Questions - Checked FAQ did not find exactly what needed

Classic Toy Trains Forum
1

Hello all,

New here. Glad I found you. Had trains as a kid, went into navy, trains given to cousin who left in house he sold. Now getting back to it again.

Some knowledge based on Lionel Catalog(2007) - Guage O - 0-27 & Fastrack all are the same demensions, i.e. 1.25" between rails. But if I am only going to run 45-69 trains, I can just use O Guage track and be fine?

I will soon have a ZW transformer 275 watt version. This is one of the older units from the 50’s. It will run the older trains, will it run newer trains? If so, is/are the motors still low voltage AC? In looking at catalog, see it’s still available, but they talk about 180 Watt power supplies, what gives please?

Do I have to stick to older equipment, switches, and other stuff, or will some of the new stuff work with the old stuff? Can I mix and match, not sure, and do I want to?

Fastrack, will it work with old trains? Is it better, or easier to lay down and configure laoyouts, etc? More expensive I would guess, but is it worth the cost?

Are/Is the new engines, cars, etc of the same quality of the 45-69 era, or better, or worse, is it made in China?

Thank you for your time. I have ordered a couple of books, but thought I would start to learn over again.

Grown up Kid

2

Welcome and Thank You for serving! It’s an honor to have another veteran here!

  1. Yes. O-gauge track is fine. Most will run on 31" curves. Most will also run on O-27 track as well.
  2. Yes. The TMCC remote control engines only use the full 18v, and that’s what the power supply is for. The ZW is variable voltage. I’m new to the TMCC stuff, so I’m sure there’s more to this.
  3. No. You don’t have to stick with the old stuff. New O-gauge track will work with old o-gauge track. Fastrack needs adapters to connect with O-gauge track. There are other brands of track out there…Gargraves track and Ross switches seem to be very popular.
  4. Fastrack is personal prefrence. It will work with Post-war trains. Do a search on Fastrack, and you’ll find a lot of information here.
  5. I’ll leave this open for discussion. I have a few post-war engines. It was what I could afford…but they are bullet proof.

Hope this helps.

Kurt

3

Welcome to the forum.

Re: #2 - All Lionel is backward compatible. The newer TMCC, and Legacy, engines will run using transformer only control. You will not be able to access the full range of features, just the usual bell and whistle. Inversly, most all, there are a couple of DC Lionels out there, will run using today’s power and control systems. With the newer engines be sure to keep an eye on the min. radius required, some of the newer stuff needs at least O-54.

4

Hey Kid!

Let me run through these one at a time if I may:

Some knowledge based on Lionel Catalog(2007) - Guage O - 0-27 & Fastrack all are the same demensions, i.e. 1.25" between rails. But if I am only going to run 45-69 trains, I can just use O Guage track and be fine?

ANSWER: Yes, O-27, O, and FasTrack are all compatible “gauge-wise” in that they all feature 1.25" between the outside rails. While some like O-27 for it’s price-point and low-profile, the tighter curve diameters limit the size (length) of equipment you can run. Surely you can fit more into a smaller space, but you’ll also limit your choices of equipment. Also, if you plan to run in any kind of “Command Mode” ie: TMCC/Legacy or MTH’s DCS, you’ll need to re-wire the O-27 switches to run on fixed voltage. And because of the way O-27 switches are wired internally, their solenoids are activated at all times that a car or engine are present on the switch, leading to burned out solenoids and much greater current draw over the course of your layout. Benefit: they’re half the cost of other switches.

O gauge track is of heavier gauge metal, and so are sturdier. The minimum curve diameter is 31" vs. the O-27 minimum of 27". Like O-27, there are many wider varieties available. The switches are wired better internally, and also have plugs to receive external “fixed” power all set up. I’ve used this track on my layout for ten years with no problems. My father before that, going back to 1932.

FasTrack: is the new boy on the block. My kids have some, so I’ve had a good chance to play with it on the floor. It’s sturdy, has excellent electrical conductivity, and the switches are works of art. If you start on the floor, get the automatic switches, as the manual ones are easy to step on and break the switch stands. There’s a HUGE variety of FasTrack curves, switches, operating tracks and more, giving even more choices than either “O” (which has been around since 1915), or “O-27” (since 1935)

5

The hard part of using O27 turnouts with a power source other than the track is rewiring the things. Once you have done that, protecting them from burnout is relatively easy. You can power them from an electrolytic capacitor (about 5000 microfarads, 35 volts) recharged through a resistor (about 100 ohms, 5 watts) or a lamp (number 53) from a DC supply or from an AC accessory voltage through a rectifier (1N4001).

6

Thank you all so far for the information. It’s nice to have the information so close at hand. Now it’ waiting for all the stuff to get here, and figure out my layout - now and for the future. I also want to incorporate some easy take down and set up features on the platform because we are going to move in year or so.

Great forum.

Grown up Kid

7

[#welcome] aboard !

Be sure to hang around for awhile, there are bunch of folks around with the knowledge to handle most any question you can think up. If possible try to visit any and all hobby shops, clubs or museums in your area that have operating layouts. They are great for seeing stuff run and hopefully be able to assist if you come up with questions as well.

But the most important part is that they are only toys and have fun !