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Can I mix Fastrack and old track?

Dave Farquhar Toy trains November 27, 2016August 1, 2017lionel, Lionel Fastrack, o27

Can I mix Fastrack and old track? Yes, you can mix Lionel Fastrack with older types of Lionel track.

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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How to sell Lionel trains

Dave Farquhar Toy trains September 13, 2016April 22, 20171950s, american flyer, HO, ho scale, lionel, lionel train, marx, o gauge, o27, old trains, OO, receipt, Standard Gauge, TCA, video game

Since I’ve covered other makes of trains, someone asked me how to sell Lionel trains. So I thought I would give similar advice on selling Lionel trains. Lionel is an iconic, legendary part of Americana, so there will always be some market for its products.

That said, don’t expect to get rich selling off your Lionel trains. But if you keep your expectations realistic, you’ll find an eager buyer, or ideally, at least two interested buyers so you’ll realize a good price at auction.

Dave Farquhar

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Should I switch to Fastrack?

Dave Farquhar Toy trains July 20, 2016October 22, 20221940s, 1950s, american flyer, christmas, lionel, marx, o27, tubular track

A common question is whether to switch from traditional Lionel tubular track to Fastrack, or from traditional American Flyer track to the new S-gauge Fastrack.

If you make the switch, I stand to possibly make a couple of bucks from affiliate links. But my integrity is worth more than a couple of bucks, so let’s talk this through.

Dave Farquhar

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How to disassemble a Lionel 1001, 1060 or 8902 locomotive

Dave Farquhar Toy trains May 4, 2016October 22, 2022christmas, e-unit, HO, lionel, Lionel O27, n scale, o27, philips, red wire, troubleshooting

Disassembling a Lionel 1001, 1060, 8902 or 8302 locomotive isn’t too difficult. The biggest problem is knowing where the three screws are that you have to remove.

These particular locomotives weren’t really designed to be repaired, but there’s some basic work you can do on them with household tools. The 8902 and 8302 locomotives can be cheap sources of a motor for other projects.

Dave Farquhar

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Selling Marx trains

Dave Farquhar Toy trains April 29, 2016January 19, 2023american flyer, collectibles, greenberg, HO, lionel, marx, marx trains, o gauge, o27, old trains, receipt, tin, toy train

Since my advice on selling other makes of trains was popular, I thought I would give similar advice on selling Marx trains. Marx never got the respect that its competitors got, but its trains have built up a following over the years, and in the last decade as I’ve watched prices on competing trains slide, Marx has held its value.

Don’t expect to get rich selling off your Marx trains, but if you keep your expectations realistic, you’ll find an eager buyer, or ideally, at least two interested buyers so you’ll realize a good price at auction.

Dave Farquhar

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What to check when Lionel Magne-Traction doesn’t work

Dave Farquhar Toy trains April 21, 2016April 17, 20161950s, lionel, Lionel Fastrack, o27

In the 1950s, Lionel started putting magnets in the axles of some of its trains to increase their pulling power and help the trains stay on the track as they highballed around tight O27 and O31 curves. They called this feature Magne-Traction.

In time Magne-Traction was replaced with rubber traction tires, but needless to say, if your locomotive has Magne-Traction, you probably want it to work. Here’s how to make sure it works.

Dave Farquhar

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Make display shelves out of rusty track

Dave Farquhar Toy trains April 19, 2016January 10, 2019boxcars, home depot, o27, tubular track

Some people try to fix rusty track, while others argue it isn’t worth the bother. But if you’re in the latter camp, you still have options besides trashing it: Make display shelves out of it.

My local train shop offers questionable track to his regular customers for free whenever he gets it, rather than trashing it or selling something that an unfamiliar customer might be unhappy with. I turned down a box of O31 track recently, then came to regret it a couple of weeks later when I remembered I could have used it. But that’s OK–he’ll probably have more next Saturday. Or the Saturday after that if not. I had plenty of disused track in a big tub under my layout anyway.

Dave Farquhar

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Sakai trains: The “Japanese Marx”

Dave Farquhar Toy trains March 21, 2016November 20, 20221:64 scale, 1950s, american flyer, Australia, HO, Japan, lionel, Lionel 675, marx, New York, New York Central, o gauge, o27, sakai, tin

Sakai trains were made in HO and O gauge by a Tokyo-based manufacturer and sold abroad, particularly in the United States and Australia after World War II. Sakai’s O gauge product bore a curious resemblance to Marx. I have read speculation that Marx once used Sakai as a subcontractor, and Sakai used the tooling to make its own trains rather than returning it to Marx, but there are enough differences that I don’t think that’s the case.

What I do know is that Sakai’s O gauge product was a curious blend of cues from Lionel and Marx and the trains worked pretty well. They’re hard to find today, but not especially valuable since few people know what they are. They turn up on Ebay occasionally.

Dave Farquhar

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“Super utility” tinplate train cars

Dave Farquhar Toy trains March 18, 2016January 27, 20221940s, american flyer, ives, lionel, marx, o27, tin, vintage trains

Tin train cars had a variety of methods to couple them together, but by far the most common method was a coupler commonly called tab-in-slot. The tab from one car mated with a slot in the next. All of the train manufacturers used a variant of this method at one point or another, and all of them would be able to couple together, if not for one nagging detail: height.

Dave Farquhar

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Marx train sizes

Dave Farquhar Toy trains March 4, 2016May 19, 20231:64 scale, 1950s, 1980s, HO, ho scale, Japan, Joy Line, lionel, marx, marx trains, Model Power, o gauge, o27, s scale, sakai, tin, WWII

Over the years, Marx made electric and clockwork trains in no fewer than seven sizes and two gauges. Depending on how you count Marx train sizes, you can say it was more than that. Here’s an overview of what they made.

If you go to sell Marx trains, correctly identifying the size definitely makes them attract more bids.

Dave Farquhar

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