Lionel train set

[Horace Patootie, SASS #35798]

Several years ago, my son in laws parents gave me a Lionel train set. It is a Civil War series set and has an engine, tender, and 4 cars. Now I have always lived and was born in Texas. They also are from Texas and live in Texas. They gave me the Union Army train set. I guess the Confederate Army set wasn't available. Anyway, trains are not my hobby but they are my son in laws fathers hobby. He has a large room dedicated to his train set up. I was looking at the Cavalry car with horses and noticed that Lionel had marked "Calvary" instead of "Cavalry" on that car. A very nice set of cars, but since I'm not a train guy, I have no track or transformer.

Horace

 

 

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

Someone will want it.  Central Arizona Model Railroad Club has quite a few members who run Lionel stuff.

[watab kid]

very nice , i gave my old set [not civil war] to my first grandson , have not seen it since , i dont think young folks these days have the fondness some of us older generation do , 

[Trigger Mike]

A good set.  I saw it once, hesitated and went to the store to get it and it was gone, so I waited until the next big anniversary date and bought the MTH version.  Mine is the Texas, I think.  Have to look tomorrow.   

[Utah Bob #35998]

What gauge is it?

[Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933]

What's the point?  You trying to sell it, trade it, give it away?

[Rye Miles #13621]

5 hours ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

What gauge is it?

If you spread open the picture you’ll see .027 gauge . I believe that’s the most popular gauge, I still have mine from the 50’s!! I haven’t set it up in  years.

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

2 hours ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

What gauge is it?

 

I believe that's the old 3-rail "O" gauge.  

 

Track and transformers are still available on Amazon.  Track's reasonable; transformer prices will make ya gasp.  

 

 

[Trigger Mike]

Lionel has a lot of sales for track etc on their website.  Put it around your tree .

[Horace Patootie, SASS #35798]

Thanks for all the information. I will check with Lionel's website for track and transformer. I posted this to find some info from folks that are into trains. My older brother, who is retired still has his Lionel set from late 50's or early 60's. 

Horace

[Blackwater 53393]

My train set is stored at my mother’s house. I’m planning to retrieve it when I go up there for Christmas. 027 Lionel, mostly, with a Marx Santa Fe streamliner set mixed in. 
 

The track layout is 8’ by 16’ and has three separate circuits.  There’s also a much later group from Lionel that we bought for my son.  In the last of the 20th century, Lionel changed to AC controllers and the train we giffted Hatfield won’t work on my set, so we built that third circuit on an elevated rail to run separately.

 

My grandsons have never seen it set up, so next Christmas, I’ll clear out a section of the shop and put the whole thing up!

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

O gauge and O-27 are the same width.  Lionel and Marx will run on either one, except Marx won't go through O gauge switches and crossings.

 

In your place I'd get enough track to run it around a Christmas tree, find some Plasticville buildings to make a town, and place some toy cars and trucks all around.  There are some pretty obviously toy figures out there too.  Ans a few toy trees and fences.  Get it running and watch any dogs and / or cats go a bit nuts.

 

JFWIW, Michaels, Hobby Lobby, Ace Hardware and others carry ceramic structures at this time of year and most of them are lighted and some are animated, too.

 

You can have a real Norman Rockwell village for very little money, but be careful.  Toy trains can be as addictive as guns.

 

Ho, ho, ho, have fun.

[Pat Riot]

I have a huge train set that I am getting rid of next summer if anyone is interested. You can have it. 
It runs on AAR Standard track. It’s control by Automatic Train Control and powering this thing is very expensive. 

 

 

 

 Sorry, couldn’t help myself. 

 

 

[Blackwater 53393]

4 minutes ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

I have a huge train set that I am getting rid of next summer if anyone is interested. You can have it. 
It runs on AAR Standard track. It’s control by Automatic Train Control and powering this thing is very expensive. 

 

 

 

 Sorry, couldn’t help myself. 

 

 

 

You can keep it!  Takes up too much space and is located in a lousy neighborhood!!!  

