3 rail DC

Well, maybe.  Depends how the loco picks up the track power.  If power is picked up from the outside rails a lockon might not work if the lockon only supplies power to one outside rail and the middle rail.  If the engine picks up power like a lionel engine (using a pickup roller) and the outside rails then you should be able to use a lockon.

Can you show a pic of the bottom of the engine?

Rick

the pickup is like Lionel so it sounds like it should work.  bertiejo

I was running 3 rail DC for a while.

almost all the Lionel motors could be easy adapted to DC without a doubt.

they run back and forward flawless.

Andre.

In regards to AG's response am I right in assuming you can run AC locos on DC without mods but you wont have any control over reverse (the loco will essentially run in the direction of the current only).  bertiejo

Yes.  I bought a Darsted about a year or two ago and discovered it was three rail DC.  I hooked it up and it ran okay = I installed a rectifier so it runs now on AC.

A bridge rectifier and a micro DPDT switch will make it run on the normal AC as Lee stated. No need to change power packs. Total investment under $2 easy to do.

Lets see a photo....I like UK locos!

If you wish to run this loco with other locos on AC, and to be able to remotely reverse it, you can install an electronic e-unit.

Larry

How you handle the reverse issue depends on how much you plan to use the locomotive. If you plan to use it a lot, I'd put an e-unit or even a TMCC or DCS conversion in it. If you don't plan to run it all the time, or if your layout is small, a bridge rectifier and DPDT toggle switch will be perfectly adequate. That's what I did with a tinplate Merkur locomotive I picked up a couple of years ago. It was wired for straight DC. Knowing it wasn't going to be the mainstay of my layout, I installed a bridge rectifier and hid a DPDT toggle in the cab. Works fine. 

Many years ago when Lionel introduced their 4-4-0 General sets. Many of which were 3-Rail DC. Few buyers actually read the directions (sounds familiar ). These did run on AC (poorly). Many dealers had, Close-Out Sales. Today, if a complete set does surface, they are snatched up quickly. 

wrong.

Running a lionel AC motor with a bridge diode allow you to change the engine direction.

the diode bridge make a AC motor behave like DC motor.

AG.

I have run both AC and DC power to the track in my layout. Each has its own plusses and minuses. Early universal motors coupled with mechanical Eunits will run on either AC or DC, but won't change direction when the DC polarity is reversed. The fix for this is to replace the mechanical Eunit with a bridge rectifier which is wired to direct the DC current to the stator and armature differently depending on the polarity of the applied DC power. Electronic Eunits will also work on DC. The first action most electronic circuits which are fed AC power take is to convert it to DC. So, electronic Eunits will work on DC. You will have the normal speed and direction control, but you will sometimes lose the bell/horn functions you have with AC. Also, locos tend to run a bit slower on DC. I wrote an article on this subject in 2006.

FYI:

MTH proto 3.0 engines run on AC (conventional), DC (without sounds), and DCS (with all features), and they detect the correct polarity automatically.

Here is mine - I'd also would like to see other people post their British locos - I love 'em.  

I don't run the Darsted too much - too pretty for one thing, and for another it is the noisiest loco I have ever heard, way too much gear rumble and whine - it sounds like a coffee grinder.

But it looks so good . . . 

Lee,

Just because it's British, doesn't mean it's quiet. What did you expect ol' Chap?...... ....A bloody Rolls Royce.

From what I've been seeing, some of lionel's new RTR sets are coming with DC power packs. I know MTH has engines that do both, but they have to be made to accept it.

The electronics engineer in me is screaming something about voltage doubling when passing dc through a rectifier circuit with filter capacitors.

Pappy, I would love to get my hands on a few Deltic units or even an HST livery! And no, they are not quiet (nor clean).

First of all thanks for the replies to my original question.  I have been under the impression that you cant run DC on AC (but its OK to run AC on DC if you dont care about direction control) without damaging the motor but some of the replies seem to imply that you can, that the only drawback being lack of control of forward and reverse.  bertiejo

You can convert a DC motor to run on AC power by using a bridge rectifier rated at 5 to 7 amps and at least 50 volts. Must be a bridge rectifier so both sides of the power get changed to usable DC voltage. 

AMCDave; your total investment may be closer to $20.00 then just $2.00 for the parts at today's prices.

The new engines by MTH have electronic circuits in them that read what type of power is being used: whether DCS or DCC or conventional AC track power.

With an AC powered engine I would not recommend using DC power because the horn or whistle may sound off continually. 

Lee Fritz

bertijo, you cannot run a DC motored locomotive directly on AC voltage. Some of the inexpensive starter sets of the past had DC motors and a DC powerpack. If you put those locomotives on an AC powered layout, the loco would not run, and you would eventually burn out the motor. To use a DC motored loco on AC, you need a rectifier circuit to convert the track AC to DC for the motor. This is what all the DC 'can' motored locomotives in the present have in them included in the electronic e-unit.

Larry