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Lionel Thomas the Tank Engine

Lionel Cowen was already a successful inventor when he created his first toy train. Throughout the last centaury the model train has grown from an electric novelty to an essential part of many children's upbringing. Of course in the UK and beyond Thomas the Tank Engine plays a huge part in a young child's fascination with model trains.

In 1993 Lionel produced the first licenced G scale (or large scale) model of Thomas the Tank Engine. 1995 saw the introduction of James and the troublesome trucks to the range. The Thomas and friends set was updated in 2000 and finally dropped out of production. All the G scale sets used normal DC transformers much like Hornby in the UK. They do need a bit more current and for most people an LGB 1 amp controller is more than adequate.

At Thomasrocks Lionel Thomas sets hold a special place for us. Back in 2004 we brought a set from the USA for our 2 sons. They were out of production even then , but only just and many wholesalers in the US were selling the sets for under $100 each! Now in 2007 we have seen a set sell on ebay for over $500!

Sometimes we can get sets in G scale but they are very rare and as we only deal in brand new unopened sets sadly very expensive.

DO NOT WORRY THOMAS FANS!

Lionel started making O gauge Thomas the tank Engine sets in 2005

Thomasrocks became the only Lionel dealers in Scotland in 2006, but we specialise in Thomas the Tank Engine. We can get any Lionel product or part, but as we are only Value added dealers and not an Authorised Service center we have tried to stick to just the range of Lionel products that are of interest to our younger fans.

We regularly import Thomas the Tank Engine sets and locos, Expansion sets, O Gauge Track , Polar express sets and now the new Lionel Harry Potter set.

We have not deliberately avoided other Lionel products but it is not our speciality. If you want anything else from the Lionel Range we would suggest a visit to

TENNENT TRAINS
     SHOP ONE, 130 HAGLEY ROAD
     HAYLEY GREEN, HALESOWEN
     W. MIDLANDS, B63-1DY
     (0121) 550-1266
 

They have a different solution to the AC controller problem below but one that is far better suited to serious collectors of O gauge, although they don't have a web site they can easily be contacted over the phone. Recommended!

SO WHAT IS THE PROBLEM!

Don't be put off! Lionel trains are amazing value and very well built. They are however built for the US market. US mains uses 110-120volts 60hz AC.

If imported to the US they will still have the CW80 Controller. While some other Lionel controllers such as the G scale DC units cope OK with the switch to DC the CW80 does not. We were initially unaware of the problem and recommended using a Maplin AC converter. We soon found out that this was not working and as a result of customer feedback we bench tested a number of CW80s with voltage converters. Every CW80 we tested including the newer ones from the Lionel Harry Potter set failed.

This is not a manufacturer's defect. The CW80 is simply not designed to work at 110-120 volts 50hz!

After some very frustrating months of taking CW80's to electronic experts and trying to source alternative AC controllers, we found 2 solutions.

The first is to use a AC source and a Gaugemaster controller. A fully UK safety tested controller can be bought for £79 which will happily run the Lionel Thomas set straight out of the box. Alternatively an AC power supply can be bought for as little as £15 which will output the required 18 volts 50hz AC (50va). Strangely these powers supplies are used in the Pub trade to power Bar tap lights and are easily available.

The second option is to convert to DC. This option was suggested to us by the National Railway Museum in York as a result of a Thomas and friends exhibition for which we supplied 2 sets. We really appreciate the advice they gave us - every set we have since converted to DC has worked perfectly ever since.

WHY CONVERT?

Firstly the motor in the Thomas the Tank Engine set is a DC pot with a rectifier built onto the onboard circuit board. Bypassing the the board gives smooth DC straight to the motor and gives direct control of direction. Without conversion the Lionel train uses an electronic gearbox which cycles through forward- neutral - reverse - neutral each time the power is increased from zero.

Secondly it allows us to sell fully type approved UK controllers by Bachmann or LGB to go with the sets. This is good from our point of view as they are all type approved and safety tested. It also means we can be confident the trains will work for years with no problems.

CONVERSION OF THOMAS

I have deliberately used big high resolution pictures to give good detail- they will take a long time to load!

PLEASE NOTE YOU FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW AT YOUR OWN RISK. IF YOU BUY A SET FROM US WE WILL CONVERT IT AND HONOUR THE WARRANTY. WE WILL ACCEPT NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR SETS BOUGHT ON EBAY OR ELSEWHERE AND CONVERTED. PLEASE MAKE SOLDERED CONNECTIONS OR USE THE CORRECT ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS AND INSULATE PROPERLY. IF IN DOUBT SEE AN ELECTRICIAN!

1st open the box and remove Thomas - If you have bought the set from someone other than us PLEASE throw the CW80 away! DO NOT PLUG IT IN EVEN USING A VOLTAGE CONVERTER! If bought from us we will remove the CW80 prior to sale and provide a UK type approved and safety tested alternative. We have not tested more recent CW80's but if you plug one in and it begins to hum or you can smell burning please unplug it!

Now look under Thomas! There are 2 screws underneath. You can get to them with a narrow phillips screwdriver between the 1st and second wheels on one side and 2nd and 3rd wheels on the other.

Remove the body and detach the connectors from the circuit board in the cab area.

A red and a black wire run down to the motor from the circuit board. The wires from the pick ups can be clearly seen coming up from the chassis

I prefer to directly wire the wires from the pick ups to the direction switch in the cab. This gives an isolation switch in the cab which allows you to leave the train stationary in a siding whilst using another on the same track. Cut and isolate any spare wires and disconnect both circuit boards. I use soldered joints and heat shrink to make sure the connections are good and will stay like that for years.

To reassemble- lift the panel under the funnel and guide the while lever that moves Thomas's eyes back into the slot behind his face. You can see the isolation switch in the picture below.

Now just replace the 2 screws and Thomas is back together.

As all the circuit boards are still in place conversion back to AC can be done just by reversing the above.

JOB DONE!

TO CONVERT THE HARRY POTTER HOGWARTS SPECIAL

The Harry Potter Hogwarts train really is lovely. As with Thomas it is designed to run on AC.

To remove the body find the 4 screws underneath. The are the bigger ones - 2 under the cab and 2 under the front bogie wheels. Do not undo the smaller ones.

Check your train has a motor that uses DC.

It should only have 2 wires going to the motor, and if low voltage (10 volts say) AC is fed to the pickups you should get a DC voltage across the electric motor terminals. The circuit board has a delay and slow power up for the motor which will be bypassed. The whistle is in the tender and will be unaffected.

Simply bypass the board as before with Thomas! I will try and upload a better description after xmas- we are a bit busy at the moment.

To 

The motor has a black and yellow wire going to it. The other black wires are just to the smoothing capacitor.

The Hogwarts express is really superb. the body is detailed enough for any O gauge three rail fan and I really hope it helps more young fans get into the wonderful world of Lionel model trains!

Thomas The Tank Engine Toys

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