I hit the jackpot

General Rule: Don't mess with electricity until you know the equipment is in good shape.  Spend the money to find an electrician to check out your transformers for safety's sake.

With respect to DCS, do you have the whole system?  If all you have is a TIU, that system can't be run.  Not a total loss, though, because quite a few engines with advanced electronics will still run on older transformers.

With respect to engines, learn how to open them up and how to identify what's inside; this includes tenders of steam engines, too.  Look around for batteries or battery packages and if you see any, replace them before applying power.  Search the internet with engine information (manufacturer's part number would be best) including engine #, road name, and any other characteristics you can determine.  Info found there might help you get better answers here.

Actually attaching pictures to your posts would also help.

Chuck

The only thing I disagree with PRR1950 is don't be opening up engines if they are fine. If some of them are modern engines (2000 and up) There are oodles and oodles of fine wires that could be pinched in the frame when re-assembling and electronic disaster could happen. But the older postwar trains are pretty bullet proof. Have you found remotes for the TIU yet?

Chuck - yes I have the remotes.  One is for TMCC and the other is for the DCS system.   As for the latter, I have good batteries in it, but no joy with anything on the screen.  Still researching.

Byron

Jeeez, Byron. Lucky you!!! Maybe you can tell us how you fell into this jackpot on a later post.  As for the ZWs, definitely inspect them before hooking anything to the tracks. Make sure the cord isn’t frayed or that there isn’t any obviously broken plastic. The handles should move freely.  Since you have command systems from both manufacturers, you certainly have some command control engines. The ZWs should not be hooked directly to the track without some sort of fast break fuse when running an engine with modern electronics.  Search this forum and you will see what many have used with ZWs with modern electric trains (and DCS in particular).  The in line fuse does not need to be used for post war or other conventional engines without electronics.  This is why you are right to try and determine which type of engines you have.  If you turn them over, the command control engines will usually have a sound pot, charging ports, or some type of sticker that gives it away, like “ps2” or “PS3” for mth engines.  Command control engines will also have wires connected to the couplers so they can be opened and closed via command control (you won’t likely see this in conventional engines). The underside should also have some identifying sticker or marking denoting if it is MTH (which uses the DCS TIU) or Lionel (which uses TMCC/legacy). If any engine appears conventional, once you’ve assessed the condition of the ZWs, you can hook the transformer up directly to the tracks without installing any type of quick fuse and have some fun running them, since they lack delicate modern electronics and should be able to withstand a derailment short.  Good luck and congrats!

Make sure the batteries are good in the DCS remote, then hold down the S5 key for several seconds and the remote should wake up.

Byron, a couple resources for you. Randy’s Roundhouse in Lincoln is great on repairs and has multiple gauges in his shop.

http://www.randysroundhouse.com/

Also for general questions and help, Nebraska-Iowa Railroaders has a club in the Oak View mall in west Omaha. ( I forgot about a couple moves!) They are generally open on Saturday.

https://nebraskaiowarailroaders.com/

Byron,  perhaps if you make a series of photos of all the locomotives you have we can help you identify them and what electronics might be in them.  Always nice if you can make the photos against a solid background  (white) without a lot of clutter so we don't have to strain our eyes.  Fill the frame with the subject.  Perhaps 2~ 3 locos per day.           j

Some good shots of the bottom of locos / tenders and any switches there will be a big help.    j

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Make sure the batteries are good in the DCS remote, then hold down the S5 key for several seconds and the remote should wake up.

See also, for follow-up:

    DCS remote works great | Byron Hurder

M.

First, congratulations on your acquisitions.

Second, all good advice above, especially about batteries!

I'm going to presume the engines are boxed and in their correct boxes. That said, when you take pictures, please include a shot of the end flap with the description and catalog number. That will go a long way towards providing you with proper information.

BTW, if you find any MTH engines and open them up to find a WHITE battery, do NOT apply power to those engines w/o first changing the battery! 9v NiHM are an excellent replacement. We can discuss BCRs at another time, but this will keep you from potential damage for now.

Speaking of pictures, please post a shot of the bottom of the TIU. There are several versions. Information on the bottom will tell us which one you have.

