colorado hirailer posted:Okay...never before heard of Durham, and have worn out shoes hiking through train shows...more info, please, on THIS site, not avoidable ones.
Here is a page on Durham trains for collectors - I believe the owner is working on updating it, so it might pay to check it from time to time.
Before I go on - very nice conversion Signal Woman! Glad to see a Durham project here!
Durham makes/made cheaper windup and battery powered O gauge train sets. The windup motor is a very close copy of a Marx Riser Gear motor, and works very well... except the plastic handle on the key tends to break. Throughout the years, the Durham trains have continued to be produced under other brand names, such as EZ TEC and Scientific Toys. I haven't seen any of the windups available (new) for a long time, but some battery sets are still being made. I just bought a new battery set a couple of months ago:
It's the "Forty-Niner" set sold under the EZ TEC brand. But, my favorites are the older windups, especially the U-Boat style diesels:
The Durham windups have covers under the motors that tend to catch on switches, and make running on 3-rail track impossible. I've modified a couple of the diesels by removing the bottom cover, and installing die-cast wheels salvaged from a small Lionel diesel switcher. This makes them nice runners that glide over the switches instead of catching, wobbling, or even derailing on them.
By the way, if the plastic handle on the key breaks off, just use a 3.25mm clock key on the square winding stem:
Some more Durham pictures:
