Proper use for a Tyco engine

[Darth Santa Fe]

QUOTE: Originally posted by [e-mail]

By the way what ever happened to Tyco anyway?

In 1993 instead of improving their quality, they stopped making model railroad products and went on to making other toys instead. (I think they made the original Crash Dummies, and they had something similar to the large Mega-Blocks)

[Anonymous]

I voted for the weathering practice on a loco. I had the Santa Fe F7 made by Tyco.
By the way what ever happened to Tyco anyway?

[BNSFNUT]

Door stop.

[AggroJones]

My Tyco and Life-Like crap line stuff was sold off to lauch me into real model railroading.
I suppose if I still had them, I'd practice me airbrush strokes on them.

These people with still run Tyco, what is that like? You got photos of this stuff on your layout? Do you detail and weather them, then run them through realistic scenery? I'm trying to imagine this....

[Darth Santa Fe]

QUOTE: Originally posted by TomDiehl

After Consolidated Foods bought them and moved production to Hong Kong, well, those are the ones that should be flamed, for operation and looks.

A chrome plated Santa Fe engine??? Puleeese.

Alot of their Hong Kong engines did look really bad (the GG-1, for example) but there were some that did look pretty good (the SD24 started out with realistic trucks).

And the chrome plated and gold colored stuff was probably made because some people wanted something *shiny*. (sparkel sparkel)

[TomDiehl]

Depends on the age. The Tyco's I had back in the '60's and '70's were good runners and pullers. After Consolidated Foods bought them and moved production to Hong Kong, well, those are the ones that should be flamed, for operation and looks.

A chrome plated Santa Fe engine??? Puleeese.

[BillLading]

It is hard for me to part with anything that I have had from when I first got into HO.

Took out the gearing when it died and made it into a good dummy engine.

[choochin3]

I run 'em,I fixem,I lovem !
Been playing with Tyco,Life Like,etc. for about 28 years now.
Actually i have started to get all the stuff I had when I was a kid,and a lot of the stuff I couldn't afford at the time.
I think the hardest part is finding good traction tires for Tyco locos.

Carl T

[DavidJ611]

QUOTE: csmith
Tyco for a lot of folks was the "gateway drug", if you will. That's what I started with as a young lad, as well as many other modelers I know (although some would never admit it).

[#ditto] I too got my introduction into the hobby with Tyco trains. My very first train set was a Tyco "Spirit of 76" set, which "Santa" brought me for Chrstmas in 1975. I have many fond memories of playing with those old trains and with my dear (now departed) dad's help expanding my humble little 4X8 empire year by year as my collection grew.

I readily acknowledge that the "Power-Torque" [?] drive mechanisms were flat out terrible and frustrating to deal with as they wore out--way too quickly [Who else out there knows that horrible "wheezing" [xx(] sound of a binding "Power-Torque" [?] drive by heart?]. Nevertheless, I still had fun with them, and as I got older and the new Tyco products got funkier, I discovered and progressed onto better quality, more realistic scale model railroad products (Athearn, Atlas, MDC, etc.).

I haven't run any of my old Tyco trains in years, but I still have 99% of them, and although they aren't even close to the fine HO scale models I now enjoy as an adult, they still bring a smile to my face simply for being what they are and what they meant to me in my youth.

I can appreciate all of the voting options available, depending on one's frame of reference, except that I doubt anyone could find a Tyco train that would actually run halfway well [or at all] for any reasonable duration [;)]. As for myself, I'm thinking of digging out a select few pieces to display in celebration of my 30th anniversary in the World's Greatest Hobby. [:)]

-David

P.S. Anyone else who has fond memories of their old Tyco trains might find the following website of interest: http://tycotrain.tripod.com/tycotrains/

[cacole]

Other -- we give them to children who visit our club's open houses. It seems that every time we have an open house, we have a rash of visitors who try to sell us old Tyco or Bachmann train sets that have been collecting dust in their attics for several years. One person even had the gall to ask $75 for an old Tyco Christmas train set that didn't even run, if it ever had.

[acelachaser]

well, the old light green Penn Central F9 will be sitting in the far corner of my city freight yard up on blocks with the trucks removed and graffiti all over its weather beaten body...hey! that's just the same condition as when Amtrak bought it!

[jeffshultz]

I remember my Tyco C630 (the "Golden Eagle" one) being a fairly good runner, at least on the carpet loop. I do sorta wonder where all that stuf went - when I got back out of the army and came back home, which had moved twice while I was gone, I found a lot of stuff missing. And I don't remember throwing it away.

