Toy trains Archives

Homemade toy train track

Dave Farquhar Toy trains December 4, 2010December 5, 20151940s, DIY, lionel, lionel train, Madison Hardware, o27, Popular Mechanics, tin, toy train, tubular track

For some reason, a lot of people are interested in making their own Lionel train track. I don’t think it’s practical, but it’s definitely possible.

I found a 1944 Popular Mechanics article on making your own DIY Lionel train track. During World War II, toy production all but stopped, so short of buying from stores like Madison Hardware that sold old stock, making your own was all you could do. Even Madison Hardware had to resort to creativity, building a machine to straighten curved track sections to make straights so they would have straight track to sell.

The article used scrap tin salvaged from cans, wire salvaged from a coat hanger, and a homemade jig made of flat steel bar and wood. It was possible to make both straight and curved sections, although the article didn’t elaborate a lot on making curves.

I don’t think it’s practical, at least not today, when clean used O27 or O31 tubular track sells for $1 or less per section and most dealers take in used track faster than they can resell it. The jig will cost more to make than a circle of track costs, and then there’s the trouble of locating suitable metal sheet to use, which is likely to cost more than the track as well. Then there’s the time involved with cutting the metal, forming the rails, and assembling the track. It’s something to do because you really want homemade train track, not to save money.

But I do think the article is interesting from a historical perspective. If you found some track in a stash of 1940s trains that appears to have been homemade, there’s a pretty good chance the person who made it found the instructions in Popular Mechanics. And there’s a pretty good chance whoever made it didn’t have any other source for track at the time.

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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Frequent questions about setting up toy trains and trains and Christmas trees

Dave Farquhar Toy trains November 28, 2010November 25, 2018american flyer, christmas, lionel, Lionel Fastrack, lionel train, lockon, marx, o gauge, o scale, o27, old school, red wire, s gauge, s scale, tin, tubular track

Here are some train-related questions I’ve received that I really don’t think I ever answered adequately elsewhere. Hopefully this will help. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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Transformers for vintage trains

Dave Farquhar Toy trains November 27, 2010February 22, 20191980s, american flyer, KW, lionel, lionel train, marx, postwar lionel, vintage trains

A common question is whether transformers for vintage American Flyer, Lionel, and Marx are interchangeable, and what to do if a transformer won’t work.

The simple answer is, yes, a train from one of those makes will run on a transformer from any of the others. They all ran on 0-24 volts AC.

There are two caveats. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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Gluing Plasticville – or not

Dave Farquhar Toy trains November 26, 2010December 8, 2016american flyer, bachmann, Bachmann Plasticville, christmas, lionel, lionel train, Tacky Wax

A frequent complaint I see about the Plasticville buildings that people have been using with Lionel and American Flyer trains for more than a half century is that they don’t stay together well. This especially seems to be a problem with the modern reissues. Maybe the old molds are starting to wear out after all this time. Gluing Plasticville is an option. But here’s how to make Plasticville stay together without glue.

There is a cheap, easy, and non-permanent solution. Put a dab of Tacky Wax the size of a small pea on each corner. Usually one on the top and bottom where two pieces meet is sufficient. You can also use a couple of dabs on the bottoms of the walls to hold the building in place on non-carpeted surfaces. And when you want it gone, just roll it off with a finger when you disassemble the building. That means it won’t harm the value if you use it on collectible vintage Plasticville pieces.

Even though it’s non-permanent, it’s resilient. If you take your buildings apart at the end of the Christmas season, you can leave the wax on the pieces and it will work again next year. You may just have to tweak the placement of the wax a bit.

Tacky Wax also works well for holding figures in place. I’ve never had a passing train knock over a figure held down with it.

A 1 oz container goes a long way. I bought a single container and after I finished tacking down everything that isn’t supposed to move on my 8×8 layout, I still had some left over. The figures held strong for a couple of years. When the occasional figure finally does get jostled enough to fall over, I can just put it back. Usually I don’t even have to add more wax, and it will stay put for another couple of years.

