Now, I diconnected that old dinosaur and connected two separate smaller ones which weren't powerful enough to run my Amtrack MTH trains. Get the newest photos, videos, stories, and more from Trains.com brands. A 10 amp breaker and 16 gauge wire would be appropriate for an old ZW. The 110-wattLionel RW is a cheap option, and the 125-watt LW, while a bit more expensive, gives a bit more power. Lionel Multi-Car Freight Sets + More MTH Halloween! A solid and stranded wire of the same gauge will be the same total diameter. Viola, DCS on alternate power blocks, Max signal, Happiness. Just not quite as much. All members here are welcome to drop in and visit. Keep the power supplies in an area where they get plenty of air circulation to prevent overheating. The polarities can be reversed to change the direction of the train. To participate you must either login or register for an account. Just get a Lionel #12053 Accessory wire set and enough extra wire to connect from the wire set back to your transformer [speaker wire works well]. JavaScript is disabled. The old transformer is not really the problem, the problem is the supply wire, particularly under heavyload (or derailment without the benefit of a quicker breaker). Lionel, LLC continued to manufacture and market trains and accessories in O scale under the Lionel brand and S gauge under the American Flyer brand. If you have time, check out the "Coffee Pot". Well Mike what I am about to suggest may be a little pricy or at least it was for me but I have managed to buy a new Lionel ZW. The smaller of the two is # 12028, which turns your oval into this: There is also the larger 12031 plan, which has a couple extra straight track pieces included, creating this: Even better, one or more of the expansion sets can be combined to create even more interesting track layouts. Faq No: 1029 Transformers are designed to fail if a short in the secondary or control side occurs. I have had the same problem. Remember, the only silly question is the one that you did not ask. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission, which supports our community. Make sure you are getting the right type of power supply for your layout. Make your Christmas complete with a Lionel HO Train under your. If you have to ask,your needs are a lot more modest than that. The preferred choice for wiring control panels is telephone or telecommunications wire. But it is important to take a close look at the cars to make sure that they are a good match for your set. Don't just discard your starter set pack, though. This is a old school approach for sizing cables & transformers or appliances in the electrical trade, & has never let us down. To build on the point you are running MTH trains and therefore will probably go DCS eventually: I would break the track into blocks of about 5 feet in length. It's expensive, but the same factors that drove KW prices down are also driving ZW prices down. Great for learning all you will ever want to know about Lionels track system. Ran 6 motors [MPC's]. Most feeders will be only a few inches long so the smaller diameter wire will not be a problem. Some of the variables are obvious, others not so much. As an example, look at these two cars closely: While both are gondola cars and run on O Gauge track, note how the car on the left is much longer than the one on the right. By only supplying power to the trains that need it, you can greatly reduce your needs. The first is the traditional or classic size, which are the cars that match starter sets. First, a few general notes about choosing wire. That might work, but it's probably borderline, especially if you are using something like a 1033 transformer that tops out at 16 volts. Join Today! The 1044 is just a 1033 in a . Transformers are sized by determining the total load required (in amps). If your going to run anything more that what came with the set then you should probably upgrade to something a little bigger. There are a few standards when it comes to the color-coding. I went to mth Z1000, jason's train shop has the best price's I have seen for these. Length of track or type of track doesn't (or shouldn't) matter. The transition section (#12040) allows you to connect conventional O Gauge track to FasTrack. A small set that came with track, transformer, etc. * NOTE: We do not recommend loading a transformer above 80% of its KVA rating. If you want to connect ten landscape lights to a magnetic transformer, and the lights use 30 watts each, you would need a 375 watt transformer. --The O Gauge Railroading Primer, by Christopher Ritchie. As your layout grows beyond the basic oval of track that comes with most starter sets, a good power distribution network is essential to getting consistent performance from your train all the way around. DCC decoders are one good example where the wire colors are critical. Please see our article on Fastrack here for more information. Lionel makes two expansion sets for this purpose. If you fried a wire going to the track it may not be a transformer problem. Most recommend the TPCs over the powermasters The CW 80 will work to begin with. Number 26 to 20 wire (depending on the length of your bus) will be sufficient for most applications. This thing has more power then I will ever need. Wow.thanks for all the advice so far, guys!! If youre comfortable doing some work yourself, you can buy a fixer-upper, and my informational links will tell you more about fixing one yourself. Plug one of your transformers into each Fixed in. Adding lights to buildings, streets, and other scenic accessories usually do not require anywhere near the amperage demand of the trains themselves. View More! The power supply that comes with these sets is usually a very small wall pack plug-in that cannot be easily expanded. Why Sign In? Click here to learn about the Unlimited Membership. Steve's rule of thumb for derating is very close to and in the same spirit as the NEC rule that an appliance may not draw more than 80 percent of the current rating of the outlet. Also, you must have a built-in circuit breaker to prevent a short circuit from causing permanent damage to the power supply or the trains. Access to this requires an OGR Forum Supporting Membership. :-). editors report that most of the wiring issues they address involve basic principles of electricity - the stuff that Ben Franklin played with when he flew his kite. It has FasTrack connectors on one end and O Gauge track pins on the other. There are many advantages in repairing or reconditioning your transformers. For a passenger train with lighted cars, getting a little more power isnt a bad idea. You have pretty much pointed up the major problem, everything is different. While those locomotives and their sound systems are designed to operate using conventional transformers like your ZW, digital controllers are needed to activate additional features like special sound effects