Found this set at a antique store Lionel village trolley

But it is missing transformer. Anyone know where to find a replacement? 65$ for the set seems reasonable

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Welcome to the forums! If you ask me, that’s a pretty good deal.
So, that would appear to be a DC power pack. So, are you looking for a power pack that would be suitable for running the trolley or are you looking for an exact replacement?

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While Tandem Associates is an incredibly useful source, they don’t cover stuff other than the Postwar era and thus won’t have anything suitable for this set. Plus, it needs to be DC.

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I would probably pass on this, mostly because I do not like the build quality on trolleys of this era. Not very heavy, pretty much all-plastic construction, basic can motor for power. The track isn’t anything particularly special. I think you could do better for your money with a little patience.

That’s my 2 cents anyway. If you still particularly want to buy it, it should work with most any Lionel transformer, either a cheap and simple DC one like it originally came with, or any small AC starter transformer. The trolley shouldn’t draw very much current, so you don’t need a big fancy transformer to run it.

-El

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Does the trolley have a rectifier in it?

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These trolleys will run on AC or DC, but the small unit that came with it was essentially an HO DC power pack like most HO starter sets used to come with.

I am not aware if Lionel ever sold them separately as a replacement part, but even if they did, it’s probably been way too long since a set like this has been offered to go that route.

If you are curious what an original should look like, I’m fairly certain (can’t dig out mine to check right now) it’s the same one shown with this similar set on Trainz.com. (edit: Face-palm as I realize a picture of the original is right on the cover of the box! :man_facepalming: .)

Here’s a link to the original manual for your exact set if you want confirmation that it will run on either AC or DC.

Here’s the exploded view if you ever need to work on it.

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Okay, that I did not know. I thought that they were DC only like some of Lionel’s other cheap sets.
In that case, everyone can disregard my advice to go searching after DC power packs; almost any sort of transformer is suitable.

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I enlarged the photo and that looks like a generic DC transformer you’d get with a Bachman N or HO starter set. You can sometimes find them at train shows for $5 to $10. trainz.com may have some on hand or you can check a local hobby shop. If you’ve got everything with that trolley set except for the transformer for $65 that’s not a bad deal. A new Lionel Christmas trolley’s selling for $166 to $185 depending on the seller.

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While I’d agree $65 is probably not unfair, those higher numbers may be “asking” prices on a few active eBay auctions, but I don’t believe any have actually sold for that much in quite some time (if ever). Apparently those type of “fishing” auctions must sometimes work, or there would not be so many of them! (not talking just this item, meaning eBay in general - I think my current favorite is a modern pylon accessory being offered for well over $1k!) :wink:

The “sold” listings of fairly recently concluded auctions seem to be closer to totaling in the $50-$70 range when adding the final bid amount to the shipping charged. One used set in the last week with all components included ended at only $40 with $13 shipping. Another with everything but the track went for $50 with about $11 shipping.

I would suggest that if someone is considering looking for one, most offerings will probably be a little lower in price now vs when we get closer to Christmas.

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Actually, no. Those are the current retail prices for current production Lionel Christmas trolleys. I deliberately stayed away from eBay and other on-line sale and auction sites.
I’ll agree though that the prices of the used articles are going to be well below current retail.

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Oops on my part… I totally missed the word “new” in your post. Can’t disagree there, I was focusing on the older unit/set in the original post.

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Hey, it’s cool! :wink:

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The transformer is/was a Bachmann #6607. It appears they or Lionel made a different case with the Lionel info as Lionel #4660. The specs are 0-17 VDC for track, 20 VAC for accessories, 7A total max out.

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For me, I think your best is a simple K-Line 950 transformer like this one. They’re solid little units, and if you keep your eyes peeled, you can usually find them for $10 to $20.

It really is. :+1:

Rich

The trolley in question is DC. The K-Line pack is AC.

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It will run with either an AC or DC powered transformer. Read Dave45681’s post above.

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I won’t get into the AC/DC discussion but I CAN vouch for that K-Line transformer. Bare-bones but rugged and reliable mine came out of a K-Line Hershey’s 100th Anniversary Set. It’s kind of my go-to for small temporary layouts and benchtop testing and cleaning. I don’t see them for sale (used of course) at shows, I’m guessing those that have 'em are holding on to 'em for the same reasons I do!

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An inexpensive HO power supply will work. Probably find a used one in a bargain bin at a train store or show, or just call Trainworld or another hobby shop and let them know what you have and they can hook you up.