400" of tubular track

[Anonymous]

I have proven that it is better to be lucky than smart! So I'm riding my bike and I happen upon a garage sale. I thought, no biggy, just like all of the other ones here I went to it and asked if the guy had some old Lionels that he wanted to sell.

Not only did he have an old engine that he was willing to part with it, but he also had 400" of tubular straight track! I traded him a box of HO track and some HO trains that I had for the loco and track.

He also showed me HO layout and his overhead system in his office. Today was a good day. Got some track that has never been used, another locomotive, and another person to talk trains with.

[Anonymous]

Dude, you hit da jackpot[:D]

[mitchelr]

What a great find. I've really not been that lucky. Most of the time when I've run into O gauge trains at a yard sale or flea market, it's been rusty junk or glued together Plasticville. Once I did find a beat operating 3462 Milk Car that I was able to fix up. Another time I found a modern era tank car that is too huge for my layout. I bought it though 'cause it was too cheap to pass up[:D].

I have purchased some stuff at auctions that were pretty good and relatively cheap like a Marx lift bridge and an S gauge Flyer set.

Mitch [swg]

[Anonymous]

Well the locomotive didn't run at all, but I wanted it anyway and needed to get rid of the HOs I had. I never ran them. So I gave them to him and he models in HO so I figured that he would run them.

[overall]

I guess, since you stated it as 400 inches, that you got forty ten-inch straight sections? That was a preety good haul.

George

[Anonymous]

Actually ten forty inch sections all of which never used. If you use the current price of Lionel track the is $63.90 worth of track that I got for about half off.

[Dave Farquhar]

Rehabbing the motor in the locomotive could be a fun project down the line. The question is whether the motor is just gummed up, or if it's the e-unit. Even that isn't a showstopper. When I had an e-unit I wasn't comfortable tackling myself, I took it to my nearest Lionel shop. Two weeks and $37 later ($12 for parts, $25 for labor), I had a working locomotive.

[tintrax]

There are some locomotives that I am happy with just running forwards. Troublesome e units are easily bypassed, the result being reliable forwards running. Where I am (NZ) e units are not available, and it`s an efort to obtain one from the USA, so meantime at least forwards running is the answer. The e unit can be left in place, and can be attended to later of required.

[Anonymous]

Well this thing jerks around the tracks like it don't know whether to go forward or reverse.

[Dave Farquhar]

It could just be dirty--either the driver wheels/pickup rollers, or the e-unit itself. Cleaning the driver wheels and pickups will be the easiest thing to try first. I've gotten an awful lot of balky locomotives running just by rubbing off all the gunk with cotton swabs and rubbing alcohol. Even when the wheels look pretty clean, it's amazing how much junk can still be on them, and that could be interfering with your electrical contact.

[corton]

QUOTE: Originally posted by RR Redneck

Well this thing jerks around the tracks like it don't know whether to go forward or reverse.

Sorry, but I can't resist asking - given the description above, is the engine plastic? Do you have a number off of it?

From what you say, my first thought is that you have a 70's - 80's vintage DC engine. If the engine begins with a 6xx or 2xxx number, chance are you have pre/postwar. If it's an 8000-series motor, and plastic, I'd bet a coke that you're trying to run a DC engine on AC.

[Anonymous]

The engine number is 8902 and yes it is a plastic locomotive and you just reminded me that I need to add it to my computer database that I keep.