23-year-old enthusiast of old-school 3-rail O gauge models

[The Railroading Phoenix]

Hello, I'm relatively new to model railroading, I got my start ~2 years ago when both of my grandfathers passed their Lionel postwar trains they had as childhood toys on to me, and I was instantly hooked. I've always loved old stuff; classic cars, steam tractors and locomotives, WW2 military equipment, all that. I love the simplicity, durability, and serviceability of the older equipment, and its relative affordability compared to the modern stuff is a nice bonus, as is their ability to handle tight curves. I mostly have postwar equipment, but I have some MPC-era Lionel, and just yesterday I acquired a Marx prewar tinplate set at an estate sale, both my first prewar and first tinplate equipment. Basically, if it's modern enough to have a can motor or circuit board, it's not something I want. For me, it's universal motors, mechanical sound systems, tubular track, and mechanical reverse with dumb AC power all the way

 

[migalyto]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[The Railroading Phoenix]

Welcome to the forum!

Thanks!

 

[NorthTexasRailroad]

Welcome to the forums! I'm only four years in to model railroading myself. You're doing the right thing! Share photos of your setup.

 

[The Railroading Phoenix]

Welcome to the forums! I'm only four years in to model railroading myself. You're doing the right thing! Share photos of your setup.

This is my setup atm, my ZW transformer is down in the basement because I'm servicing some of my locomotives down there and it's my only functional transformer

 

[Dub]

Welcome to the Forum! Servicing your engines is a good place to start. Your grandfather obviously took care of those trains. They look to be in great condition. Did he leave you with any manuals or printed information?

 

[The Railroading Phoenix]

Welcome to the Forum! Servicing your engines is a good place to start. Your grandfather obviously took care of those trains. They look to be in great condition. Did he leave you with any manuals or printed information?

Well, most of what's in the pictures is stuff I acquired later, at least as far as locomotives and rolling stock go, most of My grandfathers' stuff is either on the blue shelf just visible in the first picture or in the basement being serviced. They did take good care of them, but they didn't give me any manuals or anything, though I was able to acquire a Greenberg's Lionel repair and operating manual. Unfortunately, it has info on both the single and dual vertical-motor F3s, but nothing on the original dual horizontal-motor version, which is what I have; a 2343 Santa Fe A-A set, arguably the best postwar F3 set produced

 

[Dub]

If you try again, the manual will reference the 2333 ( pg 173) not the 2343. The only difference that I know of is the 2343 has a newer brushplate.
Years ago I bought used 2333 SF in rough condition. I operate it with only one motor now. The two motors were way off and did not work well together. I can say, remove all the old grease. I found a can of red and tacky at an auto parts store. A lifetime supply.

One important check is to ensure there is no play on the rivet that holds the field coil and supports the brush plate.

If the brass drive gear is worn on the axle it is because the wheel bearings are worn out and also need replacing.
I got creative and substituted a small ball bearing for RC cars instead of the bronze piece. It was no fun trying to center the brass gear on the axle and keep the ball bearings seated correctly. Hopefully you will not have to deal with that.

Lastly those wheel flanges are brittle and break easily so if you have to change it, get a couple of extra ones.

Now I know why you have a ZW. You will need it to run that beast.

 

[The Railroading Phoenix]

Ok, I'll look into that, thanks. And yeah, the ZW is definitely useful for running such a power-hungry engine