american flyer Archives

Wooden ties for electric train track

Dave Farquhar Toy trains January 8, 2016December 4, 2018american flyer, lionel, marx, Marx O27, o gauge, o27, s gauge, super glue

Someone asked me the other day about the dimensions of the metal ties on vintage electric train track, presumably to cut some wooden ties to match. So I pulled some track out of my stash, got out my caliper, and took some measurements.

Vintage electric train track from American Flyer, Lionel and Marx had large gaps in between the ties. Filling those gaps makes the track look more finished and a bit more realistic.

Matching them exactly using the wood and the tools available to you may be difficult, but you don’t have to be exact. I have some tips for that as well.

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.

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Get more transformer outputs by using a grounding bus bar

Dave Farquhar Toy trains January 1, 2016September 10, 2017american flyer, DCC, DCS, hardware store, HO, home improvement, lionel, marx, MTH, tin, train table

Train transformers have one pair of screws for each output, which is generally enough for a simple layout, but once you have more than one accessory or building with lights in it, you’ll find it’s difficult to attach all of the wires to the transformer posts.

You can get more on the cheap by repurposing ground bus bars, intended for circuit breaker panels. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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All about the Lionel 1033

Dave Farquhar Toy trains December 25, 2015January 2, 2018american flyer, home depot, KW, lionel, marx, power cord, troubleshooting

The Lionel Multi-control 1033 is a 90 watt transformer produced from 1948 to 1956. They are reasonably durable and were popular in their day, which means there are still a lot of them floating around so they tend to be inexpensive. I paid $70 for one about 15 years ago but the price has come way down; today you can get a serviced 1033 for about half that, and an as-is one for $20-$25.

Even someone who has a larger transformer or multiple larger transformers for the layout might be interested in a 1033 for the test bench, as it has all of the functionality someone would need for testing locomotives and whistling tenders.

Dave Farquhar

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Why to never use steel wool to clean electric train track

Dave Farquhar Toy trains December 20, 2015September 2, 20173m, american flyer, hardware store, ives, lionel, lionel train, marx, marx trains, postwar lionel, tin

You may have heard to never use steel wool to clean electric train track, especially Lionel, but you may have never heard the reason why.

There is a good reason.

Dave Farquhar

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How to attach wires to the posts of a Lionel train transformer

Dave Farquhar Toy trains December 19, 2015November 24, 2016american flyer, lionel, lionel train, lockon, marx

It took me 20 years to find out I was connecting the wires to my train transformer wrong–and this applies to American Flyer and Marx just as much as to Lionel–and I don’t want the same thing to happen to you. I was making it far, far too difficult to attach wires to the posts of a Lionel train transformer.

Modern transformers have a groove in the post to accept a wire, but vintage transformers don’t. If you’re having problems with the wires coming off your transformer while you try to cinch them down, here’s how to connect to a vintage transformer in three simple steps.

Dave Farquhar

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Testing electric train track

Dave Farquhar Toy trains December 16, 2015December 13, 2021american flyer, lionel, Lionel O27, lockon, marx, o27, s gauge, troubleshooting

I have a method of testing electric train track from Lionel, American Flyer, Marx or any other brand. The key is to test it one piece at a time, so you know any problem you found is isolated to a single piece of track.

Here are a couple of different ways to test, depending on what tools you have available.

Dave Farquhar

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How to disassemble a Marx 999 locomotive

Dave Farquhar Toy trains December 13, 2015November 19, 2018american flyer, boxcar, clearcoat, commodore, hardware store, lionel, Lucas Red, marx, marx trains, metal polish, o27, tin, trainz

Disassembling a Marx 999 locomotive isn’t too difficult, and it’s easier than the Marx 666, but it helps to have some instructions.

The nice thing about the 999 is that if you can disassemble it, there’s a long, long list of Marx locomotives that disassemble in pretty much the same way: the Commodore Vanderbilt, the Mercury, the tin Canadian Pacific 391, and the tin steamers 592, 593, 594, 833, 897, 898, and 994.

Marx designed its trains so that a father or older brother could service them, so it comes apart with simple household tools, and you can get most of what you’ll need to service it at the nearest hardware store, with the probable exception of the bulb for the headlight.

Dave Farquhar

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How many Lionel CTC lockons you need

Dave Farquhar Toy trains December 5, 2015September 11, 2022american flyer, lionel, lockon, marx, marx trains, o27, s gauge, trainz

You usually need at least two Lionel CTC lockons, but most Lionel O and O27 train sets came with a single CTC lockon connector.

If your train slows down as it gets farther away from the transformer, that’s the biggest tell-tale sign that you need at least one more lockon.

Dave Farquhar

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American Flyer trains and Lionel track

Dave Farquhar Toy trains September 4, 2015November 29, 2015american flyer, antique mall, lionel, s gauge, vintage trains

An anonymous reader asked if American Flyer trains can run on Lionel track.

The answer, of course, is that it depends. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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Aluminum paint is a cheap alternative to replating

Dave Farquhar Toy trains June 26, 2015September 3, 2017american flyer, erector, hardware store, lionel, marx, tin

Aficionados of old toys, particularly building kits like Erector and Meccano, or prewar tinplate trains made by companies like Lionel, American Flyer and Marx, know all too well that the tin plating on unpainted parts can wear off with time, and with it, bring unsightly rust.

When restoring a piece, they’ll often use a replating kit to apply a new coat of tin. But sometimes you want a piece to look better but can’t justify the expense of a replating kit, or the piece is too badly pitted to replate well and need an alternative.

Dave Farquhar

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