train show Archives - The Silicon Underground

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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The copper piece on a locomotive

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 05 Apr 2017 11:00:40 +0000

I get a lot of inquiries about “the copper piece on a locomotive.” They mean a toy train locomotive. Depending on the make of the train, there may be one copper piece on the motor, or there may be two.

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Wire a Marx motor without a reverse unit

Dave Farquhar — Sun, 19 Feb 2017 20:19:50 +0000

At the last train show I attended, I bought a Marx locomotive that lacked a reverse unit. I found a mess of wires in its place, and of course it didn’t run. So I had to figure out how to

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Vintage tin litho buildings

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 26 Dec 2016 12:00:46 +0000

Years ago, I decided I wanted to take a different approach with my trains. I heard about a guy in Springfield who has a traditional toy train layout with no plastic on it. I wanted to see if I could

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Bachmann vs Lionel

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 02 Dec 2016 12:00:13 +0000

Comparing Bachmann vs Lionel is a contrast between two very old, established names in electric trains. Lionel, in one form or another, has been selling trains since 1900. Bachmann, the largest seller of trains in the world, was founded in

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Cleaning up Plasticville

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 11:00:42 +0000

Plasticville buildings in less than stellar condition are dirt cheap, but restoring them is often possible. There is no need to be afraid of a dirty lot of Plasticville from a train show or Ebay–cleaning up Plasticville is easy. Of

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Replace missing Lionel brakewheels with sew-on snaps

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 13 May 2016 11:00:28 +0000

I saw an old tip recently regarding using sew-on snaps to replace missing Lionel brakewheels. Reproduction brakewheels generally are available, but sew-on snaps work well, are readily available at any store that sells sewing supplies, and they’re cheap. As an

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The common post on a Marx transformer

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 11:00:11 +0000

When you want to phase transformers, it’s good to know the common (in Lionel terms) or base (in American Flyer terms) post. It’s a shame that Marx didn’t label which of its posts was common. So here’s how to find the

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How to tell if a Lionel tender has a whistle

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 27 Nov 2015 11:00:41 +0000

One of the things Lionel did that set its electric trains apart from its competitors was integrating a whistle in the tender that was included with its steam locomotives. Because of the added play value and charm, the whistling tender

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Marx windup 490: An unexpected rarity

Dave Farquhar — Sat, 01 Feb 2014 11:00:36 +0000

I’ve written before about the Greenberg Pocket Price Guide for Marx, and I frequently recommend it, especially to newcomers, because it’s very easy to end up spending $30 on a car that’s only worth $10. I know when starting out

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