Hello I 'm trying to get back into model railroading. I have some old trains some maybe tyco. I was wondering if, I could put new power units under the bodies? I have some old trains that have not ran for close to thirty years. I believe the motors maybe bad. I’m from Northwest Ohio, was wondering what would be a good hobby shop to visit?
Welcome,
Do you have a camera? Show some pics of what you have.
What track do you have? Is it brass or nickle silver?
Re-motoring tyco loco’s isn’t worth it. I would start with a decent medium grade loco and go from there. Change a couple of your rolling stock couplers so that one side is the modern knuckle and the other side the original horn. that way you can pull your trains with the new loco.
If you have any questions ask away.
Good Luck and have fun [:)]
Welcome to the forums and back to model railroading. Set up a loop of track, clean it, clean the wheels on the locos and try them. They may not perform like new ones, but they may do for starters. If they do seem to want to run, service them with a little grease and oil. When you decide on an era and what type of modeling you want to do, then you can look at what new products are available. Before you get too far into restarting a layout, may I suggest you do lots of reading. There are many new products and scenery techniques. The old ones still work and work well in some cases, new stuff works better in others. Around the room shelf layouts, with a penninsula if you have room, are becomming very popular You are in the right place to ask questions, so when you have one ask away. There is also a search function to the right, that will lead you to previous threads on your topic here on the forums. Also at the top of the page under Resources you will find Index of Magazines which you can search for articles on your questions. MR Groups and Events are also there to help you find a modeling group or train show in your area. Have fun,
I was in your exact shoes 6 months ago. Do as the previous poster said. Setup a loop and clean everything Used to, we put sewing machine oil on the running gear for Lubrication, now there’s a plethora of stuff out there to lube them with. Don’t use to much. Test run them. I was lucky, I only had one that didn’t work and it didn’t work when I put them in storage. Maybe install new Kaydee style couplers, but don’t spend a whole lot on them. Tycos especially are not worth a lot as far as value goes. Mine are extremely sentimental to me and I plan to keep running them. I will install a few DCC decoders on three of the nicer Athearns that I have, but my Tycos have already been installed on a shelf for display. I run them occasionally but they will probably stay on the shelf after I convert to DCC this summer or fall. Current technology and quality just surpasses them. Bachmann makes good cheap DC engines to get running. While not the best, they are dependable and look good. I bought a CSX GP9 for $35 at a LHS. It runs smoother, and much quieter than my 1970’s stuff. I have found that the old stuff just isn’t compatible (mainly couplers and height) with the current stuff out there. It can all be upgraded, but I decided it wasn’t worth it. I am using my old rolling stock to learn how to weather them, so I won’t mess up the newer high dollar stuff I have bought.
Above all else, welcome back and enjoy the hobby!
I can only second what has been said so far. Clean your equipment thoroughly, give the locos a good lube job and set up some track on a simple table for trial - just to see, whether everything is working properly and whether you get the thrill you are expecting.
I would not bother to to “modernize” the old gear, leave it as it is. Keep it, but only for reasons of nostalgia and start fresh! When you visit your LHS, you will find, that the hobby has developed rapidly in the past 30 years, in all respect. Most locos and rolling stock show a step-up improvement in terms of detail, running performance and built quality, especially when you compare it with your old Tyco stuff. When you are serious about your re-start, consider going into DCC right from the beginning. DCC has added a lot of value to the operation of trains on your layout. OK, it is a little “dearer” than your regular, DC controlled trains of the past, but it minimizes wiring effort, is a must to have when you want to enjoy sound, and enhances loco performance.
The most important issue, however, is to get knowledgeable before you start to invest top $$$. There are a number of good beginner´s books by our host; Kalmbach, that I´d suggest reading. They give you an excellent overview on the H2´s in our hobby and help you to ask the right questions in this forum and to understand the answers, which quite often use the lingo of the adept model railroaders.
If done sensibly, your re-start into the hobby will turn it into a lifetime enjoyment.
That’s Gaaarbaaage. Recommend you throw that stuff into the trash bin and start fresh.
Mark
My trains sat in boxes, dragged along with me as the baggage of life, for 40 years. I’ve resurrected most of my rolling stock by replacing couplers, sometimes wheels and in a few cases, trucks. Most of these cars run very well, and they are comparable to today’s lower-end models.
