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Hi all,
As a newbie, I've had fun recently with building an HO layout with the kids ... smiles all around. It's mostly older equipment running on DC power.
Well, I've gotten this "train bug" thing, and finally (!) dusted off that old box of Lionel O trains that's been sitting in my basement for 40+ years. 1958 vintage, I think, handed down from relatives.
My first task was to see if I could get the #249 steam loco up and running. I removed the body, cleaned the chassis, gears, etc. as best as I could, and then wired the thing (naively) up to DC power. At first, no signs of life in the motor itself, though I could get the auto-reverse solenoid (e-unit ???) to toggle with each power-up.
T-Man kindly offered a few thoughts, and I've since persisted with more gear cleaning, brush cleaning, etc. Well, that old girl finally started spinning this morning, and I'm thrilled. True signs of life!
However, as an HO / DC-power newbie, I realize that I'm horribly confused about post-war Lionel powering. So, if I may, I'll post a few (naive) questions. I'd appreciate any thoughts ...
1. I have an old Lionel transformer. The power-cord is dangerously cracked/frayed, but I plugged the thing in anyway (dohhh!), and hooked up a multimeter to the output. I learned that it's kicking out AC power (not DC), up to about 16 volts.
Were these post-war Lionel trains designed to run on AC power?
2. I'm amazed at the creative ingenuity of Lionel's design of their little auto-reverse e-unit gizmo ... pretty clever for pre-diode technology! And, from what I infer, the thinking behind Lionel's three-rail track is that the two outer rails share a common power source, and that the inner-rail is the power "return" loop. That way, a train can "loop back" on the track in an opposite direction, without the need for modern DCC equip. My DC HO's can't do that, obviously. But that got me thinking ...
The (old) little track-to-power-wire fitting that I have is configured to hook up power wires to the inner rail and ONE outer rail. Is that the way that old Lionel track was wired, or do people "jump" another (common) power lead over to the opposite outer rail? I.e., are only 2 rails "hot", or should all 3 be "hot"? (Maybe the loco wheels themselves provided conductivity to get power transmitted to that "other" outer rail ???)
3. Back to the AC / DC thing. To my amazement, I can get my #249 loco running with DC power (middle rail, one outer rail). But, when I hook up AC power, instead, the motor appears to run stronger.
Can somebody explain how the motor works on EITHER AC or DC power, and why (if so) it works better on AC?
I realize these are pretty basic / fundamental questions, but when my wife rolls over in bed and says, "It's 1:00 AM ... why aren't you sleeping yet?", do I DARE confess to her that a 47 year old man is lying there thinking about old model/toy trains ???
I've posted some pics of the Lionel #249 ... old, but still cute!
Thanks!!!
TJ
As a newbie, I've had fun recently with building an HO layout with the kids ... smiles all around. It's mostly older equipment running on DC power.
Well, I've gotten this "train bug" thing, and finally (!) dusted off that old box of Lionel O trains that's been sitting in my basement for 40+ years. 1958 vintage, I think, handed down from relatives.
My first task was to see if I could get the #249 steam loco up and running. I removed the body, cleaned the chassis, gears, etc. as best as I could, and then wired the thing (naively) up to DC power. At first, no signs of life in the motor itself, though I could get the auto-reverse solenoid (e-unit ???) to toggle with each power-up.
T-Man kindly offered a few thoughts, and I've since persisted with more gear cleaning, brush cleaning, etc. Well, that old girl finally started spinning this morning, and I'm thrilled. True signs of life!
However, as an HO / DC-power newbie, I realize that I'm horribly confused about post-war Lionel powering. So, if I may, I'll post a few (naive) questions. I'd appreciate any thoughts ...
1. I have an old Lionel transformer. The power-cord is dangerously cracked/frayed, but I plugged the thing in anyway (dohhh!), and hooked up a multimeter to the output. I learned that it's kicking out AC power (not DC), up to about 16 volts.
Were these post-war Lionel trains designed to run on AC power?
2. I'm amazed at the creative ingenuity of Lionel's design of their little auto-reverse e-unit gizmo ... pretty clever for pre-diode technology! And, from what I infer, the thinking behind Lionel's three-rail track is that the two outer rails share a common power source, and that the inner-rail is the power "return" loop. That way, a train can "loop back" on the track in an opposite direction, without the need for modern DCC equip. My DC HO's can't do that, obviously. But that got me thinking ...
The (old) little track-to-power-wire fitting that I have is configured to hook up power wires to the inner rail and ONE outer rail. Is that the way that old Lionel track was wired, or do people "jump" another (common) power lead over to the opposite outer rail? I.e., are only 2 rails "hot", or should all 3 be "hot"? (Maybe the loco wheels themselves provided conductivity to get power transmitted to that "other" outer rail ???)
3. Back to the AC / DC thing. To my amazement, I can get my #249 loco running with DC power (middle rail, one outer rail). But, when I hook up AC power, instead, the motor appears to run stronger.
Can somebody explain how the motor works on EITHER AC or DC power, and why (if so) it works better on AC?
I realize these are pretty basic / fundamental questions, but when my wife rolls over in bed and says, "It's 1:00 AM ... why aren't you sleeping yet?", do I DARE confess to her that a 47 year old man is lying there thinking about old model/toy trains ???
I've posted some pics of the Lionel #249 ... old, but still cute!
Thanks!!!
TJ
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