Aesthetics of Transformers

Personally, I think the KW is my favorite, but that could just be because it's what I've always had. I have to agree about the appearance of the ZW, it looks strange to me.

My favorites are the Marx "toaster" transformers, numbers 709 and 729. They evoke some of my earliest toy train memories. There are two of them on the "under the tree" Christmas layout.

Interesting topic @palallin

I will say that I am partial to the ZW.  For me, the draw came much before I ever used one.  I received a Lionel 2035 and tender along with a variety of K-line cars as a Christmas gift from Santa when I was 5 (in the early 90s).  It was more than magical - however, it wouldn't run on the dinky and forgettable 45 watt 1015 transformer that was in my older brother's set.

I listened closely as my dad and grandpa discussed needing a larger transformer and there was something called the ZW.  The biggest, the best, the most powerful, capable of handling 4 separate trains at once.  Whistle control, directional control.  This was my new holy grail!  One of my uncles lent me a transformer during that Christmas season, but I had my eyes set on the next year and what I needed Santa to bring down the chimney.  Well, I think my dad saw my enthusiasm for it and didn't give Santa the pleasure of gifting the great ZW.  Sometime in January we went to a local train guy's basement - and low and behold - there it was - a ZW.  Green light shining and two handles that could simultaneously turn a boy into a man and a man into a boy.

After the visit, a sat with the ZW in my lap on the ride home.  I don't think I blinked a single time while staring at that beautiful circle L logo.  I couldn't believe that I was finally about to operate my beautiful 2035 with this masterpiece of engineering and design.  With as much anticipation as there was, you'd think there would be a let down when you finally had the opportunity to use it.  Oh quite to the contrary, using it was even better than I thought it would be.  The smoothness of the handles as the carbon rollers made their way over the coil, the springiness of the whistle controller, even the light hum was satisfying as you were harnessing the electrical power coming out of the wall.  So for me, it's hard to beat the ZW.

I've also got an LW and an RW which are both quite handsome in their own right, but nothing surpassed the ZW for me.

I see what you are saying about the KW looking more like controls you would find in an actual train.  I also love the look of the postwar American Flyer transformers because they look most like a train throttle to me.  I've never owned one, but I always liked the one with the 2 meters and the "Miles per Hour" text on it.

Interesting thread!  I own the following transformers in descending order of what I consider to be aesthetic appeal:

1) Type V (the deco face plate evokes “Flash Gordon”)

2) Type T & No.95 Rheostat (steampunk)

3) Type TW (sleek and utilitarian)

4) Type KW (the “throttles”, while counterintuitive, are cool)

5) American Flyer #4b (a box with a knob)

6) MTH Z-1000 (modern; lacks the gravitas of the old-school stuff)

I like the “heft” of the pre- and postwar transformers.  I’d love to own a mint condition LW and you can’t beat the look of the Flyer 18b and 30b.

I dunno guys.

When I look at a ZW, I can almost hear a mother screaming to her kid, "Don't you dare touch that thing.  It'll put your eye out, or electrocute you!"

I like the look of the LW the best.

Mannyrock

@Mannyrock posted:

I dunno guys.

When I look at a ZW, I can almost hear a mother screaming to her kid, "Don't you dare touch that thing.  It'll put your eye out, or electrocute you!"

I like the look of the LW the best.

Mannyrock

Where's the dislike button? haha just kidding.

I agree with you that the LW is great. 

I feel qualified to chime in on this one.  I have had various styles of transformers from the ZW to the American Flyer 30B.

My favorite is the KW.  The KW throttle controls are similar to throttle operation on real diesel locomotives.  I was a railroad engineer for a period of time in the 1970s.

I have designed and built my control panel to be part of and compliment the the appearance of the layout.  I did run short on power when adding more lights but added a z1000 brick underneath the layout for that purpose.  I also have been able to perform maintenance duties such as roller and circuit breaker replacement.  I like the KW.

Just as a guy never forgets and always appreciates his first love (in my case, Gloria), I believe there's also an affinity for one's first transformer; in my case, a two-throttle unit for my boyhood AF layout and a KW for my adult era Lionel layout. However, the electrons don't care about transformer design/looks, they'll do the work according to laws of physics without complaint.

I never owned a ZW, but its "football in a box" shape is an icon in the O-gauge hobby. My current layout uses a Lionel 135-watt "brick" and TMCC gear; all of it hidden in a handy pull-out shelf under the layout platform.  Those modern components are fully functional and very reliable but not "fancy."

