Lionel ZW Transformer

pphegenaOGR Forum Member

HI Everyone i have a question i was looking on ebay at some Lionel ZW Transformers and i see 2 types one of them has 4 plugs on the back by the output terminals that look like you can plug in 4 Lionel powerhouse power supply into, the other says 275 watt can anyone shed some light on the different types of zw's i am not up on the lionel zw i already have 4- 180 watt loionel powerhouse power supplies i am looking for a way to put a controller on them to use in convential mode

Regards

Prentice

3/18/232:19 PM

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Mellow Hudson MikeOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

Three ZW's were produced. Only one is still in production:

ZW (postwar) -- Doesn't use PH-180 bricks. All self-contained.
ZW-C (modern) -- From one to four PH-180 bricks can be plugged in. Most recent models I believe are 6-14124, 6-32930. Earliest models used PH-135 bricks (6-22982). Many people like these, but they do have two notable problems. First, the mechanical throttle mechanisms inside them are mounted to plastic brackets that can loosen and/or crack, which has a fix from a third party (jimmytrains.com). There is also a software glitch that causes Legacy communications to fail, which was fixed with the issuing of a new chip, but this fix is apparently no longer available from Lionel. You'll have to find one that's previously been fixed.
ZW-L (modern) -- Still in production. Doesn't use PH-180 bricks. All self-contained.