I am digging out my trains from when I was young so my son can use them and none of the engines seem to want to work-even on relatively new track. Pardon my ignorance but can someone suggest:
I obtained an old Marx engine that I am told was produced in the forties and subsequently stored in an attic. All I did was remove the motor from the body shell and, using a Q-tip, cleaned the armature. I also oiled the axles and any other place that looked like it could use a little ( very little! ) oil. When I reassembled it I hand-turned the drivers to loosen things up. It ran smoothly the very first time I cracked the throttle. You might be surprised how little work your engines need. Good luck!
Paul,
At this point we don’t even know if you’ve got O-gauge trains, which are the specialty of this bulletin board. If you don’t know the difference between O and HO, your best bet would be to visit a local hobby shop. Identification information will be free, and you’ll probably want to visit a hobby shop, anyway. You’re are fortunate to have a bunch to choose from in the Chicago area. I recommend America’s Best Hobby, 865 Maplewood drive, Itasca, (630) 467-1102, or check the Yellow Pages.
OTOH, if you know they’re O-gauge, look all over the items for a manufacturer name. If they’re Lionel, the numbers on the locos and the rolling stock are the same as the catalog numbers.