A Guide To Maintaining and Repairing Lionel Trains

Contributed by Barry Richardson

Is your old lionel train falling apart? Wouldn't it be good to see it chugging around on its path again, glowing with the same glory as the day it was discovered that Christmas dawn so long ago?

Mending and reestablishing your old Lionel train can be very satisfy. You can relish in the warm glow of memories past, and so make young memories to go on with them!

You can do this yourself with just a little patience and know-how. By and large, a drop of oil in the appropriate places will keep it operating smoothly.

How do you repair Lionel trains?

The first step in restoring an old Lionel train is to clean it. Wipe it all off with a soft cloth to get rid of dust, debris, and stains.

You can get rid of rust with rust remover or very fine sand paper. If you see green or ugly white spots, that is oxidation, and you can remove it with oxidisation remover.

The final part in your cleaning is to wipe down the tracks, the wheels of the cars, and any moving parts with a light oil spray. Use Q-Tips soaked with the oil to get into smaller areas, like the wheels, and use a soft cloth soaked with the oil for the tracks. Buff it all up with a clean part of the cloth. Don't put oil on rubber parts, though, as it can and probably will damage them.

Put a dab of the oil on some running gears in the engine, and run it in so that they move smoothly and easily. You can utilize a toothpick to drip tiny pieces of oil for the tiny parts.

Now that it is clean and beaming, you can start your fixes.

Make sure all the areas of the track fit together tightly. If they don't, then curve the connectors back into position with a pair of pliers. It might take a few attempts to get them just right; strive yfor a tight fit.

Take the bodies off of your cars, and check the insides. Clean them as described above, and look for broken parts. It's actually easy to replace any broken bits yourself. You can buy them at a Lionel trains speciality store, numerous hobby shops, or get them from Lionel trains catalogues. Just unscrew them and screw in the substitute part.

In conclusion, does your train run? Check it after you've cleaned it completely, because built up stain and dirt could make the link between the train and the track to be so bad that it prevents it from moving. If it's clean and still doesn't run, check to see if the transformer plug is OK and that the transformer is putting out the correct voltage. Use a volt meter to check. It could be that the transformer requires fixing or replacement.

You can find detailed directions about how to fix the transformer, and all the other areas of Lionel trains at LionelManuals.com. They have a two CD set of full guides, blueprints, and plots for each Lionel train made up from 1906 through 1986. The set also includes a parts and accessories catalogue for your convenience. Use the repair manuals to complete any other necessary repairs for your train.

In order to preserve your Lionel train, simply keep it clean and buffed, oil the moving parts every so often and it should give you many more years of enjoyment!

Do you want to learn antique train repair with over 2000 pages of illustrations? Learn step by step how to repair (http://www.lionelmanuals.com) HO model trains and download prewar and postwar (http://www.lionelmanuals.com) Lionel train catalog now.

Model Railroading is one of the most creative hobbies!

Build Roadbeds or Use Standard Track?

Contributed by Bill Murphy

With model railroading, just as with real railroads, it all comes down to the tracks on which the trains roll. If they are stable and well designed, the trains will safely make their journeys year after year. If not, they may not be able to complete even a single trip without problems or derailment. So what goes into the creation of a safe and stable track system?

In the real world, deep gravel beds supporting heavy wooden or concrete beams are used to anchor and place the tracks. On most model railroads, however, the creation of miniature roadbeds is bypassed for a quicker and less work-intensive standardized track system which can be simply glued or nailed down to the table surface.

Most of the standard tracks provide at least some detail to help emulate the look of a real track, in the more exotic cases even simulating the gravel roadbed in various materials including cork or rubber, and these are the most common products that hobbyists utilize.

Just as in real life, creating a true roadbed from scratch involves a lot of work and necessitates some upkeep that these standard tracks help the hobbyists to avoid, and there is very little to be gained from creating the roadbed yourself. What it really all comes down to is two things:

• the level of realism you want to achieve;

• how much of the work you want to do yourself.

If you merely want a functional rail system and want to focus your efforts on dioramas and other aspects of prototyping, or find yourself completely satisfied with the look simulated on standard track systems, then it makes sense not to invest the time and costs of creating a roadbed and meticulously laying out track by hand.

