Newbie with a ZW... and Thank You

RaddoOGR Forum Member

Firstly, I'd like to say thank to everyone on this forum. It has a been a pleasure reading posts and seeing all the knowledge that is shared on this forum.

I recently bought a train set for my son (Lionel Thomas O-Gauge) and it brought back some great memories of being a kid and loving trains. One of the guys at my LHS joked as I was leaving, saying that the train set was actually for me. My son is only two, so we will slowly be expanding on the set over time. The set came with only a CW-40 transformer. I realized that some of the engines I was looking at may not run correctly with only that transformer. So I figured one of the first upgrades would be to get a bigger transformer. I remember being a kid and seeing my uncle's train set running off a ZW, so after doing research, I decided on that, which should provide power for our slow expansion for a while.

After reading up on everything, I found a great ZW from O Gauge Jim here on the forum, that he had reconditioned (new plug, diodes, rollers, etc). Thanks Jim, it is extremely quiet. I purchased some 1.5KE36CA TVSs from mouser. I also purchased some 7amp TE circuit breakers from mouser, part number W28-XQ1A-7. I am running 16 gauge wire. Gunrunnerjohn had some great posts about all of this. The TVSs are crimped into the connectors that are attached directly to the bottom of the fastrack. I read that having it as close as possible to the train is the best location. I tested the circuit breaker and it pops within about 2 seconds. I also learned quickly that the whistle switch on the ZW adds voltage and makes the train go faster. Luckily I had that circuit breaker as I made the train derail.

So the wiring goes as follows... ZW post A to circuit breaker, circuit breaker to power distribution block, power distribution block to track. ZW post U to power distribution block, power distribution block to track.

So my questions are...

1) is there anything I am missing in this basic setup?

2) are there any dangers I should be aware of having my two year old son with me running the trains?

Circuit Breaker

TVS

4x8 table (it's already too small!!!)

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3/17/159:51 AM

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Pine Creek RailroadOGR Forum Member

Raddo,

Looks like you covered everything you need for a beginners conventional set up, you can now run new engines with your old 275 ZW safely. At 2 years old your boy will grow into his trains & building layouts a little at a time over the next few years. As he gets older add the DCS & Legacy to keep him interested, get him a bunch of Lincoln logs, and let him build and wreck a few buildings & tunnels, add an Erector Set later on to help his fine motor skills develop, playing with the trains & accessories is a big mechanical skill education for youngsters, it expands their engineering & math skills and widens their world. My Father & Grandfather spent massive time doing this with me, I credit it with helping develop my NASA Welding Engineering career. It could do the same for him, you never know.

Buy the way I purchased the other old ZW from Jim, hope you enjoy yours, as much as I do mine.

PCRR/Dave

3/17/1510:35 AM

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Dale HOGR Forum Member

Looks good to me

I do it with a euro type barrier strip,shown here

LINK

As long as you are with your son,the layout is safe electrically. Never leave the layout plugged in and unattended. Always adult supervision at that age. Also it is good practice to have a CO2 or all fire type fire extinguisher in an easy to locate place. Not just for the layout,but for the house in general.

Kids also like to pick up things so get some pieces you don't care about that he can handle freely. Even a wooden hand type push set underneath on the floor. Enjoy your son and spend time with him while he is young,you have no idea how fast time will pass. You are doing the right thing and it is not just with the trains.

Dale H

3/17/1512:12 PM

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RaddoOGR Forum Member

PCRR/Dave, I have a feeling we will be running DCS & Legacy as time goes on. I love electronics and my son is already interested in figuring out how all things work. Great idea to get the Lincoln logs for him to build some tunnels. I also saw some of your posts on using banana clips on the back of the ZW which is a great idea.

Dale H, thanks for the link. I like those strips which are much smaller than that power block I purchased at home depot. I think I will be looking for something to replace that. Also, I just realized I had been looking at one of your other posts about how to make your own homemade bell/whistle controller. I thought it would be nice to have a big button for my son to push rather than the slide control on the ZW.

My son currently has a wooden push train set upstairs in his play area. This train is in the basement only for when we use it together. Good note on the fire extinguisher. We have them in the house, but I do not currently have one in the basement.

3/17/151:44 PM

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Pine Creek RailroadOGR Forum Member

Raddo,

The addition of Banana Plug females, really makes things convenient when using the

old ZW's & KW's, it also keeps the nuts from working loose on the wire connectors poles, by completely removing the need for them, in fact I am getting ready to install them on the 250 ZW I just purchased from Jim also. This old ZW is in perfect shape and will get used on part of my next DCS/Legacy Christmas layout. I just picked up another Z4K from one of the OGR members also, I do believe my power station is complete at this time.

I do believe you can still reference the post on how to install the female Banana Plug on the ZW & KW Transformer, use the OGR search, it should still come up.

PCRR/Dave