[Utah Bob #35998]

I think I have some 027 track stored around here. I’ll see if I still have it. Sold off the cars a few years back. Had em since ‘54.

[Sedalia Dave]

Something to be aware of.

While the rail spacing is the same, .027 gauge curves are tighter than O gauge.

 

 

All .027 gauge rolling stock will operate on O gauge track. However because .027 curved track radius is smaller than O, not all O gauge rolling stock will work on .027 track. 

 

AFAIK All Marx train sets are .027 gauge. However, Lionel sold sets in both .027 and O gauges.

 

What the heck is the difference between O Gauge and 027?

 

[DeaconKC]

O Gauge is roughly 1/48 scale.

[Rye Miles #13621]

6 hours ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

I think I have some 027 track stored around here. I’ll see if I still have it. Sold off the cars a few years back. Had em since ‘54.

I’m about to sell off my old Lionel set too. My sons don’t want it and neither my grandson or granddaughter wants it. I’m keeping it out of sentimental reasons but that’s enough now! I can hear my dear old dad saying get rid of it already!!

[Trailrider #896]

I've been into HO scale 1/87.1 scale or about half O for about 67 years. Before that it was American Flyer S scale 1/64th. I have two grown grandsons and one teen granddaughter.  None of them ever had more than a passing interest.  I think one reason kids of that generation have little or no interest in model railroading is that they have never ridden first class passenger trains on trips.  Compared with the Zephyrs and CNW 400's I rode as a kid, Amtrak is a sad joke...if they ever got the chance to ride even the best Amtrak.  "Nothin' could be fina than to eat yore ham n' eggs in Carolina!  Chattanooga Cho-Cho, won't you carry me home! (Or in a Burlington Zephyr's diner!)  Sadly, most of those are in a museum, which is probably where I belong!  (An outfit in Wisconsin is in the process of restoring the Mark Twain Zephyr.)

Happy Holidays, Pards!

[Imis Twohofon,SASS # 46646]

Blackwater, I will help you put it up after the State Match next year.

 

Imis

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

17 hours ago, DeaconKC said:

O Gauge is roughly 1/48 scale.

And most of Marx is 1/64 (S gauge) but running on 1/48 track.

 

And you are right about the radius of the curves.  I am running Marx O-27 and forget about the radii because I seldom need a larger radius.

 

Some day I'll get a place to build a really big layout (He's been saying since 1960  ).

[Waxahachie Kid #17017 L]

Remember....Sam Houston, and a ton of Texans, wanted to stay in the Union, but did not get their way.

A lot of Texans were rounded up, and hanged, because they would not support the Confederacy.

Some escaped going to the Confederate army by volunteering to guard the frontier, as a Texas Ranger...since there were no more Union troops to do that.

 

Otherwise, you were hunted down, and given a choice of going to the Confederate army, or execution. 

 

So, the Union train set is really appropriate for Texas. 

 

I was given an American Flyer, electric train set, when I was about 5 or 6. It only had two tracks, unlike the Lionel, which had three.

I still have it. 

 

W.K.

 

 

[Yellowhouse Sam # 25171]

59 minutes ago, Waxahachie Kid #17017 L said:

Remember....Sam Houston, and a ton of Texans, wanted to stay in the Union, but did not get their way.

A lot of Texans were rounded up, and hanged, because they would not support the Confederacy.

Some escaped going to the Confederate army by volunteering to guard the frontier, as a Texas Ranger...since there were no more Union troops to do that.

 

Otherwise, you were hunted down, and given a choice of going to the Confederate army, or execution. 

 

So, the Union train set is really appropriate for Texas. 

 

I was given an American Flyer, electric train set, when I was about 5 or 6. It only had two tracks, unlike the Lionel, which had three.

I still have it. 

 

W.K.

 

 

 

 

Well, maybe better than Falfurrias!   The big hanging at Gainseville is a prime example of things getting out of hand as well as execution of German settlers trying to reach Mexico.