Store Front Layout Timer

What Engine are you looking to use?  Older engines with E-units could be locked so the engine only went forward, reverse, or stay in neutral.

Newer ones may have a switch that locks is in forward (I know I have at least one).

For those using LionChief remotes, I don't know if you leave the remote on if the Engine will start automatically when the track power is applied.  Of course with that, you would have to keep an eye on the Remote Batter level.

Knob and Tube wiring.  Look, you can inspect it to make sure the line if functioning.  However, no one in their right mind (especially the building owner) should allow it to be used.  Depending on the distance you can run a 20 amp rated extension cord from the panel (?) to the transformer.

Since you have a year to plan, maybe it is time to look at battery power for your train. Personally I still would not do it because asking the train to run for six hours and stay on the track is a bit much.

There are also those people not in the Christmas spirit that would break the glass and steal the train.

Yes.  I have a window display at the museum I work at and that's exactly how I do it.  Simplify things as much as possible, put a good quick acting fuse in line with the track so that if there is a short for some reason, there won't be as much of a chance of burning the place down.  Might be overkill with built in circuit protection in a transformer, but I prefer it have a hard cut out so that it doesn't keep trying to power up the track before I can get to fixing it and personally change the fuse.  I also have mine connected through a cycle timer that turns the transformer on and off periodically (about 20 minutes on and 5 minutes off) so the train gets a break for awhile instead of running constantly for five hours straight during our Christmas program.  They can be bought fairly cheaply on Amazon and are generally used for indoor plant grow-lights.

Haven't had any major issues with it.

@C&O Allan I was planning on using an older conventional locomotive. Most likely a 4-4-2 from a starter set. I know you can get them cheap and they survived the abuse I dished out as a kid so I thought they would do well for this. But any older conventional locomotive is a possibility.

@Bill DeBrooke the wiring is coming out. These buildings have to be entirely rewired and that's just the start of it. It's a monumental undertaking but a worthwhile one. Anyway, six hours is the ideal number because people might catch it on the way home from work and start talking about it and want to come back and show their kids. That's the idea. It would generate some talk and excitement for the downtown area. It's been empty for about 30 years now but that era has passed. Onwards and upwards now. We think it'll generate some action no matter what. People might break the window and steal it. We'll board up the window and put a new train in the other one. One schmuck doesn't get to bring down a whole city. It's also a tight community. We'll find out out who did it

I was originally going to just throw a 671 Turbine on the oval but I'm concerned it'll make too much heat. Plus I don't want to modify the smoke unit and a locomotive like that.

@SantaFe158 thank you for the tips! I didn't even think about giving it breaks, which wouldn't be hard at all with the modern timers. Putting a fuse in is a good move too.

Railking steam, especially the ones with the divorced gear box, …gut it like a fish, wire it up with a cheap bridge rectifier in the locomotive, and wire a 12V bulb to the headlight…..it’ll run forever like that, oil, grease & go,…..the one under my Christmas tree runs 15-17 hours a day, 7 days a week, from Nov. 15th till New Years,…..granted, I overkilled it with a Pittman, steel wheels, ball bearing axles, and a sealed oil bath gear box, but on a timer, you ain’t gotta go that nuts…..agree with above, knob & tube wiring is kinda ehhhhhhh! …..

Pat

@BillYo414 posted:

@C&O Allan I was planning on using an older conventional locomotive. Most likely a 4-4-2 from a starter set. I know you can get them cheap and they survived the abuse I dished out as a kid so I thought they would do well for this. But any older conventional locomotive is a possibility.