Chris

LVHR

I agree with others, with the transformers, even if they look good (cords don't look disintegrated, handles move fine, seem in good shape visually) it is worth getting them checked over, may cost a bit, but worth it from a safety perspective.

In terms of track power, agree with others, you at least will need a fast blow fuse/breaker inline with track power. If you do a search, there are many posts on here about putting a tvs (transient voltage suppressor) between the common (U usually) and the power output as well as the breaker. This is to protect any modern equipment you have.

With the command control engines, they usually have batteries in them. You best bet is as someone else posted, get the model number and look them up online. That will tell you what the engine is, what kind of command control it has and things like do you need to worry about batteries, if it has them.  I agree with others, if engine has a battery in it prob best practice is to replace it, either with another rechargeable battery or a bcr (basically a fast charging capacitor device, with a battery if you don't pre charge it using a charger through the charging port, you have to leave it on track power for an hour to charge (that is with MTH engines running PS 2.0, IDK about 3.0, BCR it is like 5 minutes on track power)

Wow - you folks are just the best.    Talk about helpful responses.  Thank you!

I'm headed to the boneyard with camera in hand to see if I can spot something of value to ask you.  Oh wait, that  would be all of the engines maybe...

Sounds like a nice haul. Please post some pix of the goodies so we can all drool. 

Yup- post pictures, and of course if you got any boxes, pictures of the label would help us get you going that much faster.

Well the HOs have quite a few of the original boxes, alas, the O doesn't have a one.

And they are quite dusty and dirty.  Lotta fun work ahead.

The backstory of the spectacular 'gift' of all this was that a family (friends) about  11 miles from here had these two layouts but had never been able to find a spot in their house.  My garage was elected!

That's most, but not all of my O27 locos.

Drooling's allowed; just not on my photos.

Byron

A couple of you had asked to see the bottom of the TIU.  Lemmee know if you can't read it.  Never knew there were different versions.

Byron,

looks like you got a lot of cleaning to do .  If you add the pictures as attachments to your posts they are much easier to increase the size for us to drool, sorry see, what it is you've stumbled into.  From what I can see you've got several different era's of items there, which is what most of us have.  Looks like a very nice haul indeed once the grunt and discover work is done.  The modern steamers will have electronics in the tender so those will be matched sets.  I see what looks like one or two older diecast lionel steamers which will run fine by themselves even if you mix and match tenders.  There are what appear to be some higher end pieces mixed in there, such as that larger steam loco with the orange running down the sides. This was the Southern Pacific "Daylight" scheme.

With the variety you have there you should have a great amount of enjoyment out of this.  I look forward to watching you pick through and getting them rolling.

Another obvious point given the condition, besides cleaning them up, you may also want to think about lubrication. There are plenty of threads on here about lubrication and given these have been sitting a while, it might make sense. On cars it is putting a (tiny) drop of oil on the axles and on things like the pickup roller axle. On engines it means looking up the engine and following what you see (there are generic ones for lionel postwar). For engines  with the old pullmor engines if you feel comfortable take off the shell, and remove the brush plate (carefully!), and take out the armature and see what the grease looks like. On modern engines they have specific points to do that, prob can find it on any number of places.

You definitely have an interesting collection of goodies there! As others have said, it looks like you have a mix of brands and eras. The lack of O gauge boxes is going to make things a little more "interesting" for you.

Let's start with the TIU. Please try another shot. This one is out of focus, but I think it is a Rev I3.

Next up, the diesels. One engine per shot. Side view so we can see the cab number, and a bottom shot so we can see what switches might be present.

A word on the shells and attaching screws: Be careful, take your time, and don't over do it. Some of these are likely stuck. When you put the screws back into the shells, DO NOT over tighten! You run the risk of cracking the shells.

Steam engines and tenders: If you know which tender goes with which engine, great! Shots of the engine and tender together should be fine. If you don't know the pairing, then single item per shot. Side for the cab number, bottom for the switches, and an additional one if there is an electrical tether or socket present. The sharper, the better. With any luck at all, we should be able to tell you which tender likely goes with which engine.

Feel free to have at it with cleaning things up. I'm certain others will chime in with their favorite cleaning methods. Take your time, have patience, and you will have things looking good and running well!

