Early A.C.Gilbert HO Hudsons. did they run on AC power?

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

i purchased two ac gilbert hudsons in HO scale to replace the one i had as a kid. one runs on dc power, the same as the one i had back then. the other one has what apears to be a reversing relay in the tender which is similar to the S scale hudsons i had then too. did the early gilbert locomotives in HO scale run on AC power? thanks

2

Most all very early HO engines were AC, DC power was only available from using car batteries to power the layout !!

3

thanks. i have answered my own question though. i hooked the locomotive up to the ac terminals on a power pack and the engine runs beautifly forward and reverse. now to find out if i can convert it to dc.

4

you’ll neet to take out the relay and replace the motor with a new DC one. the wiring should be OK as is, though you’ll probably want to modify the power pickup to be all wheel ( i think the left pickup was one set of trucks and the right pickup was the other)

5

Isn’t it the case that Lionel tinplate can run on DC as well as AC (bu8t the reverser won’t work on DC?) I don’t know if DC would do it any harm – AC on a DC only motor will harm the motor but not, to my knowledge, the other way around
If the engine is in good overall shape you might consider leaving it alone since any modification would reduce its value to collectors (it was in its time a very common engine and perhaps has little value to collectors but I’d look into it before doing anything that cannot be undone).
Also you might find that the flanges and wheel widths have problems with current NMRA standards turnouts, crossings, etc.
About the time that engine was released HO was often 6 volt DC not 12 volt.
Dave Nelson

6

the engine runs perfect on ac. the problem is that the motor and reversing relay will not work on dc as they are not designed to work on it. the motor and relay coil are wound to work with ac. the dc current will flow through the coils without doing anything but cause them to buzz. newer motors will work on both as with dcc. the other hudson i have with a dc motor works on dcc without a decoder. and there are two coils in the motor. one for each direction selected by the reversing relay. i bought it to run on my clubs layout not just to collect it. since i only paid $56 for it. it is not much value now and i’ll probably just use it for display thanks for your help.