Greetings! Getting Back into O Gauge Trains

Classic Toy Trains Forum
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Hi everybody!

The O gauge train layout that I built for my son about 20 years ago has been sitting idle for way too long, so I decided to clean off the dust and getting it.

I always enjoyed working on the old trains and accessories that I had as a kid, along with my 3 younger brothers… most were found in pretty bad condition, but I managed to get most of them resurrected.

My son and I loved going to train shows and finding stuff to add to our layout.

It’s an 8 foot by 12 foot layout in our basement… not sure how to insert a photo… the “Insert” menu did not let me browse to my photo libraries.

The first step was to clean all the dust off, which really wasn’t that bad… it helps that I keep our basement dry with a dehumidifier, so everything is rust free.

I have a mix of old post war steam engines (a 685, a 736, and a 2026), cars, and accessories, and “newer” stuff (from around 1997-2000). I also have a Lionel Command Base, Trainmaster, and CAB-1.

It’s taking some time to refamiliarize myself with everything and how I had it all hooked up, as well as the changes that probably took place since I left the hobby.

Took me awhile to get the Command Control stuff going… not sure what happened to my original instruction manuals… managed to find PDF manuals online that helped a lot!

Right off it seems that I have a bad 031 switch (bought new around 1998) that will not switch to the right (6-23011 switch)… maybe a bad coil inside… not sure how easy it is to fix these.

Does Lionel still make these 031 switches (6-23010, 6-23011) ?

I must say that I still prefer the post war stuff over the newer stuff with circuit boards.

I think my “new” No.345 Culver Unloader has a bad motherboard… it had a bad one shortly after I bought it, and was repaired under warranty at Train America by Mike Reagan.

Loved going to Train America in Canfield, Ohio back then, and Mike

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It might be an open coil. But those turnouts have an electrical switch that disconnects the coil after it operates. That might have corroded over the years, staying open all the time. Exercising it manually may clean it off.

Another possibility is that there is just a bad connection to the terminal where the controller connects to the turnout. Try operating it by connecting the control rail (the part of each outside rail that detects the approaching train for the non-derailing feature) to the other outside rail.

A little terminology, if you don’t mind: The track type is O31, with the letter “O”, not the numeral “0”. The original part number for the turnouts you have (I am guessing here) is, confusingly, 022.

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Nice to hear that you got back into the hobby.

The Lionel switches 23010 & 23011 have acted up so bad on me in the past that I went to Gargraves track & switches about 7 years ago. Lionel’s current O gauge switches or turnouts as some call them are not any good. My experiance with the Lionel 23010 series has been very bad, for example the switch light started acting like a Christmas light and did the same to the track power. Another bad experiance was with a Williams engine and the Lionel 23010 switch, as the Williams engine got within 3 track sections of the switch it started to throw the center peice rapidly about 50 times a second, FYI-no other brand of engines did that to the switch!

Since Lionel left the original 022 design from the post war time their switches have been lousy and got worse every year in my opinion.

Lee F.

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I shouldn’t have said that your turnouts are 022. They are a more modern variation on the 022, but I believe that they work in the same way that I described.

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Thanks Bob… I found the “O31” terminology somewhere on the internet while trying to do some searching on the turnout switches… I have several copies of the instructions, and they do not contain any reference to “O31”… I have the boxes, but they are buried in a cubbyhole off of my bedroom.

It took me awhile to figure out the Lionel model numbers (6-23010 & 6-23011) that don’t appear on the actual switch, and the instructions are labeled no. 612-3010-000 & 612-3011-000… the numbers must just be for the instructions, but the instructions have no reference to the switch model numbers… the model numbers are probably on the boxes.

Very confusing.

I just tried using jumper cables to test and flip the switch… both right and straight seem to work.

The control lever only seems to work when switch to straight/green light, but not on the right/red light.

I checked the connections to the turnout switch and they seem good… so maybe the control lever unit is defective or it could still be the turnout switch ?

I’m now having flashbacks of past troubleshooting ! :slight_smile:

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Thanks Lee… I always enjoyed the train hobby, as a kid and as a “young” father playing with his son.

Most of the trains that my brothers and I had a kid were handy-me-downs from friends of my father who had kids that out grew them.

Mainly had American Flyer, but then were were given various o-gauge trains and accessories… I managed to salvage and make them work again.

My current turnout switches probably were not used too heavily… I have three separate train tracks and two of them each use four turnout switches.

Only having trouble with this one turnout switch now.

Time will tell…

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Here is a photo that I took of my train layout from around 1999.

I think I figured out how to post an image from Photobucket…

My O-gauge Train Layout

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[#welcome]

Reading up on these switches there seems to be a lot of issues with them.

http://www.bing.com/search?q=Lionel+6-23010%2C&form=UWDFDF&pc=UWDF

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[#welcome] aboard! This is a very laid back place, and it’s full of answers!

Becky

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I would stick with finding the postwar 022 turnouts at train shows. They are plentiful and usually very affordable. Put a few parts in them, usualy a lantern top and bulb and find a controler to rewire and your good to go. Wecome back to toy trains. I grew up with Lionel but am going the American Flyer route on my new layout, one for something different and two my wife and I like the looks of the S gauge Polar Express better. If you put your pics in a photo bucket account, you can link them to the post using “cut and paste” from the bottom most link on photobucket. Or email them to me and I will post them up, Just dont use the email here, I dont have that account anymore and I have been unable to update it successfully. Mike

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[:)][:)][:D] Great move.

I’m a postwar fan, not so much the newer stuff but the new electronics are indeed intriguing.

All the best.

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Hi traindaddy1… the “new” electronics are great until they stop working!

I do have a Lionel GP-9 diesel engine with command control… actually it is my son’s since Santa brought it for him… but I picked it out !

I also have a Lionel coal car with command control that I have hooked up to my old Lionel 736 locomotive… the sounds are very nice !

I setup an SC-1 control switch that has 4 turnout switches and two accessories hooked up… but I can’t seem to get it to work… very frustrating !

Ken H in OH

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I know what you mean. I have a half dozen MTH Proto 1 and 2 locos that lost their “minds” that I ended up removing the boards and hotwiring the motors to run directly off DC track power. At least they’re not only collecting dust! [;)]

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Are you sure you have the controller wired right? One wire and turnout terminal is common and connected to the outside rails (other than the control-rail sections). The controller connects one or the other of the other two wires to the common to throw the turnout.

Aside from a broken wire or controller innards, here’s the problem: Some Lionel turnouts, like the 022 and perhaps yours, had the common in the middle and some didn’t. You can use one type of controller with the other type of turnout, but you need to swap two of the wires to match controller and turnout. Your symptom could be explained by connecting the cable to the turnout without that swap.

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Easiest way to check this is just take one short piece of wire with power to the track hit the wire from the power post to the other two pongs if it’s switches the problem could be the wiring hook up but remember as Bob said some had the left post and some had the center post so try it both ways to be honest I have even run into the right post so put the wir to all three post and check the other posts for it to switch as could have a different post than you’re use to. I donot use the fixed power slot but probably should.

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Thank you for all the suggestions.

After fooling around with it on and off the past few days, the turnout switch seems to be working.

I think it may have been a voltage issue, or the controller switch, or a combination of the two.

It’s one of those things where you fool around with it so much, and you get it to work, put it all back together, then it doesn’t.

I checked the switch out by using a jumper cable to switch it back and forth from straight to right & right to straight… worked fine.

The controller is on the farside of my layout, and I had to add a piece of the flat 3-wire cable when I originally installed it… but seems okay… who knows maybe from tugging and pulling on it, it started to work properly.

I also bent the throw springs in the controller back a bit so they are not so close to the lever, and that seemed to help too.

I checked all the voltages to it, and the other switches and they read about 11.5 or so… all the switches on this particular run are all using the AUX power and hooked up to my ZW 275W transformer’s, CU posts, so I used my volt meter to set the CU lever where I got a 12v reading.

It seemed to work fine when I had it on the “Track” setting, but not on the AUX setting.

Well, I’ll play with it and see if it stops working again.

On to the next problem !

Ken H in OH

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If it doesn’t work with the Aux power plug it could be the switch in there where the plug is inserted.

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Yeah, I better not rule out the switch… it’s working now.

There’s not any plug, just a screw connector.

Intermittent problems can be frustrating… I did find another right switch on ebay, so if problems reappear, I may just change it out and see what happens.

Ken H in OH

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