Don’t understand

Go to tandem-associates, it has a pretty comprehensive list of Lionel postwar rolling stock with pictures. That should help you decide.

Just stick with what you know. For a start, I'd recommend picking up a copy of David Doyle's 'Standard Catalog of Lionel Trains' for your era and look through, and then hit the train shows. If, for example, your vintage is postwar, original stuff is plentiful and bargains can be easily found and/or made.

The problem with all that is I am in Nebraska. There are no cities near at all to go to train shows. Almost all of those are in the east coast region.

Any MTH engine is backwards-compatible with your ZW. It will run in what is now called "conventional" mode with the onboard electronics providing sound and the usual neutral-forward-neutral-reverse sequencing.

Hi JAY77355 and Welcome Aboard! 

I love this hobby, it's given me many many years of enjoyment from my youth until now. You definitely are into Lionel 3-rail 0-gauge with that ZW transformer. What you can run is almost anything designed for 0-gauge. Some locomotives and rolling stock require wider radius curves that the standard Lionel curve track. (031) But What kind of track do you run on for starters? 0-gauge (taller) or 027 gauge (shorter)

I’m running on fastrack  with 048 and 060 on main and 037 switches.

Jay77355 posted:

The problem with all that is I am in Nebraska. There are no cities near at all to go to train shows. Almost all of those are in the east coast region.

There is a GOOD Train 🚂 Show in Omaha , NE every year & one in Sioux City As well!  If you want some particulars, I can give you some particulars!  My EMail is in my Profile !!!

Thanks 😊 

Fredstrains

Jay77355 posted:

The problem with all that is I am in Nebraska. There are no cities near at all to go to train shows. Almost all of those are in the east coast region.

The Lionel Collectors Club of America (LCCA) is having their 2020 Convention in Omaha.  Part of the Convention is a day of trading with their members' modules set up as a room size layout.  You will find many people to answer your questions, demonstrate rolling stock and show you options.  
John in Lansing, ILL

When you say you want to continue with that vintage, does that mean you only want to purchase post-war locos and rolling stock?  You can also run MPC era locos, and you may want to look into Williams for newer affordable and reliable locos to run conventional.

If you try modern equip with electronics you need to be careful if using post-war ZW so that you don't damage the electronics in the event of a short, derailment, etc.  

Good advice on the Doyle book to show you what's available, and also tandem associates (https://www.tandem-associates.com/lionel_index.htm).

Don

How do I get to the Hi-rail forum

Hi JAY,

yea, with that set up you can run just about whatever you want. The only possible exception would be running "full scale" locomotives or rolling stock through those 036 switches. If it says 'minimum curve 072' on the box, it might not be able to negotiate those tight curves.

All modern locomotives can run with your transformer, but like the post above stated, the electronics on "command controlled" modern loco's are sensitive to shorts or voltage spikes. Might be wise to invest in some TVS protection or fast-acting circuit breaker between the transformer and track for the more modern locomotives.

Oh, the HI-RAIL forum?, click here

Jay, where you at in Nebraska?

Jay77355 posted:

How do I get to the Hi-rail forum

You're on it, but you can get to it here: https://ogrforum.com/forum/3-rail-forum.

Or, under the "OGR FORUM" drop-down menu, select "TRAIN FORUMS" and then "HI-RAIL, 027 AND TRADITIONAL 3-RAIL O GAUGE."

Jay,

There are lots of model railroad fora on the internet.  Try searching for "model railroad forums" (fora, which is the correct latin plural for forum, probably won't work) and see what comes back that might interest you.

Chuck

Triple 

i am in Sidney, Nebraska the panhandle

Jay77355 posted:

i am new to the modeling and have been operating older equipment with a ZW transformer and want to continue with that vintage. It’s the old 3 rail o gauge railroading. My question is I want to acquire more locomotives particularly passenger locomotives but can’t understand what I can run on my railroad.  Any help to tell me how to identify locomotives can compatible with layout would be appreciated.

How do I respond to individual comments and especially the stuff for sale or trade

Jay77355 posted:

Jay77355 posted:

i am new to the modeling and have been operating older equipment with a ZW transformer and want to continue with that vintage. It’s the old 3 rail o gauge railroading. My question is I want to acquire more locomotives particularly passenger locomotives but can’t understand what I can run on my railroad.  Any help to tell me how to identify locomotives can compatible with layout would be appreciated.

How do I respond to individual comments

You can not "reply" directly to the person, privately. Just respond to that individuals post/post here on the forum, just as I'm doing.

and especially the stuff for sale or trade

One should NOT respond to a person's "For Sale or Trade"posts. The best thing to do is respond directly to that persons eMail address, as listed in their Person Profile.

Hey Jay77355.......me thinks you need to "play" with the features on this OGR Forum in order to know it and get used to it. All your questions so far had the answer right on the main "dashboard" of OGR Forum...........including "OGR Forum Tech support. Scroll around, test something, be experimental!

Actually trying out different topics on the Forum wont be a waste of time as opposed to posting a question!

Replying to someones' post is as easy as clicking on the reply button.  We can tell you are "a greenhorn"  but we've all had the same OGR Forum "learning curve" and that is about as easy as making ice cubes............

There is "Trains and Toy Soldiers" located in Lincoln, Nebraska, if you get the chance to get that way.  They are also a forum sponsor.  If you look at the ads at the top of each page, you may see their banner within the ads.

Or, "Caboose" (formerly Caboose Hobbies) in Denver, which actually may be much closer for you than Lincoln.  They have LOTS of stuff in all scales.  Worth a visit.

O-gauge is a somewhat sparse in my neck of the woods, too.  Just have to learn to seek out train shows and/or mail order to get what you really want.

Jay,

If you're in Sidney, a drive to Lincoln or Omaha is more of a career than a trip, unless you run the Monfort lane . You probably know that. There used to be a gathering of toy train enthusiasts in North Platte, but I haven't heard anything about it in a couple of years. There are some gatherings along the front range, but they're not well advertised - 3 hours to Denver is a pain, but can be done. I haven't heard of any shows or sale type activities in Cheyenne, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. Like a lot of others on this board, a guy has to be a creative person to participate in this hobby.

Lots of O gauge stuff on Trainz.com especially on the auction page.  You might also consider taking the top of your ZW and looking at the rollers that control the voltage when the handles are rotated. if they are flat and not round order some new ones from Davis Lyons trains including some retaining pins.  Its a little bit of a three handed operation to put new rollers in but worth the effort.