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Marx trains and Lionel 1121 switches

Dave Farquhar Toy trains March 10, 2012November 22, 2016christmas, Classic Toy Trains, lionel, marx, marx trains, o27, Peter Riddle

There is some unfortunate misinformation circulating on various train forums. I first read this misinformation in the outstanding book by Peter Riddle, Trains from Grandfather’s Attic, published in 1991. As Classic Toy Trains editor Bob Keller noted while we were finishing up my article late last year, incorrect information in print lasts a long time. A very long time, sometimes. Lionel 1121 switches and Marx trains are rumored to get along famously. I am sad to report they do not.
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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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Tips for connecting traditional tubular track

Dave Farquhar Toy trains March 3, 2012November 29, 2015conductivity, lionel, marx, o27, tubular track

I saw a question earlier this week about working with Lionel tubular track. It doesn’t snap together quite as easily as modern Fastrack does, but it’s a lot cheaper, especially if you already have a bunch of it on hand.

I probably have 100 linear feet of tubular O27 track (Lionel, Marx, and K-Line) on my layout, so I’ll give some tips for working with it.

Dave Farquhar

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Fixing track that gets hot at the track joints

Dave Farquhar Toy trains February 15, 2012December 27, 2017conductivity, lionel, Lionel Fastrack, marx, Marx O27, o27, oxidation, Rail Zip, tubular track

I saw a question about a Fastrack layout getting hot at a track joint. That’s a conductivity issue causing voltage drop, which in turn causes the heat. While not likely to be dangerous, it’s a sign of inefficiency and can lead to other problems, such as the train slowing down at some parts of the layout. Poor conductivity also causes motors to run hotter than they should, which can eventually damage the armature.

I can think of two fixes, none of them especially expensive or time-consuming. And although this question was about Lionel Fastrack, it can happen with other makes of track too, and even other scales.
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Dave Farquhar

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How to clean heat sink compound off a CPU

Dave Farquhar Hardware February 14, 2012December 19, 2015Arctic Silver, cheap stuff, degreaser, lionel

Cleaning heat sink grease off a processor is something I hope you don’t have to do often. But if you find yourself needing to remove a processor from a motherboard, it’s a good idea to clean off whatever compound is on the surface of the chip and apply a fresh batch.

You can do it with household tools.

Dave Farquhar

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The difference between local and traveling train shows

Dave Farquhar Toy trains February 9, 2012September 29, 2019american flyer, billboard, brio, KCS, lionel, Lionel 675, marx, postwar lionel, tin, train show

I took my family to a train show–The Great Train Expo–this past weekend. I’ve been going to shows for about 8 years or so, and while we had fun, I ended up not spending any of the money I brought with me. At least not on myself. I think I have an idea why. There’s a difference between local and traveling train shows.
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Dave Farquhar

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2011 retail tinplate finds, at Big Lots and Shack

Dave Farquhar Toy trains December 6, 2011american flyer, Big Lots, Bing, ives, lionel, marx, o27, radio shack, s scale, tin, train layout, vintage trains

If you’re a tinplate fan like me, it would behoove you to make a trip to Big Lots sometime this week. Big Lots has a selection of building-shaped cookie tins priced at $5 each. The buildings include a town hall, post office, bakery, and general store. Additionally, my old friend Radio Shack is selling a building tin full of AA and AAA batteries for $10 until December 10 (it’ll be $20 after that).
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Dave Farquhar

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Smart wiring for the gateman, from the January 2012 Classic Toy Trains

Dave Farquhar Toy trains November 26, 2011November 22, 2011Classic Toy Trains, lionel, lionel gateman, Peter Riddle, radio shack

This week I received an advance copy of the January 2012 Classic Toy Trains. There, on page 42, is my first magazine article in more than a decade: Smart wiring for the gateman.

I’d like to make a couple of clarifications on the article, as space constraints kept me from elaborating quite as much as I did in the original manuscript–a problem I never have online, but almost always seem to have in print. The issue isn’t due on newsstands for another couple of weeks, but I’ll go ahead and post this now.
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Dave Farquhar

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How to make a Lionel train whistle

Dave Farquhar Toy trains November 20, 2011April 18, 2017diodes, lionel, Lionel Fastrack, Lionel Postwar, lionel train, lockon, train show

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.

Dave Farquhar

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Fixing Lionel locomotives that run erratically and have flickering lights

Dave Farquhar Toy trains November 19, 2011August 30, 2017american flyer, conductivity, KCS, lionel, lionel train, Rail Zip

If you have a Lionel electric train whose lights flicker and (possibly) runs erratically, I have an easy fix.
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Dave Farquhar

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Greenberg’s Marx Trains Pocket Price Guide, 9th edition: A review

Dave Farquhar Toy trains November 7, 2011November 25, 2018Classic Toy Trains, commodore, estate sales, greenberg, KCS, lionel, marx, marx trains, New York, New York Central, Pocket Price Guide, reference book, tin, toy train, train show, Veteran Marx, yahoo

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.

Dave Farquhar

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