@Bill DeBrooke the wiring is coming out. These buildings have to be entirely rewired and that's just the start of it. It's a monumental undertaking but a worthwhile one. Anyway, six hours is the ideal number because people might catch it on the way home from work and start talking about it and want to come back and show their kids. That's the idea. It would generate some talk and excitement for the downtown area. It's been empty for about 30 years now but that era has passed. Onwards and upwards now. We think it'll generate some action no matter what. People might break the window and steal it. We'll board up the window and put a new train in the other one. One schmuck doesn't get to bring down a whole city. It's also a tight community. We'll find out out who did it

I was originally going to just throw a 671 Turbine on the oval but I'm concerned it'll make too much heat. Plus I don't want to modify the smoke unit and a locomotive like that.

@SantaFe158 thank you for the tips! I didn't even think about giving it breaks, which wouldn't be hard at all with the modern timers. Putting a fuse in is a good move too.

For the past thirty plus years I have been buying buildings on Harlingen's Main Street (Jackson Street).  Generally it means roofs, wiring, HVAC, Handicapped Bathrooms and ever so much more.  We try to maintain the historic character of the buildings while making them functional.  Good luck to the people who are making your Downtown come alive again.

We have 2 Model Christmas Railroads, one at a museum and one at the Holyoke MA Senior Center. They both run on timers with a push button you could mount the heavy duty button, made for Handicap doors, outside the building so that the trains only run when someone pushes the button. The timers are heavy duty and were custom made for us. They are set to run for 4 minutes at a time. We run RMT Beeps and short trains to minimize mishaps. We run the trains 5 days a week 10 hours a day, but they only run when someone pushes the button, I guess you could set an ordinary timer for long periods but I think that would put a strain on the engine.

Here it's a snapshot of a Lionel 6-31936 Pennsylvania Flyer engine (conventional) .  There are two switches under the cab and one locks the direction.

Consider adding overcurrent protection in addition to the transformer circuit breaker.  I like the #91 Lionel breaker for its speed and bulletproof simplicity, but there are certainly other perhaps better options.

Dale

@BillYo414 posted:

I was planning on using an older conventional locomotive. Most likely a 4-4-2 from a starter set. I know you can get them cheap and they survived the abuse I dished out as a kid so I thought they would do well for this. But any older conventional locomotive is a possibility.

I'd recommend something other than the Lionel starter set 4-4-2's.  I had that idea with my window display which is Prewar Lionel based.  I reversibly modified an early 20s Lionel electric with a modern chassis so that I wouldn't destroy its original motor since maintenance parts are fairly unobtainable for that particular series.  The first go-around I used the same chassis used in the 4-4-2s as they were similar to the originals but with a can motor.  Mechanically they were fine, however due to the cheap materials used for drive wheels and axle "bearings" (pretty sure they have zinc die-cast frame bushings), they frequently ended up with dirty wheels/axles and needed cleaning nearly every day they ran to keep them reliable.  This was a bit much for me as I've run various other locomotives with better mechanisms for far longer between servicing without issue.

I'd look at Williams or simple MTH locomotives as mentioned above.  I've had mostly good experiences with both on my other public display layout.  My Lionel Polar Express set has seen almost a decade of service as well without issue, although I do have a spare set of parts to completely rebuild the chassis when the time comes.

Suggestion, keep the track without switches or crossovers.    Basically some sort of loop.   that will greatly minimize the chance of derailments.

the display at the Buhl Planetarium on Pittsburgh Northside, did something similar when I was a kid.   I don't know what they do now.    They removed the E-units from the Lionel locos of the day, and wired them for forward only.    they had really large loops (at least seemed that way) and they would at least 2 trains on each one.    the trains would control each other by activiating power in the stop section using the second outside rail someplace else on the layout.

Wow, I really appreciate the input everyone. Very helpful stuff. I'm going to see if I can hunt down an MTH Steamer, some extra breaker/safety devices, and some tubular track. We were just picturing a nice simple oval loop, running at a reasonable speed. Nothing too crazy at all. It won't take much effort and I've got about 10 months to acquire things. I'll post back in this thread next year if the buildings are unoccupied and we put something in the store front.

Thanks again to all the input. I feel much safer about doing this now.