My $8 secondhand Lionel
I hear stories all the time about the Lionel train that someone found at a garage sale for $10. Or sometimes it's a Marx. The one that bothered me the most was the story about a 65-year-old American...
View ArticleFrequent questions about setting up toy trains and trains and Christmas trees
Here are some train-related questions I’ve received that I really don’t think I ever answered adequately elsewhere. Hopefully this will help. How much track do you need under a Christmas tree? With...
View ArticleHow to make a Lionel train whistle
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...
View ArticleFight voltage drop with copper anti-seize lubricant
If you have issues with your trains slowing down on the far reaches of your layout–and judging from my website hits, many people do–there are a couple of things to do about it. The first thing is to...
View ArticleHow many Lionel CTC lockons you need
You usually need at least two Lionel CTC lockons, but most Lionel O and O27 train sets came with a single CTC lockon connector. If your train slows down as it gets farther away from the transformer,...
View ArticleTesting electric train track
I have a method of testing electric train track from Lionel, American Flyer, Marx or any other brand. The key is to test it one piece at a time, so you know any problem you found is isolated to a...
View ArticleHow to attach wires to the posts of a Lionel train transformer
It took me 20 years to find out I was connecting the wires to my train transformer wrong–and this applies to American Flyer and Marx just as much as to Lionel–and I don’t want the same thing to happen...
View ArticleAll about the Lionel LW transformer
The Lionel LW Trainmaster is a 125 watt transformer that Lionel produced from 1955 to 1966. They are reasonably durable and Lionel made them for a long time. That means you can find them easily on the...
View ArticleThe Lionel KW transformer
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...
View ArticleHow to get that dusty old train running again
It's the weekend after Thanksgiving. The time of year when nostalgia runs high and ancient toy trains come out of the basement or the attic and get set up again until sometime after the new year. Well,...
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