Remco's Mighty Casey turns 50

Cool.  I was looking into them last summer.  There were some on Ebay, probably still are, but I chickened out.  Some were refurbished.  I think I saw one repainted.  Track too, was listed.  

There are videos on Youtube.  

Dan Padova posted:

Cool.  I was looking into them last summer.  There were some on Ebay, probably still are, but I chickened out.  Some were refurbished.  I think I saw one repainted.  Track too, was listed.  

There are videos on Youtube.  

There seems to always be nice Mighty Casey items for sale on Ebay. I still buy an addition for my collection from there every year or so.

I posted these Mighty Casey videos on You Tube. Always nice to see these trains in action.

I am looking for some help getting my engine running.  The electrical switch that the handle drops into was cracked.  So, I removed the footpeg, mount, and the assembly for the plastic switch.  I took a video and pictures while removing it, but I can't figure out where the metal piece about 1.5" long with a notch cut into should go.  I figured everything else out (as well as fixing the crack!), but I don't know where the metal piece goes.  If anyone can help, I'd really appreciate it!

I bought something similar for my son some 22-23 years ago for my son.  It was brand new, and not the Mighty Casey.  Wish we still had it!

@Paul W posted:

I am looking for some help getting my engine running.  The electrical switch that the handle drops into was cracked.  So, I removed the footpeg, mount, and the assembly for the plastic switch.  I took a video and pictures while removing it, but I can't figure out where the metal piece about 1.5" long with a notch cut into should go.  I figured everything else out (as well as fixing the crack!), but I don't know where the metal piece goes.  If anyone can help, I'd really appreciate it!

Did you learn where the flat spring goes? If not I can take a  picture. The spring only works if handle is installed to stop engine if handle is not held in run position. Without handle installed the switch will stay in run position.

@Dan986 posted:

I posted these Mighty Casey videos on You Tube. Always nice to see these trains in action.

Man that dude who poured the concrete roadbed throughout his whole yard was dedicated.

@Don77 posted:

Did you learn where the flat spring goes? If not I can take a  picture. The spring only works if handle is installed to stop engine if handle is not held in run position. Without handle installed the switch will stay in run position.

I did not figure it out.  I put it back together without the little spring.  I did tape it to the inside of the engine if I ever got time to figure it out.  I just need to know how to orient that spring.  The picture is much appreciated!

This is such a cool thread. I love the videos! I remember this TV ad too. It might have run during the Brady Bunch. And now I’m feeling old again.

Here is a picture showing where the spring goes. I also have pictures of buildings I made using old political ceroplastic signs and printed waterproof paper. I even made a tarpaper shack for my shanty town by the tracks. My homemade track also shows. I painted engines Milwaukee colors. I have made several more buildings including station and switch towers. I made spring loaded switches and layout is a dogbone. I call it a lawn ornament. Weather permitting I run trains Sat. and Sun. afternoons. I made battery packs using old laptop battery cells, 2 parallel sets of 4 cells in series will run for about 4 hours. I also made a bay window caboose and a tank car.

Don, thank you for that picture.  Now I'm back with more questions.  I don't have the front wheel mount for one of my engines.  The "spare" that I have has the trucks bolted to staying straight.  The other one I'm trying to get working again doesn't have the same setup.

Can I use the mount from the trucks bolted in place for the other one?  Or (better yet) does anyone have a spare mount for the front trucks?

I had a Mighty Casey 50 years ago and loved it. Unfortunately my parents disposed of it when we moved from a house to an apartment in Manhattan. When one of my sons turned two, I bought him a used Mighty Casey locomotive only set which just needed cleaning and a new nose decal.  Amazingly, I was also able to  acquire some "new old stock" freight and passenger cars from a long closed toy store that was being liquidated at the time-- they'd been sitting sealed in their boxes untouched in a warehouse for decades. Here's a video of my son's first ride...

-Duncan

Paul, The trucks are supposed to swivel on a pivot. I would remove the bolts that hold the trucks straight.

Can anyone tell the gauge of the Mighty Casey?  Is it 7 1/2 inches?

Gauge is measured inside the rail heads. Mighty Casey is 5.5 inches. Nothing about the Mighty Casey is scale. I use anything that I find I like or think will look good on my yard layout. The people on my layout run from Dept 56 to Lakeshore. Buildings are anything I find from toys to cookie jar. Have some G scale buildings and several scratch built.

Very cool and thanks for postings this Dan.  If I was only 5 years younger I would have been able to ride one of these.  Another of one of the best toys ever made was the Remco 4 D cell powered United Airlines 727 Mainliner from 1968.  I brought my Remco 727 to show and tell in kindergarten as the class sat in a circle.  I turned the front wheels to make it taxi inside the circle of my classmates (one of my proudest moments).

After a few years of failed attempts and assembling parts from at least 4 other engines, I finally have my Mighty Casey running.  My granddaughter is on the edge of riding it, but she will probably be able to do so for a little while.