Toy trains

Tip: Use a TV stand or cart to hold train transformers

Dave Farquhar Toy trains ,

Once your train layout outgrows a single 80- or 90-watt transformer, finding room for a larger transformer (or bank of transformers) gets difficult.

A TV stand suitable for a CRT television (remember those?) provides a nice solution. I’ve been using my old TV stand for a good 7 years.
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How to make a Lionel train whistle

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How do you make a Lionel train whistle? Well, you need a whistling tender and a transformer with a whistle button or handle. If it’s all wired correctly, pushing the button or handle while the electric train is moving will make it whistle.

And if it doesn’t, let’s try to figure out why.

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Fixing Lionel locomotives that run erratically and have flickering lights

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If you have a Lionel electric train whose lights flicker and (possibly) runs erratically, I have an easy fix.
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Review: The Definitive Guide to Marx Trains, by Walt Hiteshew

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A week go I wrote about the newest Greenberg Pocket Guide, which I recommended as a useful, if flawed, resource. Today I’ll talk about one of the best ways to fill in the gaps.

Several years ago, Walt Hiteshew released his Definitive Guide to Marx 6″  and Joy Line Trains on CD-ROM, priced at $29.95. The Definitive Guide covers every known 6″ car Marx produced and includes photos, pricing, and production history. Basically, everything known or that can be reasonably inferred about Marx’s most prolific line. When Mr. Hiteshew says Definitive Guide, he means it.
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Greenberg’s Marx Trains Pocket Price Guide, 9th edition: A review

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I received my copy of the new 9th edition of the Greenberg Pocket Price Guide for Marx trains this past weekend. Marx used to print on its packages, “One of the many Marx toys. Have you all of them?” This book won’t completely answer that question, but at the very least, it gives you a start, and helps you avoid paying too much for the ones you don’t have yet.

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My latest publication tackles the Lionel gateman

Dave Farquhar Toy trains , , ,

Yesterday I saw (and edited) the final proofs for an article that will be appearing in the January 2012 issue of Classic Toy Trains, due on newsstands 6 December.

The article, “Smart wiring for the gateman,” shows some different ways to wire the venerable Lionel gateman accessory, first introduced 75 years ago.
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How to remove paint from a tin litho toy or train

Dave Farquhar Toy trains , , , , ,

It isn’t terribly rare to find old tin lithographed toys or trains that have been overpainted. Boys will be boys, after all, and have you ever met a boy that didn’t love paint?

When it comes to restoring these toys, there are no guarantees. Removing the paint without damaging the lithography beneath is tricky, at best. And, of course, there’s a pretty good chance that whatever lies beneath that paint is scratched up or otherwise damaged. Generally speaking, it’s the well-worn toys that get painted, not mint-condition ones.

But if you’re feeling brave and at least a little bit lucky, you can remove the paint, see what’s under it, and maybe, just maybe, it will prove to be salvageable.

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Good news for Marx train enthusiasts

Dave Farquhar Toy trains , , , , , ,

Kalmbach has decided, after more than a decade, to release a new Greenberg Pocket Price Guide for Marx trains (here’s my review). Although the O’Brien Collecting Toy Trains guides have a section on Marx, the Greenberg guides have always been more complete and more accurate. The most recent O’Brien guide from 2006 completely omitted Marx’s 3/16 line, a difficult flaw to overlook. That’s why the out-of-print Greenberg book from 2001 remained the standard for all these years and in recent years used copies commanded prices of $100 and more.
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No, the government isn’t going to come take your trains

Dave Farquhar Toy trains , , , , ,

Friday’s news that the Department of Health and Human Services have added formaldehyde to the list of known carcinogens and styrene to the list of potential human carcinogens caused a rumble in some of the circles I run in.

Let’s calm down, everyone. This doesn’t mean the government is going to send FBI agents to your door, guns in hand, confiscating your plastic trains and toys. The bottom line is that there is some danger for industrial workers who are exposed to the raw chemicals, but comparatively little danger to the consumers who posses plastic products made from those chemicals.
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How to lower your train accessories into your table

Dave Farquhar Toy trains , , , , ,

One of the first articles I remember reading in a train magazine (I don’t remember if it was Classic Toy Trains or a competing rag) was titled “Put your accessories in pockets.” Basically, it advocated cutting holes in your table, putting a board beneath the hole, and putting the accessory in the hole to even it up with the ground level on your layout.

It’s a great idea–more on that in a minute–but it really didn’t go into much detail about how to do the cutting part.

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