Mike Mottler      LCCA 12394

The LW. Lighted dial with a green Lionel “L” in the middle and the two orange buttons controlling direction and whistle.  Add in a handsome, yet functional  transformer casing.

What’s not to love? 😉

Curt

My favs as respects to aesthetics, in order:

Flyer 30B

Flyer 18B

Lionel ZW

Lionel LW

To me the Flyer transformers jus kook beefy and what I imagined as a kid what real train controls looked like.

The ZW is just cool!

The looks of the LW are nostalgic to me as that is what I had as a kid

Recently got a KW. Also have a 1033. Love them both as running post war only seems right. ZW also looks okay but just seems big. I run DCS on my small layout as well for my command engines but mostly run post war and I want old school running them.

1033. That's it. Also my childhood transformer, still have it, so there's that unavoidable influence.

Still: 1033's Art Deco appearance just does it for me. Since it's discussed above - of course - The ZW never did look quite like a "transformer" to me. Not that I needed one, even on my rather nice, siding-equipped 027 4X8. The Z4000 (I do have one in a box for future use if needed) is even uglier and bigger than the ZW.

But, transformers are neat, ZW's and Z4000's included; I'm surprised that I don't have a "collection" of them. The Marx bricks (I literally use a locked-up rusty one as a project weight as needed) and the strange AF shapes included, also.

This filtered, variable output DC transformer is all about aesthetics but, at 35 lbs., a little tough to lug around. I'm guessing late 40's or early 50's.

ZW. Iconic.

@Richie C. posted:

This filtered, variable output DC transformer is all about aesthetics but, at 35 lbs., a little tough to lug around. I'm guessing late 40's or early 50's.

Those were made in the 50's as bench supplies for mobile radios, among other things. A more popular brand was the Eico battery eliminator. Heath kit had their version, too.

<>...two handles that could simultaneously turn a boy into a man and a man into a boy.<>

I love that!

We have over 30 different power supplies on the layout  Most are MTH Z4K but my two favorite are these

I like the Art Deco of the prewar but the LW and some of the Flyer transformers are my favorite. Nothing really wrong with the ZW. It is a nice hefty item but the LW is way above on looks.

@RoyBoy posted:

Those were made in the 50's as bench supplies for mobile radios, among other things. A more popular brand was the Eico battery eliminator. Heath kit had their version, too.

That makes sense - it came from my father-in-law's house and he was an enthusiastic ham radio operator.

Thanks.

I dunno...I'm having a hard time deciding...

John

I have two ZWs, a Z, a KW, two LWs, two RWs, and a bunch of 1033s. My favorites is terms of appearance are the ZW then the LW. I kind of like the KW appearance, but never cared to operate with it. The LW bothers me a bit with it’s counter clockwise control, but haven’t put anything on the ground since installing a fence!

I like this topic. The aesthetics of transformers is interesting. I would think that the manufacturers gave this a fair degree of thought and attention. After all, looks sell. Look at today’s car commercials. They tell you nothing about the car;  they’re just selling image

I guess because I had a ZW as a kid it remains my favorite.  However, due to the real control look I’ve always wanted a KW. I never got one since I’ve generally had enough power with having up to three ZW’s.
I like the LW so much that I use it as my work table power supply. I am attracted to the lighted green lens on the handle.
I did get an MTH Z4K in part due to its “ZW” look.  Of course, technically it’s wonderful.
I think that a certain concept of my “likes” come from my like of Art Deco design.  The ZW and LW both have this.
But, the bottom line is an electron is still just an electron. ( I know that in this day if inclusiveness I need to say that neutrons and protons are both cool too).

Alan

@palallin is speaking my language.  I'm a Gen-Xer and didn't grow up with trains.  So my transformer purchases aren't based on nostalgia, only looks.  The V, Z, and LW appeal to me.  I purchased these last month.  I have no use for them yet but love how they look:

Had the SW when I was a kid, ordered the Z4K when it was first announced (as the Z2K), hope it lasts for the rest of my life.

MRC #AH601 Pure Power Dual AC Train Control Transformer 270 Watts Why is this guy left out of the conversation??

@Woodson posted:

MRC #AH601 Pure Power Dual AC Train Control Transformer 270 Watts Why is this guy left out of the conversation??

We were waiting for you!

