Back in my 3 rail days I had 2 Type R transformers. I go along with Randy's thought on the wipers as the possible problem assuming you connected the two circuits to the correct terminals on the back of the "R." The wiper is made from copper sheet. It has tabs that fix it to a plate on the turning shaft of the control knobs. Those tabs are the weakest item in the Type R. I had tabs break off on both my type R units. The case can be removed via screws in the bottom and then you can create a creative way to hold the wiper to the turning shaft plate such as a soldering repair or tiny screw fix. Good Luck.
A quick whiz through the Internet resources indicates Marx locomotives run in the rough 8 to 14 VAC range.
And that a common problem running them from Lionel transformers is 'too much voltage' giving jackrabbit starts or Necroliner speed.
One thread from the recommended forum:
http://cs.trains.com/ctt/f/95/t/26684.aspx
A-F gives you 14-24 volts, B-C gives you 6-16 volts. If this is a vintage Type R. Is the line cord in good shape? That's the biggest worry with an old transformer.
Probably the Marx loco starts on a lower voltage, they weren't anywhere near as nice as the Lionel locos of the time. It's very unlikely that the output isn't varying, due to the way these transformers are made. Unless both knobs have become disconnected from their internal wipers and it's stuck wide open, but thent he loco would take off as soon as you put it on the track.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I know about as much about Lionel and Marx as I do about the liturgy of the Greek Orthodox Church, so my advice is extremely general.
Get a reasonably good multimeter and check that the R transformer is working correctly (here is the postwar schematic:)
https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/fileSendAction/fcType/0/fcOid/67173828816350735/filePointer/67173828818204002/fodoid/67173828818203998/imageType/LARGE/inlineImage/true/Type%20R%20Pictorial.jpg
As far as I can see, consensus is to check internal wiring condition carefully before firing one of these up; I presume you did that.
I care for cryptic terminal numbering about as much as I do for Kodak guide numbers, so following the schematic is your guide to check track connection. I suspect only the folks in the toy train forum (or OGF) know if Marx is electrically compatible with Lionel.
Hi, and welcome to the Forum!
As they say, "right church but wrong pew", I believe your post would get much more attention if you put it in the Classic Toy Trains Forum, vs. here. While plenty of folks on this forum have Marx/Lionel/Flyer knowledge, the main concentration here is on scale trains (i.e. HO, S, N, etc).
That said, you want to hook one of your feed wires to a ground/common post and the other to a variable (rather than fixed voltage) post. It could be your runaway loco is doing so because it has full power no matter where you have the controller.
Hey, I wish you the best!
Mobilman44
ENJOY !
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Hi Charles. Welcome aboard. I'm replying mainly to bump your post back to the top, since it takes a while for a noob to get recognised by the system here. Please don't lose heart on how long it took to get a reply.
I'm not new to Model railroading, (40 plus years in HO and still active) but coincidentally, I am new to 3 rail O scale, as someone recently offered me his 65 year old Lionel train set, and I eagerly accepted it. I have a few questions too. I'm sure someone will quicky redirect us both to a toy train forum more suited to this type of equipment. Or maybe "Tinplate Toddler" can help here. Dan
I am new to model railroading aside from having a marx single engine layout as a kid. I have created a 2 track layout 1 with passanger & 1 with freight . I am running marx engines 666 and southern pacific 6000. when i hook transformer to run both trains 1 engine runs too fast with just a little voltage. i have hooked post a & f and b & c.
Is it a tranformer problem or marx engines with lionel transformer ?
Thanks any help much appreciated.