Back on old tracks

In the Museé du Rail in Dinan I found some old 042 radius pre-war tracks of Hornby-Meccano, that felt correctly compatible with Lionel pre-war high rails. And yes they are. I just needed to clean and place the pins different. These Hornby-Meccano rails have two pins upward and one downwards. So, I removed most of the pins, re-inserted them in the right direction and made them full compatible with my old Lionel tracks. The old Lionel tracks had been stored in a box since 1994, so it was time for a good thorough wash. That took me half a day. Afterwards all the tracks handled nicely. I laid a small oval and measured the resistance between the inner rail and the outer rail, it was more than 1800 kOhm, so although not perfect, still sufficient. These tracks date from the 30's and they have that special tin-plate feeling. The sound of a train passing on these tracks, is just fine for me.

Pre-war Lionel and Hornby Meccano rails do couple nicely

These old tracks run fine

Lazy claw coupler fix

Some modern Lionel train cars have bad claw couplers. They simply open all the time, since the spring that should keep the claw closed has worn out. I had two of them. One on a Lionel 9130 B&O Quad hopper car from 1971 and one on a 19736 Pennsylvania N5C Porthole Caboose from 1997. The coupler on the caboose is such a full metal thing that makes any repair difficult. I even used to run this car backwards to avoid uncoupling.

The Lionel 19736 caboose with a tiny (just visible) rubber band over its coupler.

With the claw coupler fixed of the B&O quad hopper, it is finally possible to run string of them.

Nevertheless, two small rubber bands made all the difference. These rubber bands are used by dentists to put tension on brackets and I received two bags of 100 bands, from the glorious brand named Rabbit, made in Mexico.The couplers now only open when the tab is pressed down and not on every possible moment the car feels like it.Three hurrays for Rabbit rubber bands.

Stoomtrein Goes - Borsele

Through the flat land of Zeeland a local branch line (Goes to Borsele) is maintained by heritage steam train group named the SGB. In Goes the large work shed is located where the old equipment is restored and maintained. On the second of May we made a rail excursion with a passenger train on the old branch line from Goes to Hoedekenskerke and back. It was a foggy morning and only some rabbits and pheasants were scared by the approaching steam train.
The steam train was composed of small 3 axle shunting steamer, an all-steel D-class luggage car, a 1st and 2nd Class coach of the Belgium railways (blt. 1924) and several third class all-metal pre-war coaches from the Dutch railways.
The small railway station of Hoedekenskerke lies directly parallel to the sea dike and has a by-pass track with platform in the middle. This enables the steam engine to reverse the train. It also has a small water intake point and a small switch tower. Here are several nice pictures of this rail excursion through Zeeland.

The steamer takes in water at Hoedekenskerke.

Steamer is ready for the return trip.

Steam engine standing idle after the return to Goes.

Interior of the Belgium coach.

Passenger train is shunted away from the platform in Goes.

Toy trains in the back yard

Today it was finally good weather. We took a lot of the Lionel stuff outside and laid a small layout with tubular track on the brick pavement in the back yard. That was fun. Although some overcast clouds threathened to spoil our train party, it remained dry and occasionally saw a bit of sunshine.

It was good that we tested the trains, because the MTH Camelback steamer had a poor battery and will get it replaced soon. The Lionel 289E runs but not optimal; at full throttle it will run, but not as hard as it should, so I better start to figure out what is refraining the toy train engine from running fast. All in all it was a relaxing afternoon in the back yard.

Toy trains behind bars

What will happen with your toy trains after your death? This might look like a bizarre question, but it occured to me, while visiting the National railway museum in Utrecht. In the middle of the main building they have rebuilt the good shed "Nijverdal" and on the second floor of this building they have displayed many toy trains behind a fence. It struck me as cruel. The best of the model trains and superb scratch-built toy trains are in a separate display behind glass. They clearly do belong to the museum inventory and some models show important steamers that have been scrapped many years ago. The quality of these models and the importance of these model trains for the Dutch rail history secure that these models get a good location in the museum. But what happens to the slightly less important models, or those models that were scratch-built with enthusiasm, but were not of the highest quality standards? They end-up in "Nijverdal" behind the fence. Personally, I would rather see them running on a layout and carefully maintained by a group of toy train enthusiasts then behind bars.

