Hello,
Thanks for the add to the forum. I am a totally rookie so please bear with me. I did some searching but don't really know what I am looking for so I apologize if this is a dumb question in advance!
I recently saved my great grandfather's collection of o-gauge track with a no384 engine and a bunch of cars to go with it. My grandfather had them running while I was a child and when he passed they were boxed up luckily. Being the only grandchild with a house I spent the last month building an areal track that rides along the ceiling and is about a 30 foot standard oval shape. I made sure all of the pins engaged tightly and ohmed out the whole inner and middle rails (two I chose to power the track) making sure they were <1ohm around the loop. Now I am ready to test the train and get it setup to run but ran into an issue with the transformer. He has a bunch of older ones (small black ones I see all over which I don't have with me but will this weekend) and what I took which was an American Flyer model 12B that appears to be from the late 40's/early 50's. This is how he had it going before it was put away. I read online these can be dangerous with modern electricity and upgrading to a newer power supply is a good idea. I wasn't going to do that until I plugged it in and along with the hum I was used to got a puff of smoke and burning smell. I will clean it up and see what's going on but was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for a safe transformer or power supply (sorry not sure what is used nowadays) appropriate for my setup? I have no accessories nor room to add them so this is just to power the train. I don't care if it looks old or new I am going to keep the old one around as the show piece to go with this as it is sentimental. Just want to safely run this thing occasionally. Also good spots to buy would be helpful. Our local store is shut down due to the COVID issue.
Also any comments on my setup or tips for a total rookie would be helpful! I am planning to install a fence of sorts to prevent a runaway train from falling if it jumps off the track as I heard these engines can gain speed on their own as they warm up. Thanks for any tips/feedback. Very excited to get this going again!
. I think it looks pretty neat still! I did notice the cracks in the cord as well, that was on the list to swap out if I ended up using that transformer. 