Toy trains Archives

Is Aliexpress safe?

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing, Toy trains May 29, 2020May 24, 2020

Aliexpress offers deals on hard-to-find items at unbeatable prices. It also offers deals on ordinary items at lower prices than usual, because it’s coming straight from China, with fewer middlemen. But is Aliexpress safe?

Aliexpress does offer buyer protections. But being overseas and dealing with overseas shipping times does mean Aliexpress is inherently riskier from buying from online sources that are closer to you.

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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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?

Dave Farquhar

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Skyline tin buildings

Dave Farquhar Toy trains May 8, 2020January 27, 20221940s, 1950s, american flyer, billboard, cardstock, lionel, Louis Marx, marx, tin, toy train, train layout, train show, wyandotte

In the 1940s and 1950s, Skyline of Philadelphia manufactured and marketed a line of toy train-oriented building kits. Actually, there were two lines: One was a line of building kits made of cardstock and wood, and one was a smaller line of lithographed tin buildings, similar to the inexpensive toys made by the likes of Louis Marx, Wyandotte, and countless others in the days before ubiquitous plastics.

I’ve long suspected the two product lines came from the same company, but had no evidence to prove it until Ed “Ice” Berg produced scans of a Skyline catalog containing both paper/wood and tin litho buildings, side by side.

Dave Farquhar

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Louis Marx: The bygone toy king

Dave Farquhar Toy trains May 1, 2020April 25, 2020

Louis Marx was the founder of the toy company that bore his name. His larger toys became staples in Christmas catalogs for generations, while his smaller toys dominated the discount stores of their day.

Louis Marx was first and foremost a toy salesman, but he lived an interesting life. He counted President Dwight Eisenhower among his friends, and Daniel Ellsberg, known for the Pentagon Papers, married his daughter.

Dave Farquhar

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Wire a Sakai O gauge switch

Dave Farquhar Toy trains April 24, 2020April 12, 2020

Sakai made a switch in the postwar era that looks a lot like a Lionel 1121 but acts like a Marx 1590. But if you use a Sakai control panel, it wires up differently from both of them. Here’s how to wire a Sakai O gauge switch.

The wiring diagram was on the back of the box, which you may not have anymore. I have a copy, as well as an explanation of how it works.

Dave Farquhar

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Are Lionel trains AC or DC?

Dave Farquhar Toy trains April 17, 2020October 6, 2022

Are Lionel trains AC or DC? That’s a trick question. Traditionally, Lionel trains run on AC but there are exceptions. And even when Lionel trains run on AC, they sometimes do some DC trickery. Let’s explain.

Traditional Lionel trains from before 1969 can generally run on either AC or DC, but are better off running on AC. Some Lionel trains sold in discount stores in the 70s and 80s did run on DC, as a cost reduction measure.

Dave Farquhar

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How to dust your model railroad

Dave Farquhar model railroading, Toy trains April 10, 2020April 2, 2020

Depending on the look you’re after, dust can detract from your model railroad layout’s appearance. Dust especially shows up in photographs. Here’s how to dust your model railroad quickly and easily.

Dave Farquhar

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American Flyer track radius

Dave Farquhar Toy trains March 20, 2020January 10, 2022

American Flyer produced track in a variety of gauges and radii, but if you’re asking about American Flyer track radius, you probably mean its S gauge track.

The standard radius for American Flyer S gauge track, produced from 1946 to 1967, was 20 inches. Other radii were also available from other manufacturers.

Dave Farquhar

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Marx 1829 vs 333

Dave Farquhar Toy trains March 14, 2020May 9, 2024

The Marx 333 and 1829 were the largest O gauge steam locomotives Marx produced. But even though Marx’s competitors would sometimes make both a diecast and plastic version of the same engine, that’s not what Marx did here. Let’s take a look at the Marx 1829 vs 333.

The 1829 wasn’t just a plastic Marx 333. The design of the casting differs from the diecast 333, and it used a different trailing truck, since the 333 was a 4-6-2 Pacific and the 1829 was a Hudson. The motor was similar, and like the 333, it came in both smoking and non-smoking versions.

Dave Farquhar

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Train runs better backward than forward

Dave Farquhar Toy trains March 6, 2020February 28, 2020

What would cause a train to run better backward than forward? If it can go one direction it should be able to go the other just as easily, right?

When a train runs better backward than forward, that’s an indication of uneven wear. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s an expensive repair though.

Dave Farquhar

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