As a salute to those nice toy trains in scale zero and other larger scales behind the fence of "Nijverdal", I made some pictures of them. That is the least I could do for them. I wonder about how they got locked in. Would the family of the departed toy train collector have given them to the museum with the best intentions, but without realising where they would end up? Wouldn't they be much happier if these trains were cherished, maintained and run? Would they decide differently now that they know what the fate of these toy trains in the museum is?
So I will make sure that none of my toy trains will end-up in a museum behind a fence; toy trains should run!

Toy trains and cacti

Last weekend (March 17th and 18th 2012) several toy trains ran through a green house filled with cacti in Ruurlo. And obviously, American toy trains combine a whole lot better with those spiky plants than European toy trains. It was a remarkably sight and although I would prefer scale zero, these LGB trains were fun to see as well. I never been a rivet counter, but seeing those LGB-trains being out of proportion, makes me feel much more relaxed having Lionel trains myself. Perhaps some desert state inhabitant in the US has a Lionel garden railroad running in between cacti outside. Anyway this is how the whole thing looked like at Cactus Oase. The trains belong to the local train operating group named "de seinpaal".

Please bid according to value

Auction sites for toy trains can be funny. Every now and then a daft petty thief will try to sell a rusty pile of junk as a toy train gem. The sentence that amuses me most is: "Please bid according to value". But "only serious bids" or "nonsense bids will be removed" make me smile as well. I read these beauties most often on http://www.marktplaats.nl/ (a local type of Ebay with few rules) in the Dutch equivalents; "Serieus bieden" etc., but you will also read it on Ebay now and then. This is really good for my mood.
What is substantially less good for my mood are the shipping costs that many American Ebay-sellers currently command. Especially Trainz spoils my appetite for toy trains; the shipping costs are double or triple the item cost. No way José. I will not only bid according to value, I will also demand reasonable shipping costs and limit my trade to honest toy train enthusiasts.

Side panel for the traction engine

Scratch building a traction engine is nice, but not in the freezing cold. So, the progress is fairly slow. First, I decided that the 1 mm Aluminium base plate was too floppy and I made a second one and glued them together to get a 2 mm thick base plate with sufficient rigidity. Then I cut two brass L-profiles (K&S) of 5x5 mm and 28 cm length, drilled 4 holes in each and soldered nuts over the holes. Additionally 8 holes (2 mm diameter) were drilled  in the base plate to attach the two L-profiles along the sides with 8 screws.

Subsequently, the four side panel parts were cut from tin-plate (Albion 0.5 mm sheets of 25 x 10 cm). This is truely iron and the cutting is much harder work than brass or aluminium. After trying different saws, I liked the dremel with the simple disposable brown cutting wheels the best for this job. Then right holes were cut in these plates to accommodate windows and a door. These loose side panels were soldered on to a 6x1 mm brass beam (K&S) and the L-profile, with the help of a wooden mould.Well, I got the first side panel done and can start filing and sanding the edges and making the window posts and door posts.

Running Lionel trains in Europe

Taking a Lionel train set back home to Europe from a holiday in North America is a nice idea, but getting it running requires a local power solution. All Lionel train sets have a 110 Volt AC, 60 Hz transformer, like the CW80. Nice but fairly useless in Europe, since we have 230 Volt AC, 50 Hz.

The most simple solution is buying a second-hand Märklin transformer, which are abundant on the mainland of Europe. For less than 10 Euro, you will be able to buy a cheap 10 VA transformer and for a bit more a 32 VA transformer. Just connect the red wire to the center rail and the brown wire to the outer rail and you are ready. This will allow you to run Lionel trains in Europe in a simple manner, without horns and bells and other control options. If you are handy, you can solder your own horn and bell control units, or you can find those control units on the American second hand market. In the picture below, the WA 251 horn button of Mountain Automation is shown as example of such a horn button that you can find on the market. In case your Lionel train is equipped with Trainsound, the sound might be garbled and you might want to switch it off. The Trainsound system does not operate correctly with the 50 Hz power we have in Europe.

Another solution is buying a so-called step-down transformer, which converts 230 VAC, 50 Hz in 110 VAC, 50 Hz. This will allow you to use the American transformers and control units, but since you do not have 60 Hz power the Trainsound engines will sound distorted.

