# Help please on identifying my set



## kufta4 (Dec 4, 2010)

Hello everyone.

My dad had a Lionel train growing up. He gave it to me last year when I moved into my wife and I's new home. 

The tracks are pretty old (obviously since it was my dads.). My parents basement flooded once or twice when I was younger so there is rust on the tracks as well. I was thinking of cleaning them but thats seems rather tedious. 

My question here is, when I looked for new Lionel tracks on eBay and Lionel's website, I noticed there are different gauges. How do I know or how can I find out what gauge I have? I can supply pictures if needed.

Thanks for any help.


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## kufta4 (Dec 4, 2010)

Also, could anyone point me in the direction on where to find cheap tracks? Is eBay the way to go? Is directly from Lionel's site a way to go?

I used to make creations out of Legos. I created a nice sized Penn State lion head logo one time and purchased the bricks from a site called bricklink.com. It took a while to find but bricks were super cheap on there. I was wondering if maybe there is a website like that for train accessories.

Again, thanks for any help.


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## Stillakid (Jan 12, 2010)

Kufta, welcome to the site!
eBay, craigslist, thrift stores, anyplace that might have used items. 
Pictures would certainly help, especially if you need the set ID'd.
The side of the engine and all the cars should have numbers, that would also help if pics aren't possible.

Try here for some good info.............

http://www.thortrains.net/manual7.htm


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

kufta4 said:


> Also, could anyone point me in the direction on where to find cheap tracks? Is eBay the way to go? Is directly from Lionel's site a way to go?
> 
> I used to make creations out of Legos. I created a nice sized Penn State lion head logo one time and purchased the bricks from a site called bricklink.com. It took a while to find but bricks were super cheap on there. I was wondering if maybe there is a website like that for train accessories.
> 
> Again, thanks for any help.


Put some pictures here.
Last week I directed another member to one on this site that had a lot of track for a good price. He snatched them up too.

No thanks from the seller to me. 
I was going to buy them but I didn't need all the curves so I showed them to another member and he got them along with a bunch of switches. 


E bay? Most of the time with the shipping they are too expensive. Go to your local hobby shops a lot of times they have used lots for sale. Craigs list local? Another source.

You can clean up a little rust. I will find a thread here.

Track size...O has black ties o/27 has brown ties.
There is a size difference, 








I will go and look for the track post here for you and come back in a minute.

Found one,
http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=2433

What exit you by here in Jersey?
I know of a guy on e bay close by to me and instead of paying the shipping I meet him half way. 

The shipping is what kills a good deal on fee bay.


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## kufta4 (Dec 4, 2010)

Stillakid said:


> Kufta, welcome to the site!
> eBay, craigslist, thrift stores, anyplace that might have used items.
> Pictures would certainly help, especially if you need the set ID'd.
> The side of the engine and all the cars should have numbers, that would also help if pics aren't possible.
> ...





big ed said:


> Put some pictures here.
> Last week I directed another member to one on this site that had a lot of track for a good price. He snatched them up too.
> No thanks from the seller to me.:thumbsdown:
> 
> ...


Thanks a lot. I will post some pics soon


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

*Welcome to MTF!*

I went back two years to find these.


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## kufta4 (Dec 4, 2010)

big ed said:


> Put some pictures here.
> Last week I directed another member to one on this site that had a lot of track for a good price. He snatched them up too.
> 
> No thanks from the seller to me.
> ...


If thats the difference in the gauges, then I have O Gauge. I have black ties and the rails are "taller."

Thanks a lot for the info.


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## kufta4 (Dec 4, 2010)

T-Man said:


> I went back two years to find these.


You're the man haha. Thanks a lot. I have tracks like the bigger ones in the photo. Now that I know the information Im going to purchase some I found on eBay.

I will post a picture of my engine (technically my dads) then.


One more question. I would like to add Penn State cards to my train. Im a big fan and my wife graduated from there. (Im currently at Rutgers but don't tell anyone).

When I browse for the Penn State train cars, how do I know they'll fit my tracks? They sure look like they would and the wheels on the cars look like the same wheels that are on the cars I have. Is there anything I should know or be looking for to make sure they are the right scale? (Is scale the right word?)


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

T-Man said:


> I went back two years to find these.



That all most look like Standard gauge track, next to O/27.
Or Standard next to O?
It looks like black ties on the smaller section.


