New to this, I have no idea what I have.

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

My father just gave me a train set that has been boxed up since he was in his teens. He is now 65. Ive been waiting years to get my hands on this set, But I have no idea what I have and where to start.

the things I do know.

Atlas train tracks, lots of them.

Some kind of wiring box that controls two trains and speeds.

And a lot of switches and other gadgets.

And a train with about six cars.

Ive messed around with it a little bit and can get the train to move, but it seems to loose connection and stops. Any help would be appriciated, or point me in the right direction.

2

Sorry, couldn’t resist the funny. Seriously though, some pictures are needed to help along with a little more info on the cars/engines/etc.

3

I will try and post some pics of what I have when I get home tonight. Just wondering if there could be damage done to the set from sitting in a box for probably fourty plus years?

4

I’m proceeding on the assumption that this set is HO. One thing you may consider to do is replace the track. Those old fiber ties tend to shrink and the rails are likely brass. Nickel-silver rail is a much better choice. Being the set is so old the wheels likely have deep flanges, what we call pizza cutters. If this is the case you will likely be limited to code 100 rail which is the most common.

5

Sounds like it has been in storage for 40 years. Several things happen over that length of time. The lubricants, grease and oil, dry up and get sticky. Often so sticky as to prevent the motor from turning at all. You need to take the locomotive apart, remove the old lube with a rag or a qtip dipped in solvent (mineral spirits, paint thinner, lighter fluid, or alcohol). Relube sparingly with oil and a light grease. I use 3 in 1 oil nearly every where, and Vaseline on the gears. DON’T oil the motor commutator.

Then all the electricity conducting parts oxidize over time, and the oxide doesn’t conduct electricity. Clean all the wheels, the contacts between the wheels and the motor, and the motor commutator with Googone. Rub down the track with Googone on a rag until the rail heads gleam brightly. If Googone isn’t strong enough for the track, try Brasso. If the wires between the power pack and the track are oxidized (green) get some fresh new wire at Radio Shack.

6

Roosty, first welcome to the site. As all ready posted pictures would help a lot so we know what you are working with. First thing that comes to mind with the engine sitting that long it will need a good cleaning and fresh lube. See if you can find a Local Hobby Shop (LHS) for short and get some oil for model trains. Of you don’t have a LHS there are places on line that carry the oils and grease you will need.

Are you interested just because they are your dads, or did you have a interest other wise? Reason I ask is because trains have came a long ways in 40 years. If your dad gave you a 40 year old TV, would you watch it or get a modern TV? Trains have changed that much!

Heck, my trains have computer chips in them. You don’t have to spend a arm and leg to get started. $300.00 will get you off to a good start.

I am not saying your dads train are not worth saving. If they where goods ones they maybe worth the effort. When I got started I bought a few 30 year old engines that I got to run well. Would I do it again, probably not. But I was into for the long haul and I did learn a lot.

I am fine with the older train cars (rolling stock) some of the old ones are sweet! Not a lot has changed when it comes to them.

Welcome again, Cuda Ken

7

As the others have pointed out it could be lots of things but I would start with cleaning the track and cleaning the metal wheels of the locomotive.

My next guess is that the tracks are not connecting tightly to each other. I am assuming you don’t want to buy a bunch of new track until you figure out what this is and is all about, so I might suggest: 1. squeezing the rail joiners so they fit tighter (needle nose pliers). 2. If you have multiple power connection tracks put them into the “loop” and wire them in parallel. This will give the electricity more places to get into the track and therefore to the locomotive. 3. Get some wide Scotch magic tape. Connect the track together and put a tape on the bottom accross the joint so it holds them together.

8

I have always been interested in the hobby, just have too many other hobbies as well. I would love to get his train up and running and send him some vids or pics. Thanks for all the advice. I live on an ilsand in the pacific northwest, so getting to a hobby shop is a little time consuming. I am a machanic, so I wonder if there is stuff at my shop that would help me clean and lube things up. Brake clean, zep, etc.??

9

Yeah, right, that’s what I told myself 7 years ago when I bought some sectional track and a Bachmann Spectrum engine to run on a 4’x8’ layout.

Oh, wait! You said “to get started”. Sorry, Ken.

Rich

10

Sounds like your father is alive and well at the relatively young age of 65. Ask him for some basic info that you can relate to us.

11

Welcome aboard! [#welcome]

Hmmmm…I’m 63 and a few years back I pulled out my trains that had been in storage since I was a teenager. So, I suspect we have similar stuff from a similar era. Your experience may vary, but…

It’s almost certainly brass track, Although you’ll find a few of us that say brass track is OK, it is not as good as nickel-silver which everyone uses now. But, there was some NS track even then, although it was premium-priced track and most of us, especially us teenagers, bought the cheaper brass. The brass track is gold in color, while nickel-silver is, well, silver. If you plan to put together a layout, replace the track.

I’ve been able to resurrect most of my old freight cars. They aren’t as nice as today’s models, but they’re serviceable, and run quite well with new wheels and couplers. Speaking of couplers, you probably have the old horn-hook type. Most trains today are sold with knuckle couplers. In many cases, switching from one to the other is pretty easy.

I had a dozen or so locomotives. Of them all, I’ve only got one whose mechanism was still working well enough to keep in service, and it’s so noisy that I don’t run it anymore. I did salvage the “shells,” or the plastic covers for the metal frame and motor, and put them on new mechanisms. I run a couple of them as dummy engines as well.