The most radical solution is to generate 110 VAC, 60 Hz power at home yourself with a generator. This can be done, but is either noisy and expensive or relatively complicated. Some members of the LCCUK have become experts in generating their own 110 VAC, 60 Hz power.
With this power you use the Lionel transformers than with all their control options. Since about the turn of the century American toy trains have increasing numbers of play options; sounds, bells, horns, operating couplers, pantographs, etc. These options are best controlled with a digital command center.  If you want to run and control your trains digitally, than generating your own 110 VAC 60 Hz is the best option, since you will have power with the right frequency.

I have chosen for another solution; the MTH Z750 transformer with a self-built 230 VAC to 20 VAC pre-transformer. The MTH Protosound system copes rather well with the 50 Hz we have in Europe, unlike the Lionel Trainsound system, which can not be controlled with 50 Hz power. With this power solution, I can operate MTH and Lionel trains. MTH protosound 1 and 2 trains run fine with it and the sound is also great. Lionel trains that are equipped with Trainsound can run too, but do not sound right, due to the frequency issue.

Starting with the traction freight engine

Last year, I obtained a beheaded MTH PCC streetcar. It was complete, with only one detail missing; the plastic hood. Since, the C&LE box trailer needs a matching box motor and the gentleman of the Seashore Trolley museum was so friendly to send me the technical drawings of the 648 C&LE freight engine, I decided to try and convert the MTH PCC streetcar into this freight engine. One of the clear differences between the two is the larger truck to truck distance in the latter, so I had make a new under-plate to build the engine on. I decided to work with 1 mm (1/25th inch) Aluminium sheet. With the help of a precision saw and a drill I took the first step in making this box motor. In order to make the under-plate a bit more rigid, I will attach some brass L-profiles to the sides. This will help with fixing the new hood to this underplate and make it more sturdy. Well, there is still quiet a lot to do, but the first step is taken. Yesterday, I checked the electrical functions of the engine and fortunately they are all still working correctly.

TCA MG Club cars 2011

Last week the TCA MG club cars arrived from Weaver. This year I bought the three-pack because it were Reading cars; 2-bay composite hoppers. Some hand-crafted coal-loads were made by Don and he sure did a great job. They do look awesome.
I hooked the cars up to the SW-1500 switcher and drove them around with some other Weaver cars I had accumulated over the years. The night express run slowly over the attic floor.

Historic train film

A really special historic train movie has been placed on-line.

This movie was specially made in 1939 to celibrate 100 years of railways in the Netherlands. It is in Dutch and shows many steam engines, early electrical passenger trains, bridges and buildings, of which some are no longer present. Although most of the visitors to this blogsite will not understand the spoken and written language in this film, the pictures are universally understood by train enthusiasts all over the world. The total length is almost half an hour and hence this film can best be watched with a drink close at hand.
The films starts with a re-enactment of the first train ride in the Netherlands between Amsterdam and Haarlem in 1839. For this purpose, they specially rebuild the first steam engine that ever run (slowly) in the Netherlands. It is named "De Arend" (the eagle) and is now part of the collection of the Dutch railway museum.Then the film speeds to 1939 and shows what was regarded as modern trains back then.
For those of you, who would like to see something special, go fetch a drink and click on the link. Once on the local history site, click on the video on the top left hand corner and enjoy.
I specially like the idea that many of the pre-war toy trains that I cherish, run and restore are even older than than this film.

Lionel 289E running on the attic

This weekend I decided to make a small oval on the attic floor and run some trains. The Lionel 289E engine still did not run smoothly on the 027 track curves and hence I decided to change the anti-slip tyres and I must say that it still slips a bit, but is running much better.

Zutphen 15 & 16 Oct. scale zero meeting

Last weekend, the Dutch scale zero enthusiasts had their annual meeting in Zutphen. A real surprise for me was to see a large purple MTH box and the 5 CIWL passenger cars. They run on the large oval behind a classic Dutch steamer of the 3700 Class. MTH seems to have convinced the fine scaling zero-2-rail community with it price and quality.

It was a peaceful meeting of model train enthusiasts and various modellers showed their projects. Another large surprise was the "Free to take" (Gratis mee te nemen) text in front an expensive beautiful Dutch steamer, must either be a joke or a mistake.

And there was a three-railers corner. A friendly sales representative of Merkur, ETS and Lehnhardt taught me a bit about those Czech model trains. The large red passenger car for instance is sturdy, but still only 40 Euro, which compares pleasantly with other tin-plate brands.

