KW Archives - The Silicon Underground

The Lionel KW transformer

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 11:00:26 +0000

The Lionel KW transformer was the second largest transformer Lionel made in the postwar era. It delivered 190 watts of power and provided two handles to control two trains. Internally, the design is very similar to the ZW. If the

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Wiring a Lionel LW transformer

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 02 Jun 2017 11:00:35 +0000

When it comes to wiring a Lionel LW transformer, there’s more to consider than just which posts to use. The size of the wires also matters. If you derail a train, 5.5 amps of power can run through the wire for 10-15 seconds

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Wiring a Lionel KW transformer

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 04 May 2017 11:00:21 +0000

When it comes to wiring a Lionel KW transformer, there’s more to consider than just which posts to use. The size of the wires also matters. If you derail a train 8 amps of power can run through the wire for 10-15

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Wire a Lionel ZW transformer

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 12:00:02 +0000

When it comes time to wire a Lionel ZW transformer, there’s more to think about than just which posts to use. The size of the wires also matters. If you derail a train 12 amps of power can run through

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All about the Lionel RW transformer

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 12:00:15 +0000

The Lionel Multi-control Trainmaster RW is a sturdy tin box of a transformer from early in the postwar era. The presence of a whistle controller is the only thing that really distinguishes it from a prewar transformer. Lionel made it

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All about the Lionel KW

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 12:00:13 +0000

The Lionel KW is the second most powerful, and second most popular Lionel transformer of the 1950s and 1960s. If the Lionel ZW was Lionel’s Cadillac, the KW was Lionel’s Buick. It was a 190-watt transformer and Lionel sold it from

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All about the Lionel ZW

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 12:00:22 +0000

The Lionel ZW is Lionel’s most iconic transformer of the 1950s and 1960s, and perhaps one of its most iconic products, period. Everyone wanted the two-handled, football-shaped, 275-watt powerhouse that was the ZW. It was one of Lionel’s more venerable

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Lionel KW diode installation

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 23 Jan 2017 12:00:03 +0000

Lionel transformers use a selenium rectifier disc to produce a jolt of DC voltage to activate their train whistle. These discs degrade over time, so a decades-old transformer often produces a pretty anemic whistle–even one of the bigger transformers like

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Lionel transformer pinouts

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 10 Nov 2016 12:00:39 +0000

When wiring a Lionel layout with multiple transformers, it helps to know the pinouts, or what posts output what voltages. Lionel published a few lists over the years but none were complete. Here is my list of 33 different Lionel

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When Lionel bulbs burn out too fast

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 11:00:54 +0000

A frequent question I see is why the Lionel bulbs in any given accessory burn out quickly. I can sum up both the problem and the solution in a single word: voltage. When you have too much voltage, bulbs burn

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