My Very First Train Set-1950

Very nice.   Good to see postwar running

Thanks for the picture , the 6220 are great runners and your set looks nice.

I still have the original transformer and I think it came with 027 track which I no longer have.  The 6220 can barely pull the 5 cars but I will oil the wheels to make hem easier to roll.

JohnF

John F posted:

In 1950 when I was 7 years old, I got my very first train set and I still have it (pictured in the attachment). The set was made up of an AT&SF switcher engine (6220), an NYC Gondola car (6462), an AT&SF operating box car (63132), a Lionel Lines Searchlight car minus the search light lost over the decades (6520), a Lionel Lines operating crane car (6460), and a Lionel Lines work caboose (6419). The engine was reconditioned some 25 years ago and still runs and I, through Trainland, was able to locate a replacement searchlight car also 6520 which I will pick up this week.

The whole set is almost 69 years old.

JohnF

Nice looking Post-war style layout.  I like your 6220 Switcher.  Those early Lionel Switchers with the die cast frames were and still are great runners and pullers.  Give those post-war axles some oil as you said and maybe overhaul and relube the 6220's motor and she'll have no trouble hauling your post-war consist.  Good luck and good running.

Nice set - I'm sure that there are a few memories in that set!

Wonderful set and memories!

Peter

An update. Trainland was able to find a 6520 searchlight car in good condition-it is at least 50 years old. This is a replacement for my old one that had a missing searchlight and other missing parts. The  6220 switcher could barely pull the 5 cars but after light oil on all the car axles and lube on the 6220 gears the engine is pulling nicely. 

Fond memories watching this set go around my layout.

JohnF

John,

Having your first Lionel set, still, is a great feeling.  I still have my first, 7th birthday gift, from 1959.  At a local train show this weekend, I purchased another "same" engine as my first.  I already have all the cars as my first set.  I replicated my "first" set to run and keep the original set in as best condition as possible, after all it went through over the years of running and played with.  The original set does run, but I feel it deserves being set "out to pasture" and finish our days set up on a pedestal to admire and be alive with memories.

Jesse    TCA

those are the best sets to have and the best stories when people come up to me at shows and tell me they still have the sets they started with..

John F posted:

The  6220 switcher could barely pull the 5 cars but after light oil on all the car axles and lube on the 6220 gears the engine is pulling nicely.

For a 6220 to barely be able to pull five cars isn't normal.  It might be a good idea to check brushes, commutator and anything else in the electrical path.

Cool! I like the PostWar look of your layout, too!

Balshis posted:

John F posted:

The  6220 switcher could barely pull the 5 cars but after light oil on all the car axles and lube on the 6220 gears the engine is pulling nicely.

For a 6220 to barely be able to pull five cars isn't normal.  It might be a good idea to check brushes, commutator and anything else in the electrical path.

You're right and I was about to bring the engine in to Trainland where they have a standard fee to overhaul engines but as stated, by light oil on the axles of the 5 cars and lube for the 6220, it is pulling nicely. No magne-traction in those days and I could hear the wheels spinning on the engine before I tried the oiling.

As for the layout, it is 12' by 9' with an elevated line. I tried to use most of my pretty old operating accessories and a plasticville town. I have a mix of old engines and some new ones with a theme of PRR cars, both passenger and freight, and PRR engines.

The elevated line is the Hogwarts express set which my wife bought me some nine years ago.

John F

John F posted:

Balshis posted:

John F posted:

The  6220 switcher could barely pull the 5 cars but after light oil on all the car axles and lube on the 6220 gears the engine is pulling nicely.

For a 6220 to barely be able to pull five cars isn't normal.  It might be a good idea to check brushes, commutator and anything else in the electrical path.

You're right and I was about to bring the engine in to Trainland where they have a standard fee to overhaul engines but as stated, by light oil on the axles of the 5 cars and lube for the 6220, it is pulling nicely. No magne-traction in those days and I could hear the wheels spinning on the engine before I tried the oiling.

As for the layout, it is 12' by 9' with an elevated line. I tried to use most of my pretty old operating accessories and a plasticville town. I have a mix of old engines and some new ones with a theme of PRR cars, both passenger and freight, and PRR engines.

The elevated line is the Hogwarts express set which my wife bought me some nine years ago.

John F

If I read your post correctly you seem to make reference to the fact that your 6220 does not have magne-traction.  Someone correct me if I am in error but your 6220 should have magne-traction.  Mine certainly does.  Its possible however that over the years your 6220 lost it.  It has happened.

OKHIKER posted:

John F posted:

Balshis posted:

John F posted:

The  6220 switcher could barely pull the 5 cars but after light oil on all the car axles and lube on the 6220 gears the engine is pulling nicely.

For a 6220 to barely be able to pull five cars isn't normal.  It might be a good idea to check brushes, commutator and anything else in the electrical path.

You're right and I was about to bring the engine in to Trainland where they have a standard fee to overhaul engines but as stated, by light oil on the axles of the 5 cars and lube for the 6220, it is pulling nicely. No magne-traction in those days and I could hear the wheels spinning on the engine before I tried the oiling.

As for the layout, it is 12' by 9' with an elevated line. I tried to use most of my pretty old operating accessories and a plasticville town. I have a mix of old engines and some new ones with a theme of PRR cars, both passenger and freight, and PRR engines.

The elevated line is the Hogwarts express set which my wife bought me some nine years ago.

John F

If I read your post correctly you seem to make reference to the fact that your 6220 does not have magne-traction.  Someone correct me if I am in error but your 6220 should have magne-traction.  Mine certainly does.  Its possible however that over the years your 6220 lost it.  It has happened.

Is there a way to check?  Maybe I will see if the wheels attract metal. The repair person at Trainland indicated to me that this engine did not likely have magnetraction. I have no personal memory if it did and I don't have any of the paperwork or instructions that came with the set when I got it in 1950 at the age of 7. I will see if there is any magnetism and get back.

John F

The 1949 model of the 622 and 6220 switchers had Magne-Traction by means of magnetized axles.  These would be most prone to lose the Magne-Traction over time.  Beginning in 1950 they were made with stainless steel axles and the magnetism was supplied by magnets permanently attached to the frame adjacent to the drive wheels.  Your set, acquired in 1950, may possibly have an engine from 1949 production that has lost the magnetism introduced to the carbon steel axles.

Jesse   TCA  12-68275

The simplest test I know of, and my go-to, is to pick the engine up, pick of a piece of O27 straight track and "stick it" to the engine wheels. If your magnatraction is good, it should easily hold the track in place while holding the engine in an upright position. If it just falls off, well... your magnatraction is gone.

GeoPeg posted:

The simplest test I know of, and my go-to, is to pick the engine up, pick of a piece of O27 straight track and "stick it" to the engine wheels. If your magnatraction is good, it should easily hold the track in place while holding the engine in an upright position. If it just falls off, well... your magnatraction is gone.

I just tested the magna traction and it is there but barely. It won't hold an 0 gauge track but it will hold half a track to the drive wheels. I guess better than nothing but it is now pulling the old set.

JohnF

Tandem Associates reports that early (1949) 6220's had a problem holding their Magnetraction. It is possible you have one of these if you got the set in 1950, although looking at your picture, I think yours may have been manufactured in 1950 (position of GM decal and what looks like 10 stanchions on the handrail) when they had a fix in place.

I have read on this forum that some folks offer a "remagnetization" service, you might SEARCH for that. When magnatraction is strong, it really does help to pull a load!

Thanks for the link and thanks to everyone's responses. This is what makes this hobby fun.

JohnF