and coupler activation. UpBright 18V AC/DC Adapter Compatible with Lionel O Gauge Fastrack 10" Remote Control Terminal Straight LionChief System Track 6-1923100 HKYF45-180230T-US DC18V 2300mA 18VDC Power Supply Cord Charger. Big Ed Railroad Tycoon It states: 1.25 amps for each motor, 0.2 amps for each bulb. They are fun to have. Get the Classic Toy Trains newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month, Calculating transformer size for layout size. $2799. My layout I am building is 5 sheets of 4x8 plywood and it will probaly take me 100 years to build it (I hope I have that much time left). I have a 3amp, 40watt transformer. This diagram shows all of the controls and the pinout for the Lionel RW transformer. On a large loop of track you will need to have multiple drops, hook-ups, to the transformer because if you only have one hook up the train will get slower the father away it gets from the transformer. Will get a Z4000 one day [this summer probably, unless I find a good deal on an older ZW] just to say I have one. Ryan Kunkle is a nationally recognized professional model train expert and writer with over 25 years of experience. Smaller layouts (a typical 4 foot by 8 foot being a good example) can usually get by with Number16 since the length of the run from the power supply to the track is never more than a few feet. The best of the best Lionel trains are very valuable. Daniel Defense firearms, parts and accessories, http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=9670, http://www.modeltrainforum.com/album.php?u=2334, 14X16 Switching style [url]http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=8241, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkMHvbckuBLo3pJN1FGE1Gg. The smallest wire you can work with will be more than sufficient. The iconic and legendary 270-wattLionel ZW was the biggest and best transformer Lionel made in the postwar era. But a 12-gauge solid wire is one strand, while a 12-gauge stranded wire may be made up of more than a dozen much smaller individual strands spun together. Our transformer sizing calculator allows you to obtain the minimum single or three-phase transformer size required based on the load you need to power. Beginners Ask Trains New trains; old transformers. CW80 Transformer. Of course, the answer to that question depends on many things. This works for command control layouts too, since those parked trains are still drawing some current. They give a great deal of power in a single handled transformer, and if you run trains along with another person, it can be more convenient for you to both have a smaller transformer than for two people to huddle around a larger KW or ZW transformer and share its handles. They're controlled with a simple handheld remote control and run on easy-to-connect plastic track. It would be advantageous if OGR magazine would put an article together comparing the major manufacturers transformers output waveform compatibility/ incompatibilitywith the various manufacturer's locomotives - Atlas O, Weaver, 3rd Rail, MTH , Lionel etc and conventional , DCS , TMCC, Legacy command control. The smaller of the two is #12028, which turns your oval into this: There is also the larger 12031 plan, which has a couple extra straight track pieces included, creating this: Even better, one or more of the expansion sets can be combined to create even more interesting track layouts. As your layout grows so, too, will its power demand. (NEW/LIKE NEW), running TMCC And DCS engines with DCS handheld, terrible crash in Greece, multiple fatalities, Its.Public Delivery Track ..NEWSpecial run corner, Improving Appearance of 0-gauge Tubular Track. Stop it with your hand to full stall, and it goes up to four amps--sixty watts--trying to pull. As the kit grows and you start putting in turnouts (or the point switching systems) to move your train from one track to another track, you will not only need more than 1 transformer, you will. In addition to the wire itself, connectors like crimp-on terminals and terminal blocks must also be purchased in larger (and more expensive) sizes. If this happens, you will need another transformer to share the load. --Toy Train Collecting and Operating, by John Grams. If you plan to just run MTH go with their DCS system if you plan to have a number of different engines or the MTH DCS Remote Commander which is limited to running only one engine at a time. ransformers were issued by Lionel thoughout the Post War period. Because of this, like with lighting and accessories, your power supply and wiring for switch machines do not need to be as robust. As your needs grow, you can employ a larger transformer of fixed voltage. Price Received. But Lionel now produces four Track Expansion Sets, which expand this basic loop into something more exciting. Like tankist stated.It's only running multiple engines that I run into issues. Some great beginner accessories are the #12052 Fastrack Highway Signal set, which is a set of highway signals that blink as the train goes by. Scale cars almost always have the number 7 as the second digit in their number [17623, 27241, etc].
I think the RW is a bit better value, but that could just be timing. Reverse the above if planning to run mostly Lionel and go with the Lionel command system, either the full Legacy system or the upcoming CAB-1L and just add a Track Power Controller and a cable to run most MTH engines in conventional with the Lionel systems. The larger transformers could operate up to four trains independently. There is no reason why your Lionel ZWs and Flyer big ones cant be used to run AC-powered trains of any vintage new or old. The new Lionel ZW-L is getting a lot of good reviews and is a very powerful transformer for most layouts. A new ZW will run you in the neighborhood of $450.00 or a little less depending on your dealership. I had 3 lionel cw80's and two quit working. The good news is, Lionel made a lot of good transformers over the years. (8 lights X 20 watts = 160 watts). I paid $75 + shipping for mine a year ago. Professionals Need: Kindle Direct Publishing Indie Digital & Print Publishing Made Easy Amazon Photos Unlimited Photo Storage Free With Prime: Prime Video Direct I have a basement that offers an 18" concrete ledge that goes around theentire perimeter of the house that lends itself perfectly to a neat layout. Controlled Magnetics has the manufacturing experience, knowledge, and facilities to repair a wide variety of electrical power transformers. "O" Gauge is what Lionel is today, along with "O27". Part of the Lionel line since the 1930s, the gateman today is offered not only with a regular railroad-type figure, but also in versions with Santa Claus and a nutcracker figure for the Christmas season. A: According to Lionel's head of customer service, on the underside of their CW80 transformers, starting in late 2009, the vendor applied a sticker that states "QC50" on it.