Toy trains Archives

What is a Lionel Pullmor motor?

Dave Farquhar Toy trains November 11, 2021March 10, 2022

Various Lionel trains over the years have featured what they call a Pullmor motor. But what is a Lionel Pullmor motor? Let’s look at the surprising origins of this motor and what you need to know about it, especially if there’s anything you can do that breaks it.

Dave Farquhar

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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Game box repair

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing, Toy trains May 10, 2021March 26, 2024

Vintage computer games and vintage toys display better in their original boxes. But frequently those boxes are in less than ideal condition, especially if you got it at a good price. A pristine box can be worth more than the contents. I recently lucked into a couple of vintage Commodore game cartridge boxes. Their best days were behind them, but I was able to make them presentable again. Here’s my approach to game box repair.

I fixed up quite a few battered books in my day to make them more suitable for resale. The tricks I learned fixing books helped me with fixing game boxes and toy boxes as well.

Dave Farquhar

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O gauge curved track dimensions

Dave Farquhar Toy trains January 29, 2021September 11, 2022

When it comes to O gauge trains, I don’t know if there’s a more confusing topic than track dimensions. Standards, schmandards. Let’s see what I can do to de-mystify O gauge curved track dimensions.

O gauge track comes in some common dimensions, the most common being 31, 36, 42, 54, 72, and 96 inch diameters. The problem is not every track system has each diameter, and the measurements tend to be nominal, kind of like lumber.

Dave Farquhar

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O27 scale

Dave Farquhar Toy trains January 22, 2021September 11, 2022

O27 scale is something of a misnomer. If you’re looking for scale fidelity, you won’t find a lot of it in O27, regardless of manufacturer. But there are still some general guidelines you can follow.

O27 is the designation for entry level O gauge trains that are smaller and less expensive, though capable of running on the same track. But their scale can be confusing, even for experienced hobbyists.

Dave Farquhar

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S gauge vs O gauge

Dave Farquhar Toy trains January 15, 2021December 7, 2020

The S gauge vs O gauge rivalry is certainly a natural one. They were the two most popular sizes of electric train immediately after World War II, before HO scale eclipsed both of them in the later half of the 1950s. Let’s take a look at the two standards for trains, what’s different about them, and see what kind of common ground we can find between them.

Dave Farquhar

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Mito tin trains: Postwar Japanese tin

Dave Farquhar Toy trains January 8, 2021August 27, 2022

The topic of Mito tin trains comes up periodically among Marx train collectors. These Japanese trains are about the size of Marx, and sometimes get mixed in with Marx. But they’re clearly something different. They are a bit obscure, so here’s what I know about them.

Dave Farquhar

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How to connect a Lionel transformer to track

Dave Farquhar Toy trains December 24, 2020December 4, 2022

If you’ve lost the original instructions, it’s certainly not obvious how to connect a Lionel transformer to track. Especially if someone else always set it up. But don’t be intimidated. It’s low voltage wiring. And it’s usually only four connections. Here’s how.

Dave Farquhar

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Lionel Scout train sets: Entry level Lionel

Dave Farquhar Toy trains December 11, 2020March 24, 2022

“It’s a Lionel Scout,” the auctioneer said breathlessly. I walked out the door without placing a bid. If you found a Lionel Scout train set and you think you found something valuable, I’m about to dash your hopes and dreams. That’s not to say Lionel Scouts aren’t interesting. But they were Lionel’s economy sets of the postwar era.

The Lionel Scout was a low-end train set Lionel introduced starting in 1948 to compete with Marx trains. When new, a Scout set sold for around $19, or a little over $200 in today’s dollars.

Dave Farquhar

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Mizuno East-West train set

Dave Farquhar Toy trains December 3, 2020February 1, 2022

The Mizuno East-West battery operated train set has all the hallmarks of postwar Japanese trains. It’s made of tin. It runs on batteries. It was cheap. And it carries an aura of mystery. Fortunately time unraveled a number of those mysteries.

Dave Farquhar

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How to cut Lionel tubular track

Dave Farquhar Toy trains November 26, 2020November 26, 2020

Sometimes you need to fill a space on your layout that no off-the-shelf length of track will fit. The advantage of tubular track is that you can cut custom lengths with little to no difficulty. Here’s how to cut Lionel tubular track.

Lionel tubular track, both O and O27 varieties, cuts relatively easily with a hacksaw. If you have a lot of track sections to cut, you can use a miniature chop saw as well.

Dave Farquhar

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