I was jarred from the pleasant stupor usually induced whilst reading this board by another post stating that 'all Lionel engines have ac motors'. I have a Lionel G-Ga. or two squirrelled away awaiting a layout to run on. They are the 0-6(?)-0's. To my undiscriminating eye they look close to 1:20.3 and I am content.
Do these little G-gaugers have ac motors?
I had assumed that since everything I've read on G-ga. rr'ing deals with DC, so would Lionel G. Don't ask why I made that assumption, because I will lie to you.
Not to panic: if it turns out so, I will remotor them.
Les W.
The head is gray, hands don't work , back is weak, legs give out, eyes are gone, money go's and my wife still love's Me.
Have fun with your trains
Uh, not quite.
Lionel made (and still does) engines with dc can motors and built-in rectumfriers with reversing control circuitry.
OLD Lionel was AC, all LS Lionel is DC can motors (unless Standard Gauge, which is a whole 'nuther bag-o-worms).
Then you get into other 3-rail manufacturers, most with dc cans.
Probably even Wachmann.
TOC
vsmith wrote:Simple way to determine, if it has 3 rails, AC. 2 rails, DC.
Technically, that ain't entirely true, though in the sense of the subject under discussion (G Gauge) you're right. AC motors can run on two-rail. I'm thinking of the American Flyer stuff, though I've never owned any. I think they were AC. And, who knows what these manufacturers might dream up? That's what had me concerned, not having much hands-on knowledge of the hobby.
But no matter. I wanted to take this opportunity to sympathize with your reduced railroad, having met the same problem for different reasons.
When I start building benchwork (soon, very soon) I'm going to use 3/8" plywood x 3" w. The rear will attach to the wall on a backing board. All angles will be gusseted with scrap triangles of ply, a trick I've worked out over the years to increase rigidity. The front legs will angle inwards from the front edge (another 3" w piece of ply) to a frame that will be 16" off the floor. At roughly 6' of depth for the table-top, I'll end up with space for a pair of shelves (of heavier wood) upon which I intend to store train stuff, and the height will be high enough to allow my 10" table saw to slide under when not in use, plus a couple other floor power tools I want to hang onto. Perhaps this idea might help with your storage needs. I want the bench to be high for visual reasons, and to facilitate getting underneath, and I wanted not to be kicking the legs.
Les W
GearDrivenSteam wrote:I know Lionel made some HO stuff that was DC because I have a Lionel HO switcher that I bashed into an On30 critter, and it's DC.
Gear:
Yeah, what happened is my head is entirely filled with G gauge considerations. As I posted to VSmith, there's the uncertainty factor of not knowing enough about this corner of the hobby in general. I forget others are on different boards and deal in wider perspectives.
I sure hope you get the Critter board up soon.
Curmudgeon wrote: Uh, not quite.Lionel made (and still does) engines with dc can motors and built-in rectumfriers with reversing control circuitry.OLD Lionel was AC, all LS Lionel is DC can motors (unless Standard Gauge, which is a whole 'nuther bag-o-worms).Then you get into other 3-rail manufacturers, most with dc cans.Probably even Wachmann.Yup, that's right: not quite.I had almost all of the old postwar Lionel at one time or another. I still have a warm place in my heart for the pre-war 0 & 027 tinplate.I can't see why a manufacturer would rectify AC for a DC motor, given the RMS loss you get right off the bat. Seems it'd be simpler to buffer the DC modules. Who knows? Not I.Les W. TOC
Yup, that's right: not quite.
I had almost all of the old postwar Lionel at one time or another. I still have a warm place in my heart for the pre-war 0 & 027 tinplate.
I can't see why a manufacturer would rectify AC for a DC motor, given the RMS loss you get right off the bat. Seems it'd be simpler to buffer the DC modules. Who knows? Not I.
The consolidated it into the reversing units.
Replacement units we used were ACRU or DCRU.
The DC motors were quiet.
The AC motors were naught.
We never needed sound systems.
Heck, you could hear a set of 2343's coming a block away, WITHOUT the horn!
Now, to add more to this:
Early 2-rail (outside thrid and even fully insulated 2 rail) used Universal field-wound motors with a hand reverse.
I have 4 of them still, 3 have been updated with the proper K&D permags, with the old parts boxed and noted as to what they fit.
I was running two of them on a double-track main at a meet when there was an electrical failure (common rail).
One of the Tenshodo switch machines failed, allowing 16VAC signal power onto the track.
We turned off everything, including yanking the main power plug, both trains kept right on going.
Owner finally found the 15VAC supply and killed that to stop the trains.
If they'd been can motors, they would have smoked.
I converted them to permags shortly thereafter.
My General Models Mountain is still field-wound.
Curmudgeon wrote: The consolidated it into the reversing units.Replacement units we used were ACRU or DCRU.The DC motors were quiet.The AC motors were naught.We never needed sound systems.
You mean those old electrical/mechanical 'E units' are no more. Aww. Ain't technology great?
Nope, didn't need sound systems, or really, coach lighting. The sparks from the wheels would provide plenty of light. Ah, the heady odor of ozone.....
Happy T Day!
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