Chris

LVHR

Chris - you're absolutely right; the TIU is a Rev I3.

Does that imply anything in particular that you can think of?

I've been trying to wrangle the garage into shape, what with getting my poor excuse for a layout built up, the rolling stock pushed around to allow for same, and then there's the cleaning to be done.  Ech!  It's all good fun and I do enjoy it.

Thanks again Chris.

Byron

A few things about your TIU.

It is not the latest: Rev L is. But that's not a bad thing.

Rev I3s had a signal issue. Yours does not have a silver dot, which means the fix was not applied. Check this thread. It does get a bit confusing. If you have questions, I refer you to gunrunnerjohn (GRJ) or GGG on this Forum. Both are quite knowledgeable on TIUs.

Do open the case (6 small phillips head screws on the bottom) and check the nuts to each terminal on all 8 banana plugs. They tend to loosen over time- not a good thing!

I suggest identifying which engines are conventional, DCS, or TMCC. Then work on the conventional ones first, as they tend to be the easiest.

Best of luck to you!

Chris

LVHR

Chris et al:  I'm choosing to start with this one, primarily because I THINK (uh oh) that I can only find the two ac wires.  That tells me that I may have good luck trying to put them on the track, fed by the ZW's ac outlet.  Would you guys agree?

The 2026 locomotive is a postwar conventional locomotive with an air whistle tender that pairs nicely with the original ZW.

@Byron Hurder posted:

Chris et al:  I'm choosing to start with this one, primarily because I THINK (uh oh) that I can only find the two ac wires.  That tells me that I may have good luck trying to put them on the track, fed by the ZW's ac outlet.  Would you guys agree?

Byron,  that's a post war classic.   Perfect match for a zw power supply, and a great unit to start with. This one only requires voltage on the track to move.  Have you cleaned the track yet?

You should oil this one before you put it one the rails.  A little drop of motor oil will do on each of the bearing and each of the drive rod connections.  Literally 1 drop will do. 

The two wires you see under the tender are both "hot".  Ie they take power from the center rail.  The ground path is through the wheels to the outside rails.

Do you know how to wire up the zw?  Do you have a multi-meter / volt meter?

If you do then I suggest you hook up the zw, crank up the voltage,  and check the track all around.   Then put that 2026 on the rails, and smile.

JHZ - aha, thanks for the encouragement.  I thought I had the idea.

I haven't cleaned the 027 yet.  I just have 3 sections of track (out of many hundreds) that I'll get some voltage spewing toward.  I'm guessing that'll be  a tomorrow thing, but only today.  But that track WILL be cleaned.

Yes, I  know enough to get my way around the multimeter.  Way too many Heathkits in the 70s. So I'll  do my first go-round in quite some time with electronic type stuff tomorrow as well, maybe.

Thanks for the push.  Good direction.

B

JHZ - it woiks, it woiks!.

However, I confess.  I didn't have the intestinal fortitude to try it with either of the ZWs (they both need ac cord replacement), so given that there's just SO many goodies hiding in boxes here, I opted to go digging for another power supply.

Bingo, there it is.  Will only do 90 watts on a good day, but I was feeling adventuresome.

In spite of the cleaning of the tracks (check) I see that something isn't quite 'clean' -- That's something I can work on.  But, it woiks!

A good place to start, that is a postwar conventional engine, so unless the motor has windings that are shorted should be good to go. I would take the shell off the engine and at the very least spray contact cleaner on the e-unit, and lube the wheels.

@Byron Hurder posted:

JHZ - it woiks, it woiks!.

However, I confess.  I didn't have the intestinal fortitude to try it with either of the ZWs (they both need ac cord replacement), so given that there's just SO many goodies hiding in boxes here, I opted to go digging for another power supply.

Bingo, there it is.  Will only do 90 watts on a good day, but I was feeling adventuresome.

In spite of the cleaning of the tracks (check) I see that something isn't quite 'clean' -- That's something I can work on.  But, it woiks!

Great first step! 👍

That 2026 should be a good test engine. Lube it and let it run.