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## kufta4 (Dec 4, 2010)

big ed said:


> That all most look like Standard gauge track, next to O/27.
> Or Standard next to O?
> It looks like black ties on the smaller section.


My ties look like the one on the left and they are black.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

kufta4 said:


> My ties look like the one on the left and they are black.




Yes but in t's picture the smaller one looks black too.
They both look black?
You can measure yours I gave you a picture with the measurements for both O and O/27.

Standard gauge is bigger then O.


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## kufta4 (Dec 4, 2010)

big ed said:


> Yes but in t's picture the smaller one looks black too.
> They both look black?
> You can measure yours I gave you a picture with the measurements for both O and O/27.
> 
> Standard gauge is bigger then O.


Yes I saw that. I will measure during the next timeout of the Oregon game. :thumbsup:


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## kufta4 (Dec 4, 2010)

big ed said:


> Put some pictures here.
> Last week I directed another member to one on this site that had a lot of track for a good price. He snatched them up too.
> 
> No thanks from the seller to me.
> ...


I didn't see the exit question. I am exit 151 on the Garden State Parkway. I am from PA and I know of a place near my parents I could also check out.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Kufta,

Just a point here about O vs. O27 track and cars ...

The "gauge" or distance between the rails is exactly the same. Cars and locos that fit on one will fit on the other. However, that doesn't mean that all cars or locos designed to run on O can or should run on O27. It's a track radius or tightness of turn issue. O27 designates a 27" diameter, which can be too tight for larger O locos and long cars (like passenger cars).

If you're starting with true O track to begin with, then you shouldn't have any roadblocks (so to speak) in terms of what you can run on them. (That said, O curved sections comes in different radius or diameter sizes, and some new Lionel O locos and cars require the larger size curves to navigate smoothly.)

Regards,

TJ


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

Very old 027 has black ties. Brown is newer.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

kufta4 said:


> I didn't see the exit question. I am exit 151 on the Garden State Parkway. I am from PA and I know of a place near my parents I could also check out.



Only exits off the Jersey pike qualify for the answer.:laugh:

T


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## kufta4 (Dec 4, 2010)

big ed said:


> Only exits off the Jersey pike qualify for the answer.:laugh:
> 
> T


It was the exit for Giants Stadium. We lived in an apartment complex extremely close to the stadium for 2+ years. When we bought our home we moved 2 blocks from the Garden State Turnpike exit. It works out great because her parents and my parents live 1 block from each other in PA and we take 78 home.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

Here are some more track ID pictures. Post the engine number too!


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## kufta4 (Dec 4, 2010)

One of the photos is the engine. I looked up some prices and it isn't all that expensive. Not that it matters. Around $75 or so.

Another photo is one of the worse tracks and the other is one of the better. I went ahead and just bought enough track to fit under my christmas tree. From there I will take care of them.


A question about the engine: Do the gears underneath need any maintenance? I broke the engine once already when I was little. I remember doing it. I was pushing it all over the floor and my dad took it somewhere to get it fixed. Is there anything I need to do with it to make sure it stays in good shape?


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## kufta4 (Dec 4, 2010)

T-Man said:


> Here are some more track ID pictures. Post the engine number too!


Thank you. I have O, not O27. 

The engine number is 1065. I posted a pic of it above.


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## kufta4 (Dec 4, 2010)

I found this on the engine I have,

*"This 'plain Jane' Alco is a forward only diesel whose pulling power is limited to two, possibly three, freight cars."*

Thats not true. I've pulled many more train cars than that. Should I not? Would that be bad for the engine?


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## gc53dfgc (Apr 13, 2010)

well goood you post some pictures of the underside of the loco and maybe a pic of the engine with the shell off but to awnser your question no, it is harmless to be haulling more than two or three cars the engine will most likely just slip (if it does not have traction tires on it's wheels) or just one a little slower at full throttle than it would normally pulling just itself.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

For a peek on your engine see the 212, 1055 diesels. They are the same and in the O scale section.

LINK TO CLICK ON.


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## kufta4 (Dec 4, 2010)

gc53dfgc said:


> well goood you post some pictures of the underside of the loco and maybe a pic of the engine with the shell off but to awnser your question no, it is harmless to be haulling more than two or three cars the engine will most likely just slip (if it does not have traction tires on it's wheels) or just one a little slower at full throttle than it would normally pulling just itself.


