marx Archives - The Silicon Underground

How does a Lionel e-unit work?

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 15 May 2020 11:00:18 +0000

The Lionel e-unit was a wonder of ingenuity in the 1930s. But how does a Lionel e-unit work? Open-frame electric motors like the ones Lionel used in its glory days have two major parts: a field and an armature. Both of them

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Skyline tin buildings

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 08 May 2020 12:00:06 +0000

In the 1940s and 1950s, Skyline of Philadelphia manufactured and marketed a line of toy train-oriented building kits. Actually, there were two lines: One was a line of building kits made of cardstock and wood, and one was a smaller

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LEDs for American Flyer, Lionel, and Marx trains

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 13:00:31 +0000

A frequent, sometimes heated topic of debate is upgrading to LED lighting in the headlight of vintage American Flyer, Lionel, or Marx trains. It shows how sometimes a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. You have several options for

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K-Line trains

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 13:00:02 +0000

K-Line was a manufacturer of O gauge electric trains and accessories from approximately 1980 to 2010. Its scrappy, value-oriented approach to the hobby endeared K-Line trains to many of its customers. K-Line Electric Trains and Lionel tended to target one

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Where to buy Lionel trains in St. Louis

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 22 Sep 2017 11:00:47 +0000

If you want to know where to buy Lionel trains in St. Louis, you have a lot of choices. It’s more than possible to make a day of train shopping in St. Louis. I’ve never seen a comprehensive list of

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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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Why have Marx toys dropped in value?

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 30 Aug 2017 11:00:37 +0000

“Why have Marx toys dropped in value?” you ask? Blame Millennials. Well, actually, my generation bears more of the blame for this one. Blame Gen X. The value of vintage toys tends to follow trends, and those trends don’t necessarily

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Why do Lionel trains have three rails?

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 10 Aug 2017 11:00:35 +0000

Why do Lionel trains have three rails? After all, real trains usually have two. This unrealistic feature is a legitimate drawback for Lionel and other makes of O gauge trains, but the decision made sense at the time. Lionel didn’t

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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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Wire a Marx Girard station

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 26 May 2017 11:00:48 +0000

Marx made several variants of its Girard station. One was just a tin building. The better one had lights. The best one had lights and a train whistle. Here’s how to wire a Marx Girard station with both lights and

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