😂😂

Sounds like you are about to delve into the track cleaning business. There are numerous threads on this site with great advice. I will pass one nugget of advice: Do NOT use steel wool!!! The little pieces break off and get in the insulation of the center rail. Then your track shorts out, and you will never get it clean. Not  good! ScotchBrite or a BrightBoy will not cause this problem.

Regarding the 2026: To pull the motor out, there is a screw in the top of the boiler near the smoke stack. You will probably have to pull the lead truck as well. To get the motor free, there is a pin in the firebox area that needs to be removed. Use a punch or a drift pin and hammer to drive the pin out. One side has swages, the other is smooth. Support the engine on its side,  smooth side up. Then carefully drive the pin out. It should not take much effort. Assembly is the reverse.

While you are at it, pull the shell off the tender and give the whistle motor a going over. The bearings tend to get very dry, as nobody thinks about this motor. Test the whistle relay.  I hope your transformer has a whistle button or lever.

Chris

LVHR

Well I've been having a grand ole time taking my Lionel 2026 apart, cleaning in, lubing it, etc.

Cept now, I'm about where I figured I'd be and can't imagine getting it back together successfully.  But first things first; see that wire on the right, drooping down to, um, nowhere?  The wire came off while I was disassembling it so you'd think I could locate a spot of shiny solder where it came undone.  But no.

No chortling allowed.

B

My next project will likely be the two ZWs.

Turns out that the two are quite different.  Even with this terribly blurry picture, you can see the circuit board on this, the newer of the ZWs.

Gandering at it a bit, I can see the majority of effort was done to make heat dissipate.  But why?  Did the earlier versions have heat issues?

Still and all, I almost think that the board had other reasons for being.   But what would those reasons be?

b

Congratulations! Also, for the love of all that’s holy, clean the wheels. (Yes, the HO ones too.) There are about a million and fifty-three good ways to do it, but it’s worth doing. Lots of people think their little-used trains need major repairs when the problem is just wheel or track crud. Clean the track too, of course, and great big yes on avoiding steel wool. If the track is apart, clean the joints before you put it back together—that minute or two may save you some pain in the neck moments later.

Most of all, have fun!

Byron, Here are pictures of your engine, looks like smoke wire from what I can See.

Sitka - thanks so much for sending along those pictorials.

Yes, that wire must go to the smoker.  I do see a tiny piece of wire coming out of it.  That old wiring is, uh, old!

B

Gosh Byron,

I don't know whether you scored a jackpot of treasure, . . .or a jackpot of long, boring, tedious work!   :-)

(Course, some people love the work.)

Mannyrock

What are you using for a camera?

Recommendations:

1. Make sure you have good lighting.
2. Don't hold the camera too close to the object, otherwise you won't be able to get it in focus. A smartphone camera needs to be at least about 6" from the object. If I recall correctly, a fixed-lens, 35mm film camera needed to be at least about 3' from the object.
3. Focus on the object. If it's a smartphone, make sure the object is in the focus box. Either give the camera enough time to auto-focus, or tap on the screen the object that you want to focus on.
4. Take lots of pictures—film is cheap!—giving enough time in between shots for the auto-focus to reset or to manually re-focus. Take more photos than you think you'll need.
5. If you're have difficulty holding the camera steady, use a tripod—you can get inexpensive ones on Amazon—or rest the camera on a steady, sturdy object.
6. Save and share the in the largest file-size possible. Exception: If an email client or forum software won't re-size the image to fit the standard width email or post.
7. Delete and don't share out-of-focus pictures. The *only* exception is if your only source is a screen-grab from a video and it is close enough to being in-focus to be useful for it's purpose. This, however, should be done only as a last resort. (A rule of thumb for photography is that, at most, you only publish, display, or use 10% of the photos you take. Aside: Social media would be better off if everyone abided by this guideline.)

Mannyrock - heh, well it's not that i love the work but it's more like I adore all the distractions inherent in a layout.

I can be sitting here playing an online game, then realize that I'm bored, so I'll head out to the garage, in an attempt to decide which of the 25 things I could be doing there.  Yum.

It's all good.

Matt - all fabulous points; thank you so much.  We've got several cameras, so of course I'm using the cheapest piece of junk I can find at the moment.  Figures.

I'll learn