All in all it was a very pleasant meeting and I am looking forward to the next one.

Final run

The old folding table layout was disassembled today. But before that actually happened the Lionel 289E engine and a small string of passenger cars 607, 603 and 604 made a tribute run over the small layout. Now what is left are photo's, screws, wires and tracks...

The new layout will have a wider radius outer circle, will be really level this time, larger and permanent.

Lionel 607 finished as 603

Today the light bulb wire was connected to the third rail contact and the light lit. The reassembly went really smooth. The decals on the red passenger car body "The Lionel Lines" were water transfers from Papa Les Trains. I did not have any "Pullman" or "603" decals left, so I made my own with "Avery Glas-Dekofolie", which is a locally available brand for making glass window decals on a sticky transparent plastic sheet basis.
The couplers are new and they were necessary, because the rusty 607 wreck came without any.
The highly glossy black roof paint allows me to see all the small dents that I missed when I was filling and sanding the big dents. Well, it ain't 100% smooth, but at least it is much better than how it was.Although some Lionel collectors might argue that I should have used 607 decals and should have used burgundy red inside of bright red, I like it better this way. First of all, it is much better of than how it was and I sure hope to see it running with the 604 and 607 I have already restored and ready.

Lionel 607 painted

This weekend, I finished painting the Lionel 607 passenger car. I choose a middle red colour and not the more typical burgundy red colour. So, this passenger car will look more like the MTH remake than the original, but I just like this colour more. Last week, I already painted everything, but there was this one hair of half an inch that had landed on the wet black glossy paint of the roof.
Therefore, I had to redo the whole roof, but now I shines without this one curly hair.

I decided to assemble the window-pane in the car body and to put the roof on, just to see how the final result will look. There is still a couple of things to do. The axles still have some rust and need to be treated again. The wheels need to be polished better, to get rid off the last bits of black sooth.
Additionally, the lamp holder is severely rusted and it will be difficult to get it in a better state, because of all the grooves. Perhaps I will replace it with a new part. Well the couplers were also gone, so it will get some new shining couplers as well. The brass tank lids have some rust grooves and although it is polished and it shines, these grooves remain visible. A testomony of age, I would reacon.

Some blokes asked for it, so here is an additional picture of the All Nation Line C&LE box trailer kit in finished condition, well all but the couplers.

Lionel 607

It is more than two and a half years ago, since I choose to test my new sand blaster on a old rusty Lionel 607 passenger car, which was scooped up from Ebay some 3 years ago. Since then I derusted, sanded and disassembled the passenger car slowly, working occasionally on it. But now that I got my new work shed sorted, it was the first project to finish, from the long list of restorations that still wait for my attention.
After all the paint was removed from the body, it became apparent that this passenger car must have been composed from two non identical halves. One tin-plate side panel with rivets and one smooth. Also at the corners of the car, smoothened solder residues were visible. So, this is a car with some history that already received a major renovation in the past and is now up for its second rejuvenation. On the head ends of the car the guiding rails for the couplers were broken off. So, I fixed this with 1 mm brass wire and some very thin brass plate cuttings. I soldered the lot in position, sanded it and used some solder and plaster to smoothen the edges and sanded the lot again.
The roof had 3 dents, which were crudely filled with solder and then smoothened with filler, sanded, smoothened with filler and sanded again.
Today was a hot day and I could spray paint primer paint on it. And I must say that I am quiet happy with the result; a smooth roof and nice car body.
Working with this passenger car, you start to wonder what this car must have experienced since the twenties of the last century. Nevertheless, its future looks bright again; it will return in toy train service soon.

Old steamer passing by

This weekend we had a superb view on a steam engine running through the back yard. The whistle blew near all cross-overs and announced its arrival. Then it passed and left a cloud of coal-scented smoke in the back garden.
This smooth steamer is the jewel of the VSM; the German 23076 steamer.

Applying decals

The paint work in the trailer kit did have some flaws, so I decided to sand them off and spray paint again. The paint job turned out much better. Now, I am busy applying the 0 scale CL&E freight trailer decals, I obtained from Shoreline decals. They work easy and look good. Just need to figure out where to place them all, with the help of some old pictures of the original and the drawings from the Traction handbook. And then the last steps will come: a dull coat to blend the decals in and the scratch building of some couplers.