Proper use for a Tyco engine

[Anonymous]

Firewood.

Er, I mean, fire-plastic. The only halfway decent model from those days and from those manufacturers was the Bachmann BQ23-7.

[palallin]

QUOTE: Originally posted by SRTrudeau
Guess I was just lucky.

Not in the sense you might think: you were lucky to get an *HO* engine that ran; the TYCO name is incidental. A TYCO is no more or less likely to run well than any other.

[sledgehammer]

I use mine for a door stop in my train room.

[Anonymous]

How about deep sea fishing lure? Solder some hooks to it and go after the big one.

[Anonymous]

I have an old Tyco steam engine that I got from my dad - he always took real good care of his stuff. An this engine is all metal - super heavy. I think it's a 2-8-2 or 4-6-4, cannot remember off the top of my head. Anyway, I ran it on my layout before I converted to DCC, and it ran great, looked great. Haven't had an opportunity to put a decoder in it yet, though.

[Anonymous]

How odd. I received a Tyco train set in, uh, 1984 (?) or thereabouts. Being a kid, I ran it on the carpet, made it crash and threw the lot of it in the toybox when I was done. I wound up giving it away 4 years later to a younger cousin. Yeah, it still ran.

Guess I was just lucky.

SRT.

[Anonymous]

Chew toy for the dog.

[AggroJones]

Diehl: I was refering to the plastic crap diesels and toy-like rolling stock Tyco, not any old-school diecast.

[randybc2003]

Never had plastic Tyco Diesels. My 2nd. loco was a Mantua/Tyco 0-4-0 shifter w/ tender. I had to put it together. The valve gear was a LOT of fun, but I got extra parts and got it to work. [banghead] It gave me my first taste of building locos. I added a Prarie. That one went together much better, and no problems with the valve gear. Those litle rascels are TOUGH. They started me dreaming about building brass locos.
I understand the NORTHLANDZ system swears by them.

[GMTRacing]

I started with Tyco, I still have them and still run them though less and less. I admit they are inferior in every way to newer stock, but they are still the reason I got back into this hobby. When I get a big enough layout, the cars and locos will be relegated to sidings at the back. I don't intend to weather them or make them look scrapped out, they have plenty of real weathering and wear from use. They deserve an honourable retirement as they have served my kids and I well. [^] J.R.

[TomDiehl]

To answer Aggrojones's question, I have 4 Tyco Mikados, 2 Pacifics, a Prarie, a General, about a half dozen switchers, on the steam side. You can't beat the die cast zamac boiler for pulling power. Several of these I assembled from kits. On the diesel side, all the ones I have operating have what is known as the MU-2 power truck, a self contained motor and gear train, assembled directly to the wheels. The easiest way to spot these is the bottom of the truck has a metal plate. All the crap running ones have plastic bottoms. I have 5 C430's, some with pilots closed in and body mounted couplers, a couple GP-20's, a Plymouth Industrial, and several F-9's.

When I started model railroading back in the '60's, the Tyco's were much better than the rubber band drive (at the time) Athearns. They could pull better and didn't look like they were setting a land speed record.

The other thing I agree with is the Chatanooga Choo Choo was the beginning of the end for Tyco. The start of when they went downhill on a bobsled.

[Darth Santa Fe]

QUOTE: Originally posted by canazar

Put it on a fancy tablecloth. Take a good picture of it, stick on Ebay and call it a vintage engine and slap on a 49.99 Buy it Price.

[}:)]

Maybe $24.99. Or if you advertise it in the paper, $19.95, order now.
$8.00 shipping and handling. Please allow 3-5 weeks to get to your home.

Now if it was a rare engine, it would sell for quite a bit. You could get a couple hundred for a GM&O GP20.

[canazar]

Put it on a fancy tablecloth. Take a good picture of it, stick on Ebay and call it a vintage engine and slap on a 49.99 Buy it Price.

