# Need help setting up old train



## nikkitav (Dec 4, 2010)

Yet another person trying to set up an old train... I recently rescued several old O gauge (O27?) sets from my parents' garage. I believe there are 4 different sets mixed together (2 Lionel and 2 Marx). The last time any of the trains were run was probably 15 years ago when I was 12 so they're in rough shape. 

I've been able to do a bit of research about the trains but have not found a lot of information.

1. The first set has a Marx 999 engine with several tin cars. Although one side of the engine seems to say "1999" for some reason.
2. The second set has a Marx 490 engine with plastic cars.
3. The third set has a Lionel 242 engine with several cars. Apparently this is part of a pretty common starter set.
4. The fourth set has a Lionel 8903 engine with several cars. I believe this set may be the 1976 Black River Freight since I have the original manual for the set and most of the accessories like the bridge. I can't find much information about the 8903 though. I did find some information that this is a DC only engine. I vaguely remember one of our engines never worked... But I was reading through the Black River Freight manual and it said never to hook up the DC engine to AC or it'll permanently destroy the engine. I'm wondering if the engine may be fried? The only transformers I found in the boxes were AC.

My first goal is to get at least one of the engines running on the track. Then I'll deal with the rest of the cars.

I made a quick attempt at setting up the track. I made a small oval. I have two lockons and two transformers (a Lionel Type 1010 35 watt and a Marx 25 watt). The Lionel lockon looks horrible (the connectors are green/corroded) so I used the Marx lockon that someone stuck on a Lionel track. I connected the "1" to the left side of the Lionel transformer and the "2" to the right side of the Lionel transformer marked "control". Then I stuck the Lionel 242 engine on the track. The engine moved about an inch but there were sparks coming out so I turned it off. I did try the Marx transformer but absolutely nothing happened. (Both transfomers "hummed". Is that normal?)

Obviously, something's not quite right. I'm assuming I need to clean the tracks and possibly the engine? The track looks a bit rusty. The wheels on the 242 also have some rust. I could try another engine but I'm wondering if the track may be the problem? How do I go about cleaning it?

Does it matter if I run the Marx and Lionel on the same track setup? If I can get one of the Lionel engines running I'd like to try the Marx engines since I'm pretty sure they haven't been run in at least 30 years. (We always played with the Lionel sets as kids).


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

You got to clean them up. Your not getting a good connection.

Scotch brite and WD40 top of track and try it on the lockons. (connectors)


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## Stillakid (Jan 12, 2010)

*A great site to start out with................*

http://www.thortrains.net/index.html

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

If you go thru the main site and read, you'll find many of your questions answered. If not, I'm sure that between the archives(use the search), and specific questions(with pics), the members here will be more than happy to help!

Welcome to the site!!

Regards,
Jim


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## nikkitav (Dec 4, 2010)

The WD40 worked great! I got both Lionel engines running fine. (I found a DC transformer in our HO scale train box which had enough power to move the 8903.)

I can't get the Marx 490 to move at all. It only has two wheels on each side. But even when I manually push it around the track I have to push down really hard to get the wheels to even turn. It just seems poorly made...

Also, I can only get the Marx 999 to move backwards. Is there a switch on it somewhere that I'm missing? The Lionel 242 has a switch on the top which makes it move forwards and backwards. But I don't see anything like that on the Marx.


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## Blk69 (Feb 23, 2010)

Your switch on the Lionel engine is the ECU. In one position will the allow the engine to cycle on power ups from Forward and Reverse. Turning this option off keeps the engine in the last state (forward for example).

Mostlikely your engines just need cleaned. For cleaning you basically have to dissasemble your engine down to the motor and clean off the brushes. It's really is not that hard. You need to get all the dirt and black/brown gunk off the comutator (this is the copper disk on top of the rotor) and clean off the brushes (these are the small cyclinders that touch the comutor). A little light motor oil on the wheels and gears and you will be amased how well your engine run. 

I don't know if you have already done this, but you need to hit your engine wheels and power contacts with the scratch pad and WD-40.


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## servoguy (Jul 10, 2010)

Your trains will live longer if you store them inside the house, assuming your house is air conditioned. I live in Florida, and we absolutely cannot leave trains in non-air conditioned storage. 

As someone else has mentioned, you need to lube the engines. I recommend 5W-20 motor oil as it will not evaporate and leave a gummy mess. If it turns or slides, lube it. This includes the bearings for all the axles, the gears teeth, the shaft that the idler gears are on, the motor armature bearings, the swivels for the leading and trailing trucks. If you have an engine that won't run, you can clean the commutator with brake clean. 

Clean off the pins on the track sections. They need to be clean to make a good electrical connection. You can use a fine wire wheel to clean the track. Make sure you wear eye protection as the wire wheels will throw the wires. 

To make a good connection between track sections, grab the center rail where the pin is and bend it slightly to the right. Bend the left outside rail slightly to the left. Then when you put the track together, there will be pressure on the pins where they contact the next section of track. I have been playing with trains since 1950, and this is the only method that I have found that works short of soldering the track together. Lionel recommends another method which works poorly.

Bruce Baker


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Nikki,

Just seeing this thread now.

Good advice from the buys above. Nicely done.

I've found that GooGone works well for cleaning up old gunky grease/grime on locomotive gears, brushes, etc. After cleaning, lube as Bruce says.

Those are tiny (small power) transformers you have. Should be enough to get one train running, though. A hum is normal on these old units. Important: be very careful / cautious about dry/brittle/cracked power cords on old transformers. If that's at all the case, don't use it ... have the cord replace, or better yet, upgrade to a larger transformer.

Good luck!

TJ


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