Thanks for that info man. 



T-Man said:


> For a peek on your engine see the 212, 1055 diesels. They are the same and in the O scale section.


I have lots of stupid questions for you guys. Heres another. When you tell me see the 212, 1055 diesels" what exactly do you mean. Where would I see that?

I'll limit my stupid questions to 2 per post! 

This engine doesn't have a coupler (right word?) on the front. If I ever wanted more power, could I get an engine like a Union Pacific 2023 to run behind mine (I actually like the way it looks with multiple engines and that one is kind of close to what mine looks like)? Would it give it more power or would it take half the power away from the front engine?


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Kufta --

It's tricky to get two locos to pull in exacty harmony. One usually wants to dominate. In traditional Lionel setups, when yuo see two diesel locos, one is usually a dummy.

(It can be done with more modern DCC -- digital control -- locos.)

Here's a tech info link to the similar 212 loco T-Man was talking about:

http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/212a.htm


T-Man -- 

That's a great comparitive photo of the O and O27 curved track nested next to each other. The difference in tie size really jumps out. Nice post.

TJ


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## kufta4 (Dec 4, 2010)

T-Man said:


> For a peek on your engine see the 212, 1055 diesels. They are the same and in the O scale section.


Found what you were talking about. Thanks.


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## kufta4 (Dec 4, 2010)

tjcruiser said:


> Kufta --
> 
> It's tricky to get two locos to pull in exacty harmony. One usually wants to dominate. In traditional Lionel setups, when yuo see two diesel locos, one is usually a dummy.
> 
> ...


Oh that stinks. I knew the 2nd was a dummy but didn't know that was why. Thanks for the info.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

TJ, it just justifies the reason to preach the basics.
How many posts have we deferred to the Thor manuals?
We just have to figure out the next level.
This is the time of year we see it too!

I haven't seen one auto reverse question either!!:thumbsup:


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

kufta4 said:


> One of the photos is the engine. I looked up some prices and it isn't all that expensive. Not that it matters. Around $75 or so.
> 
> Another photo is one of the worse tracks and the other is one of the better. I went ahead and just bought enough track to fit under my christmas tree. From there I will take care of them.
> 
> ...



Did you watch the T mans video on track cleaning? 
I think I added in that post of some of the things to check on the track before you use it.

You can clean up that rusty track you have, it's not that bad. The top of the rail is what really counts, grab a scotch brite green pad from the kitchen and a WD-40 from the garage and clean them up.:thumbsup:

Some would consider the rusty sides nice.
My friend use to rust the sides on purpose.


T....... I guess I never actually laid O/27 and O next to each other.
Your picture makes the O look so big.

I did have a question about reverse but.....:laugh:


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

A Moderator thing, for future Search hunts ...

O vs. O27
0 vs. 027
O O27 track
0 027 track
O vs. O27 track
0 vs. 027 track

Hopefully, they'll find those T-man reference pics!

TJ


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## kufta4 (Dec 4, 2010)

big ed said:


> Did you watch the T mans video on track cleaning?
> I think I added in that post of some of the things to check on the track before you use it.
> 
> You can clean up that rusty track you have, it's not that bad. The top of the rail is what really counts, grab a scotch brite green pad from the kitchen and a WD-40 from the garage and clean them up.:thumbsup:
> ...


What about the center pin that holds the tracks together? They are rusty and are quite difficult to clean? Don't they need to be free of dirt and rust as well? They are harder the clean than the track.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

Just clean what's exposed. You won't see a difference in a little loop.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

kufta4 said:


> What about the center pin that holds the tracks together? They are rusty and are quite difficult to clean? Don't they need to be free of dirt and rust as well? They are harder the clean than the track.



You can buy some new ones at the hobby shop.

I think the pins should be nice and shiny, as they power your layout.

If you connect the wires with a lockon ,that should be nice and shiny too.
The piece itself and the sides of the track where it connects.

Mainly the top of the track should be too, except were I mentioned in the above sentence.


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## kufta4 (Dec 4, 2010)

big ed said:


> You can buy some new ones at the hobby shop.
> 
> I think the pins should be nice and shiny, as they power your layout.
> 
> ...


Thanks. I'll see if there is a place near me.

One other question for now. Does the track I connect the wires to have a name?

****NVM, I realized that its not a section of track, but instead a thing called a lockon which was mentioned above.

Thanks again.


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