[areibel]

I still have a couple of runners, an F7 and a pair of Bicentennial Alcos and I've never had that much of a problem with them running. And the times I really had trouble it usually wasn't the loco's fault, it was that wondeful brass snap track!
It's real eazy for everyone to look down their noses now, but if you were a kid that liked trains 30 years ago, Tyco was probably what you had, and I'll bet more have good memories than bad. I had more problems with AHM locos - an old FM C liner comes to mind- That was the one that got kitbashed into something else. But to each his own!

[Anonymous]

When I was 8 years old, my tyco SF GP20s were the greatest things since sliced bread. A couple of years later, they were relegated to secondary service when my dad came home with an Athearn U28B. The "gateway drug" comment is right on. Tycos filled the need until something better came along. I just wish I could fit them in as a weathering project on my N&W themed layout.

[Darth Santa Fe]

Okay, I added "other" to the choices. Now the poll is perfect!!![:D] Maybe.

[Darth Santa Fe]

QUOTE: Originally posted by slotracer

Oh No...it's SID !!!

Maybe Buzz Lightyear can stop him![:D]

[Darth Santa Fe]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Virginian

You should have had an 'other' category

Oops, I forgot that one.

[slotracer]

Oh No...it's SID !!!

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Darth Santa Fe

QUOTE: Originally posted by slotracer

4th of July is right around the corner.....

KAPOW!!! That'll look cool, except for the sharp pieces of Tyco engine raining down on us.[xx(] I think I'll stand back... but if I were to pay money for a Tyco engine, I'd probably run it and give it proper maintanance when it needs it.

LOL!!!

[Virginian]

You should have had an 'other' category, as none of those are really suitable for a Tyco. I really liked the "strap it to a thermonuclear weapon" idea above. I would really like to make all the people advertising rare, mint, wonderful, silver Tyco VGN hoppers on eBay eat the da*n things with no salt.

[Darth Santa Fe]

QUOTE: Originally posted by slotracer

4th of July is right around the corner.....

KAPOW!!! That'll look cool, except for the sharp pieces of Tyco engine raining down on us.[xx(] I think I'll stand back... but if I were to pay money for a Tyco engine, I'd probably run it and give it proper maintanance when it needs it.

[slotracer]

4th of July is right around the corner.....

[Anonymous]

I'd say they're probably a good way to practice fixing broken locos - if you can pick them up for pennies at shows, etc then build one good loco out of two or more "duds", it'd be good experience for future repair jobs on more expensive locos. I've tackled locos that were worth a considerable amount more after I repaired them, but started out fixing old Hornby stuff worth next to nothing - if it goes wrong you've not lost much, and it's useful experience

[Anonymous]

I voted for weathering but then read Spacemouse's reply. Right there is why this hobby is so great. [tup] they may not last long but it will give them enough to run trains and keep them hooked. Hopefully it keeps running long enough for them to save up for a new one. Good idea chip.
Andrew

[Anonymous]

Tyco trains killed my participation in the hobby.

I returned to it after I was able to afford engines that actually work well. It was to be years before that happened.

Therefore I voted firewood. Although I dont suggest setting the plastic on fire.

[bpickering]

Display for sentimental purposes.

That is, if I could FIND the stupid thing. Mom swears there are no boxes back home, but my very first loco (a Tyco BN hood unit) is amongst the few missing members of my teenage "empire".

It stopped running in the early 80s, but I would still have it sitting somewhere, just as a reminder of the "good 'ol days".

Brian Pickering

[pcarrell]

Can you say "Gomez Adams"?

[Darth Santa Fe]

QUOTE: Originally posted by orsonroy

It depends on which Tyco stuff you're talking about.

I'm talking about the Tyco trains that weren't made by Mantua. My Mantua/Tyco F7 has a pretty smooth and reliable drive, except for the unreliable electrical pick-up.

[orsonroy]

It depends on which Tyco stuff you're talking about. The old Tyco/Mantua steam might not look the best (and is almost all freelance) but the engines were engineered exceptionally well, ran pretty good, and could PULL. I've got one of my Mantua 2-8-2s on videotape dragging 100 freight cars around on my old layout.

Their diesels are NOT firewood. They're best reserved for skeet shooting clays.

[BentnoseWillie]

If it's got sentimental value, paperweight.

Otherwise, an anchor for a very small boat...