anybody feel like helping out a rookie??

[veedubbman]

i had origianlly posted this in the wrong section of the forum.  so now that i'm headed in the right direction....

my father n law gave me and my son, his train from when he was a youngster.  it's a '47-48 engine #2025 with coal wagon and #2400 series passenger cars.  decent shape but time as not been kind.  it has the 115v/275watt monster transformer type-zw that runs 4 trains.  so far i have been able to get everything working except one of the lights on the trans.  as a beginner, i have reasearched the engine and trans. to get how it works and to fix the train to get it wired and running.  i have been looking at differnet layouts and picked a couple that will fit the space i have.  some of my intial questions are:

are there any "how-to" books that i might could read to figure out other questions i'm bound to have?  what is this box of clips for?  (the track cross braces fit into them and i'm guessing that's for attaching to the table maybe?)  i cleaned up the train, and could lay on some nice black paint on the engine or would it be better to leave as is to show some character?  when i go to start the layout, i'm sure there is a sequence perhaps, to laying down everything? (like green carpet, then track, then buildings or moutains or whatever?)  and speaking of that, what is a good base material to go over the plywood?  man the puzzling quesions just keep coming.  i'm not going to hijack this forum, so i'll stop for now. 

thanks in advance for your help and i promise to put your advice to good use and pay it forward as well.

[ZephyrOverland]

Hi - welcome to the forums.  You might get a better response if you repost your question to the Classic Toy Trains forum.  You are in the Classic Trains forum, which focuses on prototype railroading.

 

 

[bfskinner]

I would bet that the bulb under the green cap, on the right-front of the transformer, is the one that works,* and the one on the left-front is the one that "doesn't work." Of course  it may not work, but it's more likely that it simply hasn't come on yet, because it is a "fault indicator," and is only supposed to come one when there is an overcurrent ("short-circuit") somewhere on the layout.

With equipment that old, even though it is quality stuff, there is much to be check out for safety reasons as well as operation.

There are lots of books and several forums, but for openers concentrate on the ZW transformer and visit the "Library" on the huge and extremely helpful website below. Look under "Transformers" at the top of the list, and then check out ZW and ZW-R near the bottom of the list. Then come back with more questions. I'm sure someone will be glad to help

Note: sometimes the links work, sometimes only certain pages work, and sometimes nothing works. Much of the material therein is available in book form; however, and some pages can be found on the internet generally..

http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/

http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/searchcd31.htm?itm=630

http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/searchcd31.htm?itm=671

* It is simply a "power-on" indicator.

 

>

[O-GaugeOscar]

 Welcome to the forum!

It sounds like you're running American Flyer/Lionel trains, correct?

Look for a copy of Basic Model Railroading (published by Kalmbach Books).  Although geared more to HO gauge, it's a good first read and overview.  Also, try to find the Sept-Dec 2009 issues of Classic Toy Trains.  The magazine's staff built a small layout in those issues.  The February 2010 issue of CTT also has some interesting tips (lessons learned).

Regarding the paint, I'd wait until talking with experts to learn how painting will affect the locomotive's future value (unless that's not an issue).  Perhaps some of the painting/detailing experts can weigh in on this topic.

 I can't really comment on the clips without a picture.  I know American Flyer made clips designed to hold track sections together by clipping onto adjacent railroad ties.

Cork roadbed is a good base material because it absorbs sound and vibrations.  Besides this forum, you may want to ask your local hobby shop for suggestions.

I hope this post helps.  Good luck!

 

 

 

 

[arkady]

veedubbman

it's a '47-48 engine #2025 with coal wagon and #2400 series passenger cars.

Welcome to the hobby. That "coal wagon" you're describing is called a "tender:"

http://www.steamlocomotive.com/tenders/

[Ole Timer]

Is this your engine ???? For starters...

 http://www.postwarlionel.com/cgi-bin/postwar?ITEM=2025

If so here are a couple links that may be useful ...

http://www.lioneltrainspaper.com/images/in671-02.jpg

http://www.thortrains.net/manualx.htm

http://www.amazon.com/Greenbergs-Repair-Operating-1945-1969-Manuals/dp/0897784553

[lionelsoni]

One of the transformer lamps is a pilot light and should come on when you plug the transformer in.  The other one lights when the circuit breaker trips; so you should not see it until something goes wrong.  Connect the outside rails to one of the U terminals.  Use 14 AWG wire or larger for safety, because your transformer can put out as much 15 amperes before the breaker trips.

Your clips probably say "IVES".  They are just to keep the track together and are not really necessary if your rail joints are good and tight.  They indicate to me that you have what is called O27 tubular track, which is a style that Lionel got when they bought the Ives company around 1930.  This track makes a circle which is 27 inches in diameter to the outer ends of the crossties.  The ties are 2 inches long; so the actual radius of the center of the track is 12.5 inches.  The track is 7/16-inch high.  Your ties have square corners which fit the clips.  The track now being manufactured has a somewhat different tie shape.

There is another, heavier style of tubular track that is 11/16-inch high and has a diameter to the ends of its 2.25-inch ties of about 30.5 inches.  It is nowadays called O31, sometimes O30.  It is more robust but even less realistic than the O27.  Both track profiles are also available with gentler curves.  The nomenclature is confusing, because you can't tell whether it refers to the track profile or the nominal diameter.

If you don't mind the noise (I don't), you can just screw (number 4 x 1/2 inch sheet-metal screws) your track directly to plywood.  Otherwise, there are all sorts of materials and attachment methods that their proponents will shortly describe to you.

Don't try to clean the track with sandpaper, steel wool, or abrasives.  It is tin-plated steel; and you don't want to lose the tin.  Steel wool fragments can also ruin your locomotive.  Scotch Brite is the best benign rail cleaner.

[veedubbman]

it's a 2-6-2 engine that runs on O-27, but unfortunetly, he didn't have any of the track.  i was able to get quite a few pieces off of ebay though.  nothing new of course, but their aged look fits the train.

 

as for the layouts, i have the space to do up to an 96"x96" layout.  i have found several interesting setups online, but as for fixed or not, i don't have any idea.  i like the thought of scenery and such so i guess i never really thought that it could be changed down the road.  looks like something else i'll research before i start the setup.

 thank you for you help.

[veedubbman]

 

bob-  you are correct on all accounts.  other people have mentioned that the transformer lights work that way, and i probably should have guessed that, do to the readouts i was getting when i had the cover off and was texting the voltage and such. 

the clips do have ives on them as you stated and i was hoping that they were an option.  thinking ahead i could see that being a big hassle to fight with off and on, so thank you for that. 

the set will be in a less traveled area of the house so i'm not too sure the noise will be an issue.  through the test runs i have done, i almost like the metal on metal sounds, so i'll give this some more thought.

thanks for your help as well.  it's all great start up advice.