Rekindling old passion, AND following the lead of my son's desire

[dbaker48]

I found this to be unbelievable, but my long time dream has materialized. My 16 year old son has all of a sudden developed a deep desire and interest in Lionel trains. As a old collector, I packed all my trains away 16 years ago and now we are digging them out. Wow, am I excited!!!!

I can't believe all the innovations and improvements, Fastrack, RailSounds, Remote Control...... wow.

As a result 2 major questions....
1. We purchased a Cab Forwad, (can't have it until Christmas), Will I be able to operate it with the old ZW, (275 w)? Also, did purchase the Command Center units.

2. Has anyone any ideas regarding dampening the sounds from the Fastrack. It seem to have a "drum" affect. Stuffing cotton, newspaper , styrofoam peanuts, other ideas?

Thanks for any comments[:)]

[1688torpedo]

Hello dbaker! & [#welcome] to the forum. Yes, Your ZW will power your Cab Forward.Just wire up your ZW to the Command Base per the instructions. The reason Fastrack is noisy is that the rails are hollow and and make it sound noisy. The noise does not bother me at all as real trains make much more noise. You could probably use Foam Rubber under the Track Bed to help lower the noise level. Some have done this with very good results. I'm sure one of the guys will help you out with this and give some very good advice.Do you have any other Trains and what are they ? Keep reading this forum and you'll get some other terrific ideas for your trains.Take care.

[dbaker48]

Thanks for the rapid reply! I do have quite a few, mostly post war. Blue Comet, Illinois Central passenger, Disney, 76th Bicentenial, Joshua Cowen 75th Anniv. , GG1, many motorized. And of course a lot of rolling stock. We got the bug big out here. As a result of rediscovering trains with my son. We're going to add a room on to the house, etc.

Just, as I remember, train enthusiasts are great people.

Don Baker

[wrmcclellan]

Welcome Don!

Regards,
Roy

[cnw1995]

How exciting Don. One of our forumites fills the Fasttrack with felt and other fabric - seems to dampen the sound. Personally, I like the 'roar' of tubular track.

[poppyl]

Welcome to the forum!! Regarding your ZW, everything should be fine for conventional operation. However, when the time comes for you to jump into TMCC, you should consider installing inline quick fuses between the ZW and TIU. The older ZW's have fuses but they are slow enough that you can fry a board in a TMCC equiped loco before they blow. Inline fuses are a cheaper option than buying a new ZW or bricks. Protecting your loco investment is important.

Poppyl

[4kitties]

Welcome, Don! You are so fortunate that you and your son can share this great hobby, even if it's been a long time coming. This is what I had hoped for with my father, but it never happened. And with no children (not by choice), I can't pass it on either. But this post is about you! God bless both of you, and I hope you're in this together for a lifetime.

Joel

[dwiemer]

Don, Welcome. I have a 3year old son and adopted daughter who is 1. My son has the bug, but it is still early. I hope he continues as much can be learned from working on a railroad, ie electrical circuits, building, etc. My daughter loves to derail the train as it comes around the bend. Anyway, you will find this a fun and helpfull bunch. You should do a search on the forum for fastrack. We have had several discussions and lots of good information. You have plenty of great stuff to start out with and your son should not get too easily bored. Look forward to seeing you on the posts.
Dennis