Grandpa reviving his childhood trains needs guidance

For your grandchildren, it might be good to look at a couple of lionchief sets. ( there basic remote control sets) and more to their liking I would think. As for you, I would think you should service your engines first after sitting that long.

Hi Buddy497,

A good place to start would be visiting this forum often,  check . And maybe picking up 'The O Gauge Railroading Primer' to catch up on alot of stuff thats developed since the 70's. Of course there's also been many developments since that was published, but that gives a good foundation on which to build on imho.

Look over your rolling stock to make sure nothing got bashed around in storage. Check for rust and use a little oil if need be. If nothing is loose, broken or so rusty it won’t move, go on to the locomotives.

When you get something out after a very long time, if you don’t do a lot of work with small finicky machinery, you might want to take it to your local train shop if you have one. If there’s no one nearby, the crew here can most likely walk you through the basics. In a nutshell: Eye up everything for obvious damage, rust, dirt or loose parts, clean the wheels and rollers with rubbing alcohol (don’t use steel wool!) and remember that the grease from all those years ago will be fairly useless. If you can put up pictures of what you have, people can give you much better guidance. Some models are a lot easier to work on than others and some are prone to predictable annoying problems.

Most of all, enjoy being Grandpa with the cool trains.

To get up to speed with the newest technologies, this Forum is a great source of info.

In addition, Lionel has instructional videos about their command systems and youtube also has some very good videos that explain the basics.

Thank you all for the responses.  I am not afraid to tinker so "tuning up" the old stock should be interesting.  I have viewed many of the Lionel videos and they are useful but I thought that I would get the inside track from actual enthusiasts.

All you old trains, accessories, transformers and track will still hook up and work as they did.  The issue will be mixing new technology trains and accessories with the old.  The good news is it's all compatible.   Using the old transformers with the new electronics is a problem.   The circuit breakers in the old transformers are too slow to trip which can result in damage to the electronics.  You need to install fast acting fuses or fast acting circuit breakers between the transformer and track for protection.  The other thing that's gone are the old mechanical pressure sensor contacts the were placed under the track to activate accessories.   Now there are IR controllers that you set trackside to operate accessories.  Newer accessories are designed with plugs to connect the controllers and/or newer track.  There are more manufacturers making track in addition to Lionel like Ross, Gargraves, Atlas and Menards.  Also, there are more O gauge trains manufacturers then Lionel like Atlas, Bachmann and Menards.  There is also Mike's Train House, Lionel's biggest competitor.  The owner of MTH has recently announced his retirement and subsequent closing the business.  However, it appears parts of the business will live on.  We are all staying tuned as the drama unfolds.  Then, there is Command Control.  Lionel has many flavors.  MTH has DCS.

Welcome Buddy497 you have come to the right place for any and all information you may need. Take it slow and get something up and running, the questions will come and here is the place to bring them.

Oh and I like the Hat.

WELCOME!!!!  CONGRATULATIONS on returning to the Hobby!

You certainly landed in the right place... come, join the rest of us 8 year olds on a perpetual play date!

Hey Buddy,

Eight months ago, I was in the exact position that you are.

I can only say this:  You are in for a wild ride!  :-)

It's like comparing an old Nasa Mercury Capsule to the Martian Rover.

Mannyrock

Thanks.  That sounds like a fun challenge!

Buddy:

One of Lionel's vintage ads showed the father playing with trains as his miffed son looked on; probably feeling that dad was co-opting the fun with trains bought for the kid!  Today's grandpas may be vulnerable to the same situation!

Some junior engineers quickly learn how to use Lionel's TMCC system and often "teach" Grandpa how to use it! Now there's LionChief, LionChief 2.0, LionChief 2.0+, wifi, and voice-actuated control for trains. Of course, the "old fashioned" method of conventional control of a train via a transformer is still an option.

Carry on! You'll soon be a memory-maker.

Mike Mottler    LCCA 12394 

You don't have to be crazy to join this hobby, but it does help. The more of us there are, the saner we look.   So, come aboard! 

This forum is a great place for free advice. Usually, the free advice is worth a lot more than the price, but occasionally you'll get advice you didn't want.

Nothing wrong with sticking with good ol' tubular track from the 1960s. Several manufacturers have come out with track that has roadbed molded onto it such as Lionel's FasTrack. It's nice, especially on carpet, but for my in-progress permanent layout, I stuck with O27 tubular.

In terms of rolling stock, postwar and modern vintage run nicely together. If you buy new rolling stock, be aware that with variety came a variety of sizes. You mentioned O and O27 which, today, are lumped together as Traditional. The modern era introduced 1:48 O SCALE which, in general, are more detailed, larger, and more expensive.

I'm a fan of dipping one's toe into the shallow end, so with that in mind, if you buy new engines and want to try out the modern electronics with a remote control, I'd recommend Lionel's Lionchief or Lionchief Plus.  Nice thing about them is that they run on a conventional layout without having to interface any other electronics (computers, receivers, etc.).  MTH's DCS System requires a Track Interface Unit, and Lionel's Train Master Command Control (TMCC) and Legacy systems require command bases.  You don't have to be a rocket scientist, but they do add a layer of complexity that Lionchief avoids. 

Hope that helps.