When I put these engines on my layout they just hum and sputter, they do not run. But if I hook them up to a lantern battery they run fine! Is this an AC / DC issue? How can I run these trains on my layout?
Confused![?]
They are in fact DC locomotives. Lionel made some for a while.
You could power them with DC, either from a purpose-built DC controller. Or add a bridge rectifier to your transformer. (See the recent directronic rectifier topic: http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=56427 ) But it might be more satisfactory to install rectifiers inside the locomotives. A 4- or 6-ampere bridge should be plenty big. (Unless you add an e-unit also, they will then run in one direction only.)
sorry there D/C engines.