[}:)]

[Darth Santa Fe]

QUOTE: Originally posted by tpaulsen

They operate much better when driven over by a large truck, and it improves the detail too.

Tom

That's called roadkill. Unless the engines already "dead". Then you'll be haunted by an evil Tyco ghost that takes over your quality engines and slowly Tycoizes them.

[Anonymous]

I had to vote other. I think the only place for a true Tyco locomotive is somewhere else, anywhere else. I think they look good in a sanitary landfill. They operate much better when driven over by a large truck, and it improves the detail too.

Tom

[espeefoamer]

When I saw "Proper use for a Tyco engine" in the list of forums,before I clicked on this,two words popped into my head."Doorstop and Paperweight"[}:)].
I voted for haul to junkyard,but if I had it to do over again,I would have voted Firewood[:o)]!

[palallin]

Funny, I would say that most of the suggestions given here apply to ANY HO locomotive. ;-)

[ducking for cover]

Seriously, my experience with Tyco was mostly unproductive, the Chatanooga Choo-Choo having seduced my into HO for about ten years. Fortunately, I grew out of it and back into O (3 rail, 2 rail, and 30" gauge). HO is too finicky for me. It wasn't just Tyco: I never found a decent running HO loco of ANY brand, though, as someone emntioned above, I suspect that brass track was a major culprit in that situation. Still, such problems are refreshingly rare in the larger scales.

[cwclark]

I voted other...as in a more sinister slow painful death than using it for firewood...like cement trucks and dropped to the bottom of the ocean..or slowely strangled at the hood nose with a thin piece of piano wire...I never met a tyco locomotive that could hold it's on tracks... [:D] chuck

[3railguy]

Geeesh!! I got a Tyco GP-20 set for XMAS in 1967. I ran the **** out of that engine for a few years and I can still see the little headlight blazing the rails, hear the motor humming, and smell the hot grease. Saw an identical set on ebay mint and boxed. 20 bidders and I stopped at $125. I must not be alone.

[ben10ben]

Getting a person into Lionel. That's what they did for me, at least.

[darkstar974]

sittin on my shelf collecting dust

[Darth Santa Fe]

QUOTE: Originally posted by aloco

Stomping on.

Don't do it with bare feet.[xx(]

[aloco]

Stomping on.

[Anonymous]

Junk heap

[Darth Santa Fe]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dragenrider

Tyco's make great Guinea pigs for kitbashing, testing paint schemes, weathering practice, and for selling as "rare gems" to gullible Ebay shoppers. [}:)]

I found out that some collectors will pay $100 to $300 on eBay for the Tyco GM&O GP20!!! I got that information from this website: http://tycotrain.tripod.com/tycotrains/index.html
It tells all about Tyco, AHM, Bachmann, Cox, Atlas and Pemco trains from the early 60's to late 80's.

[dragenrider]

Tyco's make great Guinea pigs for kitbashing, testing paint schemes, weathering practice, and for selling as "rare gems" to gullible Ebay shoppers. [}:)]

[oleirish]

I wish I had my vary first HO engine A tyco 0-4-0 saddle tank ,today It would have a good place of honer with my model railroad stuff .I got it for XMAS when I was 13 years old.I'am 63 now.That and rideing the old P.E. in southren Calif.started my love of trains.[sigh]I have allso ridden the S.P.DAYLITE when I was vary young.

Jim[:)]

[Anonymous]

Look up the funky "Fundy Northern" Scrapyard Contraptions that have been floating about as of late. Doe something like that to your old tyco unit. Would be laods of fun and still using a cherrished model at the same time.

James

[tommyr]

Aggro;
Yes I do!! That sounds like a pretty elitist remark to me. I have a Tyco 262 that I bought in the 60's that is still running on my RR _weathered & all. It runs & pulls like ##@@. I don't understand all you guy s badmouthing Tyco so much. I admit I only have 1 but as I said it has been running for 40 years with no problems.
Tom