Unless you know something about power supplies, I’d strongly suggest getting a new one to power your trains. The ones I’ve got have frayed cords, and I only use them for small jobs like powering light bulbs. Eventually, I know I should phase them out, because low-grade equipment of that vintage is not up to today’s electrical safety standards.

12

Sir or Ma’am - You now have train fever, for which there is NO cure. We all wish you good luck, and please keep us posted; we’re here to help.

13

If the rails on the track are yellowish/gold in color it is brass track which was very common back in that day. It conducts electricity well but oxidizes easily and needs to be shiny bright for the trains to run well. The wheels on the locomotive might also be dirty or oxidized which might explain why it runs and then doesn’t run. Don’t use sandpaper or emery cloth on the track, that creates scratches. An ink eraser works in a pinch. Some rubbing alcohol on a Qtip might clean the locomotive wheels.

  1. is there a brand name, perhaps Model Rectifier Corporation, on the “wiring box”? Does it say anything else by way of a name? That would help us give some technical information about what you have.

  2. Are there any brand names on the bottoms of the locomotive and/or cars? They might be small and hard to read. If so a brief description of the locomotive might enable us to say more about what it is, and what kinds of cars and what railroads they are painted up to look like might even let us find out what train set it was, even without photos. There is a website called HO Seeker that has reproductions of old catalogs.

PS Warning! If you do get the trains running well your father may ask for them back. Model railroading disease can be dormant for years and then – bango! – it strikes again at the slightest provocation. [;)]

Dave Nelson

14

I’m just gonna hazard a guess that the OP doesn’t know his commutator from a can o’ tomaters.

To the OP, here try this:

How Stuff Works: The DC Motor

Inside a DC Motor

15

Amen

16

Again thanks for all your help and advice. Last night I hooked up a large oval shape with the brass tracks and used needle nose to pinch the joiners together tight. That helped alot and it was running for about two minutes maybe five total laps, then started to loose power. I did look at the power box and it does say the model rectifier company or something like that. Is that and ok box? Im really starting to enjoy this, and want to actually make the train run befor I start building up all the buildings and farm stuff that came in the box as well. Fake grass and trees and all kinds of goodies.

17

MRC=Model Rectifier Corporation

In the DC world I think they are still fairly decent but have a rather bad name in the DCC world due to higher failure rates. I believe there equipment of yesteryear was much better than what they release today.

That said you could be having an issue where the transformer/power pack is overheating and causing a power failure and/or it could be the motor inside the engine. Due to the age there could be a combination of both. The only real way to know is to test the engine with another dc power pack and luckily these come pretty cheap for just a basic unit. You can picked up used ones all day long that will work perfect for testing purposes for under $5.00.

Post up some more info on the transformer as well such as model/part number which will help us to know which exactly it is.

18

Yes, MRC is a good brand but that still doesn’t mean it is OK. When you say loose power do you mean like shutting off or just slowly slowing down?

If the former - I still think dirty track. They get dirty really quick. Do you have any Mother’s aluminum or brass polish you could try on the top of the rails?

If the latter - when it starts to loose power is the power box or locomotive gettting more than warm or even hot? IF the loco then I would guess some lubrication would be in order.

19

Can you tell what the track is made of? I’m guessing that it’s old enough that it wouldn’t have nickel-silver track, so it’s probably either steel or brass. Both will tarnish pretty quickly, and steel will even rust. The tarnish is non-conductive and can’t really be cleaned off without a tarnish remover or fine abrasive block (like a Walthers Bright Boy). It’s likely that your engine’s wheels are made from something similar.
Do you see sparks when it runs? If so, that means the wheels and track are arcing, which will put non-conductive oxidation on the track very quickly. One thing you should never see in HO scale is sparks. A good cleaning will get rid of this problem.

All these things can and will cause the train to lose power and stop. Fortunately, it can all be fixed relatively easily.[:D]

By the way, are there any markings on your engine and freight cars that will tell who made it? Every manufacturer is different in one way or another, so I think we can help even more if we know who made your trains.[:D]

(edit) There is one manufacturer called Athearn who never put markings on their products for a long time. They can be identified pretty easily by 4 large holes on the bottom of the fuel tank, which were (and still are) used for mounting their motors.

20

Again Pictures is worth a 1000 words.

On the losing power, if they just slowed down might not be a problem. Old Athearn engines used what was called a Rocket Motor. (should have been Rock Motor) They draw a lot of amps, could be over 1.5 amps. As they heat up, they need more power and will slow down. I had a MRC 9500 which is state of the art as far as DC power goes. The old Rocket Motors would still slow down but I had the power to speed them back up.

The 4 rubber pads as Darth said is a give away if they are old Athearn’s. If they are, you our in luck. Simple to work on and newer motors that draw less power will fit and only cost around $11.00.

If you do not know how to post pictures, get a free Photo Bucket account. When you first log on, at the bottom there is a section where you can test post photos.

Cleaning wheels, there is a lot of ways to do it. My self, I lay a small section of paper towel on powered rails. Add a few drops of Isopropyl Alcohol and run the engine wheels on it. Hold the engine in places but lift up just a tad. If the engine stalls you will cook the motor. You can all so wipe the track down with it as well.

I know you live on a island, by Alaska?

Looking forward to seeing some pictures of your equipment.

Cuda Ken