I hope you found this helpful. If you like Plasticville, maybe these tips for cleaning it will help you too.

Dave Farquhar

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Making your own Lionel Fastrack terminal sections

Dave Farquhar Toy trains November 19, 2010April 15, 2017lionel, Lionel Fastrack, red wire

Let’s talk about wiring tricks for Lionel Fastrack. Specifically, let’s talk about making your own Fastrack terminal sections instead of buying them.

It’s a good idea to run wires to your track every so often. The rules vary. I’ve heard every 3 track joints, starting over after each switch. I’ve also heard every 3-4 feet. Regardless of who you believe, the single drop you’re probably using is inadequate. Adding extra drops will cause your train’s speed to remain a lot more smooth and constant.

Fastrack terminal sections–the sections that come with wires attached from the factory–are expensive. But any section has the terminals on the underside of the track to add your own wires; you just need the connector. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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How to fix old Marx locomotives

Dave Farquhar Toy trains November 16, 2010January 11, 2020conductivity, Lucas Red, marx, marx trains, PTFE, radio shack, tin, WD, wd 40

I’ve been noticing that a post I made several years ago about my experiments fixing a Marx 490 train locomotive has been getting a disconcerting number of hits. Disconcerting, because I repeated some advice on how to fix old Marx locomotives from another web site that I later found, by experience, wasn’t all that good.

Here’s how I go about doing simple repairs on Marx trains today, now that I’ve done a few.

Dave Farquhar

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Fix or restore Lionel track

Dave Farquhar Toy trains November 13, 2010January 10, 2019american flyer, cardstock, conductivity, lionel, lionel train, locking pliers, marx, Marx O27, needle nose pliers, o27, Rail Zip, tin, tubular track

It’s that time of year again. Time to get that old Lionel (or Marx or American Flyer) electric train running before the holidays sneak up. More often than not, the track isn’t in the best of shape. Fortunately, it’s not all that hard to fix or restore Lionel track.

Believe it or not, you can effectively remove rust from old Lionel track with a ball of aluminum foil. A small ball of aluminum foil plundered from your kitchen and five minutes of your time is likely to be enough to restore a loop of Lionel track from rusty, unusable junk to reliable operation.

Dave Farquhar

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Buy wooden trains cheap

Dave Farquhar Saving money, Toy trains February 13, 2010August 3, 2017brio, christmas, lionel, maxim, o gauge, saving money, toys r us, train show, train table

My son likes wooden trains. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, since I like the bigger metal (and sometimes plastic) trains that run on O gauge track. The downside to Brio and Learning Curve (Thomas) trains is that sometimes they seem to cost nearly as much as Lionel, even though they’re essentially carved blocks of wood. But I learned how to buy wooden trains cheap.

There are several ways to save money on them, it turns out.

Dave Farquhar

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Cars for trains

Dave Farquhar Toy trains December 2, 2008April 1, 20241:64 scale, 1950s, 1960s, american flyer, boxcar, boxcars, Hot Wheels, kmart, lionel, marx, marx trains, matchbox, o gauge, o scale, o27, postwar lionel, s gauge, s scale, WWII

Vehicles are a frequent topic of discussion on the various O and S gauge train forms. At times these discussions can get rather heated.

Since use on train layouts is rarely the objective of the companies making various diecast vehicles, there’s no true right answer to what one should or shouldn’t use. This is my personal philosophy. Take it for what it’s worth.

Dave Farquhar

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Lionel at Target

Dave Farquhar Toy trains November 10, 2008November 25, 20181950s, christmas, garage sale, garage sales, lionel, lionel train, Louis Marx, marx, New Year, o gauge, video game

On Sunday, I went to Target largely because I had a coupon, but I also wanted to get a gift for my son.

I had heard Target was selling Lionel trains again like in 2006, and I’d seen a picture of the endcap, which included a Lionel teddy bear in addition to the trains. I wanted one.

Dave Farquhar

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