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How does a Lionel e-unit work?

Dave Farquhar Toy trains May 15, 2020May 15, 2020american flyer, conductivity, e-unit, ives, lionel, marx

The Lionel e-unit was a wonder of ingenuity in the 1930s. But how does a Lionel e-unit work?

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

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Cleaning NES games and consoles

Dave Farquhar Retro Gaming July 15, 2018January 20, 20251980s, atari, atari 2600, blank screen, conductivity, isopropyl alcohol, lionel, metal polish, NES, nintendo, nintendo nes, VCR, video game

Anyone old enough to have played with an original Nintendo NES knows the problem: You plug in the cartridge, turn on the system, and get a blank screen and the power light blinks at you. The schoolyard fix is to take out the cartridge, blow into it, then put it back into the system. Then, with a little luck, you can play your game. The trouble is, that’s just a short-term fix. In the long run, it makes the problem worse and eventually the system can’t play games at all. The solution is to clean them. Here’s a process for cleaning NES games.

Dave Farquhar

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Fix bathroom light bulb flickering

Dave Farquhar DIY, Saving money March 7, 2017March 13, 2021CFL, conductivity, extra mile, led bulbs

Flickering lights can be a sign of a serious electrical problem. But bathroom light bulb flickering often is due to other issues. Let’s look at things that cause bathroom light bulbs to flicker and burn out more quickly than elsewhere in the house and things you can do to prevent it.

And yes, flickering usually does go hand in hand with reduced lifespan.

Dave Farquhar

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Repair a Lionel train motor

Dave Farquhar Toy trains February 14, 2017December 5, 2021conductivity, e-unit, lionel, Lionel 675, lionel train, Lucas Red, marx, metal polish, oxidation, radio shack

If you want to fix a Lionel train, what you probably really need to do is repair a Lionel train motor. There isn’t much to the rest of the train.

The motors tend to be pretty rugged and they’ve held up over the years. Most “repairs” are really more of a clean and service job, not unlike taking your car in for an oil change. Here are some general principles to follow when you clean and service a Lionel motor.

Dave Farquhar

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How to avoid cleaning Lionel track

Dave Farquhar Toy trains January 13, 2017April 7, 2022Cleaning Lionel, conductivity, lionel, marx, oxidation, s scale

For some people, the only enjoyable part of cleaning Lionel track is arguing about how to do it. The rest of us don’t even enjoy that part. Recently I unearthed a decades-old secret that mostly eliminates the need to clean track. Sound too good to be true?

Dave Farquhar

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How to lubricate a Marx motor

Dave Farquhar Toy trains April 6, 2016October 22, 2022conductivity, lionel, marx, marx trains, o gauge, PFTE

I found a video titled How to Lubricate with Labelle, and I thought I would elaborate on how to adapt Labelle’s advice to Marx trains. You don’t have to use Labelle oil and grease necessarily, though I do like their products. Here’s how to lubricate a Marx motor, specifically with Labelle lubricants.

Lubrication is a more controversial topic than it needs to be, but what I find is that when I follow the advice I’m about to present, the train runs cooler, more quietly, with more pulling power, and starts at a lower voltage. All of those are good things. With a single reduction motor, I can pull six of the metal 3/16 scale cars at 7-8 volts. An unlubricated motor might not even start at 7 volts.

Dave Farquhar

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How to install American Flyer track locks

Dave Farquhar Toy trains March 14, 2016September 7, 2016american flyer, conductivity, s gauge, tin

To held tracks hold together without nailing them down permanently, AC Gilbert marketed its #694 track locks. Sometimes people also call these track clips. The locks are u-shaped pieces of tin that came in a brown envelope with instructions on the front. If you’ve lost the instructions, or bought the clips secondhand and never got them, here’s how to install American Flyer track locks.

These track locks are indispensable for setting up a layout on the floor.

Dave Farquhar

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Replace Lionel O gauge track pins with nails

Dave Farquhar Toy trains November 13, 2015September 15, 2016conductivity, lionel, o gauge

Here’s a question that came in recently: Can you replace Lionel O gauge track pins with nails?

Yes, but with a caveat. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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CFL bulbs burn out quickly? Here’s what to do.

Dave Farquhar DIY, Saving money January 23, 2014March 22, 2019CFL, cfls, conductivity, kitchens, led bulbs, philips

I’ve been hearing a lot of complaints about CFL bulbs lately. I’ve written about how to address premature CFL burnout before, but I guess it bears repeating. It’s a five-minute fix, usually, to get the bulbs to last a while. So here’s what to do if your CFL bulbs burn out quickly.

CFL bulbs do seem to be more sensitive to minor electrical problems than older bulbs. Fixing the tab in your light socket or replacing your light switch is often enough to make the bulbs last as long as the package said they would.

Dave Farquhar

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Fight voltage drop with copper anti-seize lubricant

Dave Farquhar model railroading, Toy trains February 17, 2013April 15, 2017conductivity, lockon, oxidation, train layout

If you have issues with your trains slowing down on the far reaches of your layout–and judging from my website hits, many people do–there are a couple of things to do about it. The first thing is to run additional feeder wires. Going by the book, you should go every third track section. Do I push it a little? Sure. Sometimes I can get away with a little less than that, and sometimes every three sections isn’t quite enough.

But over time, the conductivity between track sections can wane a bit, as moisture and oxidation creep in. Coating track pins with copper anti-seize lubricant keeps the moisture out, which keeps oxidation out, which makes the layout more reliable, especially if the layout is outdoors, in the garage, or in the basement. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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