesses of the figures and you wipe off the excess with a cotton swab, or dry paint brush. Very easy and if you don't like what happens, you just wipe it off before it dries and start over.  I often build up the shading in 2-3 applications of a wash.

      If the brown spots on your giraffe are worn off, and you don't mind the yellow color of the bare plastic, I would just touch up the spots.  I am very sentimental about my old stuff so I keep the original appearance. 

      Take care, Joe.  

[jprampolla]

Hi Robert,

      Just love those giraffe cars!!!!!  Thanks for sharing your vid of them in action!

    Take care, Joe. 

 

[Buckeye Riveter]

Thanks, Joe for the tips.  I liked the video too.

[Anonymous]

We have liked the Giraffe cars since seeing four in a row duck there heads on a layout in a hobby shop years ago.  I had to start searching them out and picked four over the next year or two at train shows. 

With three bridges and a twin tracks looping thru a mountain tunnel we have lots of giraffe heads hopping.  I installed guide rails before, thru and after each bridge.  I only put the guide rails before and out of the tunnels to make it look like the head was down the whole time.  The curves is the tunnels was too much to mess with.  I only installed the guide rail on one side and it only works in the counter clockwise direction.  Since we have double reversing loops on all loops we change directions all the time and this is no problem. 

I will have to make giraffe movie for U tube before the layout get put up for the summer.

 

Charlie 

[laz 57]

Nice video.

laz57