Old locomotives, though, are another story. They have sentimental value, right? So did mine. But, when I replaced a rubber-band drive Athearn GP9 from the Kennedy Administration with a new Proto 2000, well, there was no comparison, either in looks or in running. I ended up gutting that old geep, removing the motor, and replacing the couplers with new Kadees so I could run it as a dummy. After all the effort, first to get it to run again, then to “neuter” it, it sits in a box beneath the layout anyway. So much for sentiment.
Spring for new engines. Pamper yourself, and get a nice one with sound. Find out what you’ve been missing all these years.
[#welcome] back to the hobby Coal Train. Clean them up and give them a try, I bet most in not all the stuff will run after a good cleaning. I would not start buying a lot of stuff till you messed with your for a while just to make sure this is not a passing fancy.
Far as up grading the older Tyco engines, no one that I know of makes new motors for them. Few of the hard core modlers have learned to repair them. Your Tyco cars on the other hand are easy to bring up to speed with better axles and adding some weight. (adding weight will make them track better) Latter if you want to add better couplers, we can help. I have 50 or so Tyco’s cars I still run.
One of the sad thing that has changed in 30 years, there are not that many Local Hobby Shop’s (LHS) left. Many people have to use the internet to buy there train gear.
Read and ask a lot of questions.
Cuda Ken
Thanks for you input.
Thanks to everyone for your input! I had these apart the other night, I think I 'd be better off to clean them up, set them on the self or maybe set them in a train repair shop setting. Once I get my layout set up. I have wanted to get this going for years, but never had the time. This is not a passing fancy for me. My next question to anyone? Waht is the differance between the new DC & DCC? I see alot of articles on this stuff, but have not read alot about it yet.
I have the brass track. I see alot of new track out there code 100 & etc. What is a good track? What is a good brand? If I get time, I 'll get some picture’s around of my old trains.
If starting over, a good middle road track is Atlas code 83 nickle silver. Brass is basically not sold as new any more. Nicle silver basically conducts better when not totally clean.
Now the difference between DCC and DC. I’ll just cover operationally.
Your old tyco trains are DC. They were controlled by a DC controller. Modern DC is in a totally different league and runs much better, but runs the same way as the tyco did. One power district can only run 1 train at a time.
Think of DCC like you do a road with cars. You have a single road but the cars can run independent. On a 2 lane road one can run the opposite direction or in the same direction. DCC is the same. Depending on the size of layout and capacity of the DCC system you can have several people running several loco’s the same or different directions, independent of each other. Each loco has a small computer chip in it so that it can be controlled individually.Another thing you can do with DCC is control speed, direction, lighting etc with a push of a button.
To go one step further, the last couple of years Sound loco’s have become more popular. This adds even more realism and adds engine sounds, horns, bells, and every auxiliary sound that typically comes from a loco. Great stuff [:)]
DCC is the wave of the future and the future is here. DC (Direct Current) vs DCC(Digital Command &Control).
With DC you control track, You control how much current goes to the rail. The amount of voltage determines how fast the train runs and in which direction. To run multiple engines, you have to set up blocks which in effect turns your layout into several layouts. It can take quite a bit of wiring. To go between blocks, you have to throw switches. It is very hands on, but you are controlling track.
DCC on the other hand controls the engine…There are no blocks (in the basic form). The track is set at a standard voltage, I think its around 14 volts (but I’m not sure). That voltage is constant. Each engine has a computer chip called a decoder. This decoder is programmed to respond to the control pad( think Transformer). (Its a lot easier than it sounds). You can now take one controller and operate one engine. Leave it running and type in the other engine and do some switching with it, all with only two wires (you will want more to keep voltage levels up all the way through your layout). You can put both trains together in the same direction and run them at different speeds, or you can run them in opposite directions. The control Pad (lack of better term) uses the rails as wires. It communicates with each decoder through the rails and the engines wheels. The decoder then operates the motor. Thats the very basics of DCC. You can install speakers in the engines, program the decoder to make all kinds of sounds, from horns to brake squeals to engine revolutions to match the speed of the train. Its a lot more realistic when the sound moves along the track rather than coming out of speakers on the wall. They can also program lights to flash, steady, go off, etc. And thats just the engines. It can also control switches and lighting and just
At my Local Hobby Shop, code 100 is cheaper than code 83 and they have a better selection of turns on hand. I think most people still use code 100, but I see more people here at the site using code 83. Code 83 rails are closer to scale than code 100.
I use Atlas code 100 flex track and have only bought one section that was bad. If you look on You Tube there are some good videos on laying flex track.
Cuda Ken