It's faster, cheaper, and almost as effective to just glue down existing track systems after all -- but if you are detail conscious and proud of the amount of work you are putting into your prototyping, then you may want to go ahead and include your rail system in your hand-crafted techniques.

Either way, the end result is bound to be spectacular; it's all just a matter of choice.

Remember that the scale of your railroad is also critical when choosing your model train scenery.

Find out more about designing, building and operating your model railway at The Model Railroader.

Model Railroading is one of the most creative hobbies!

Designing Buildings for Model Railroads

Contributed by Bill Murphy

Most of us have no desire to become an architect, but most model railroaders wind up getting into the act at one point or another. It's sometimes impossible to find exactly the building you need to complete your layout, leaving you to come up with something on your own.

So what does it take to make your own buildings? And do you need to have some serious carpentry skills or can the average hobbyist manage?

In reality, building your own detailed replica buildings can take some advanced woodworking skills, and the tools to go along with them. But an often easier alternative is the "kitbashing" method -- taking an existing model and using it as the foundation for your own creation, modifying it to suit your own taste.

When kitbashing, you can often get away with some simple tools such as an X-acto knife or scissors, plus a healthy dose of imagination.

Some of the materials you may find useful when making your own buildings include balsa wood, mat board, foam, lightweight plastics and even cardboard.

Corkboard and plaster, gold or silver foil, glitter and spray adhesives can also be helpful. Most of these materials are available relatively inexpensively at your local hobby shop.

Where You Can Find More Ideas

Articles about working with these various materials have been printed in numerous magazines over the years. Your local library or second-hand bookstore can be invaluable for finding these things. And don't limit yourself to model railroading magazines - lots of other hobbies have helpful information about working with these materials that you can apply to your train layout.

Looking for more ideas for building model railroad scenery? Visit TheModelRailroader.com for plenty of helpful information and for a free copy of my report "Model Railroad Design Secrets"

Model Railroading is one of the most creative hobbies!

Lionel Trains Repair Manuals on CD-ROM

Contributed by Jack Thompson

Do you want to fix your Lionel train? Are you a Lionel train enthusiast, buying, fixing up, and trading Lionel trains? If so, then you'll be happy to find out the perfect Lionel trains repair manual at LionelManuals.com!

Actually, it is much more than just a repair manual, likewise. It's a 2 CD set chock full of everything you want to be capable to fix, mend, or accessorize Lionel trains at a professional level.

You'll find particular directions for fixing every Lionel train manufactured from 1906 through 1986. These certain directions are instanced throughout with 1000s of plots and specified blueprints to make visualizing the instructions crystal clear. Require to take only one part of a plot? No problem! They're "zoomable"! Yes, the manuals were planned with you in mind! You can zoom in on whatever section so that you can learn exactly the spot that you are working on.

Yet with so much subject, you can easily find the right page you ask for your original train. It Is uncomplicated - they indexed every page for you!

Plus, the manual is printable, so that you can print out what you ask and take it to your work table with you.

There is likewise a convenient sections and accessories catalogue. You can learn what all is available for your Lionel train, and acquire whatsoever fundamental ideas on accessories to make your setup finished.

You can still reckon how your Lionel train set was in the first place set up back when it was constructed. They have included a lot of old Lionel catalogs, advertisements, and films. Experience your train with it's introductory concept, and feel a few fresh memories of the old days crawling in. Most Lionel train collectors nowadays have a passion for their hobby for this very cause. They think what it was like when they were so small and they got their original Lionel train! They can experience the awe and the delight all over once again. It's like Christmas morning! Is it the same for you? Is that why you are repairing your old Lionel train right now? They do have a way of bringing back those memories, don't they?

Yea, Lionel trains are some of the good areas of our history, and a portion that we like to think.

Speaking of history, your two CD Lionel Train repair and restoration set likewise includes an informative report: The History of the US Railway System. See how accurate your Lionel trains are, and how well the models fit in with the real history of trains in our country. In fact, numerous of the Lionel trains were an exact replication of a specific train.

All this can be yours with the full Lionel train repair manual set from LionelManuals.com. It's an greatest value! You are sure to love it!

Get you hands on over 2000 pages of rare Lionel service manual catalogs and learn how to repair trains with the most comprehensive antique lionel trains guide.

For more information on Model Railroading, visit Model-Railroading.org.