@MikeH posted:

We were waiting for you!

I don't have one.. I like the looks, power numbers appear to be there.. Supposedly works with TMCC and DCS.. A bit less expensive as a ZWL or a MTH 4000.. Fairly hard to find...

I have to go with the KW here.  It's the transformer I grew up with and I flat out think it looks great.  I have two on my layout, along with a ZW, one on my workbench and one for backup.  Also, it not only looks good it works great too.  A very reliable transformer.

I don't have a favorite... inventory; ZW-L, ZW, Zs (2), KW, TW and RW ...that's enough.

As a former employee of The Bell System for 30 years, and I confess, a "fone foamer" from years before that, and even up to today, I would like to weigh in on this discussion.  I was originally drawn to telephones because of their cool designs (we're talking the ones from the 1940's and '50s) that were designed by the same industrial designers who were re-designing practically everything that consumers touched during those decades.  My (ahem) parallel interest in electricity brought me first to things I could wire myself with little fingers, (choo-choos) and then on to working on telephone equipment, all the time admiring the technique along with the aesthetics.

One can see the Loewy- and Dreyfuss-like industrial designs, usually made of Bakelite, in the Lionel train transformers, especially the 1033, KW and ZW, the controllers (the uncoupling track buttons, for example) the O27 switch controllers, the early O gauge switch-track motor covers, and even the simple things like the type 364 switch pushbuttons.  There is lots of design cross-over in a continuum that includes Lionel items, through household appliances, the various Western Electric telephones like the 500, the 2500, the Princess and the Trimline, up to and including the GG1 locomotive and the streamlined NYC Hudsons.

It may not have been at the top of Mr. Cowen's list of priorities to create toys for boys that featured grown-up aesthetics, but I'll bet that there was some guy near the top who understood industrial design concepts, and how to integrate them into practical devices, and who had some influence on the final designs.

This is an interesting topic that is a refreshing relief from the usual what-type-of-track/how-to-phase/what-to-use-for-ballast threads, and I thank us all for having this discussion.

I would also like to start a more technical discussion which will probably bore some to death, concerning the weirdness of the electrical arrangements, voltages, and the choice of terminal designations of the various transformers that Lionel issued over all the decades.  But that's for another evening.

@bluelinec4 posted:

We have over 30 different power supplies on the layout  Most are MTH Z4K but my two favorite are these

That looks familiar. I wish I had bought it for myself.

Most of my life my only train transformer was my 1033. Only a few years ago did I "upgrade" to an LW but always thought the Post War ZW was the ultimate. In the past few months have I finally found a couple. I have had a Z4000 for a couple of years now and built a commercial grade 500 watt transformer but no need for that much power at the moment.

Pete

Pure aesthetics?

LW and SW.

Never had one, always wanted one.

When I was a kid, my dad had this thing called the "rectifier bridge" that I think was left over from his American Flyer days in the 1950's.  It converted AC into DC.  It had no outer case at all.  It sat on brackets above a base and was surrounded by metal cooling fins.  The Frankenstein's workshop vibe this thing gave off was awe-inspiring, and it worked.

I’m very lucky........I have gotten a chance to use and enjoy them all.

ZW as a kid with my PostWar Super O layout.

A second ZW with two Zs for my attic layout from 93-03.

Z4000 and. ZWL for my modern layout.

KW and an MRC for our modular layout along with a Z4000 for the larger one.

Over the years I have used an American Flyer transformer to back up my PostWar layout. A Jefferson transformer for PostWar accessories.

At various times a 1033, a TW or an SW on my workbench.

Love them all in the situations I have used them.

Peter

The control panel for my 1925 Scenic Railway includes a type "T" transformer, No. 81 Rheostat and bank of Lionel knife switches.

Note the little wooden cover on the original plug designed to protect it from damage during shipping and when not in use.

If I just limit it to Lionel transformers, my top 2 aesthetic favorites are:

1) KW

2) LW

Honorable Mention:  SW, simply because the controls scream "Star Trek!"

Sorry, the ZW just doesn't do it for me (I know, I'm a heretic!)

@Oman posted:

Never had one, always wanted one.

I'm a Lionel guy but tough to beat the cool factor on that ...

@G-Man24 posted:

The control panel for my 1925 Scenic Railway includes a type "T" transformer, No. 81 Rheostat and bank of Lionel knife switches.

WINNER!  Talk about *SCREAMING* electricity!