Back in my staight DC days, I bought a couple of used transformers from
a collector. I bought one of the AF ones with the 'deadmans' throttle
and mid-sized Lionel one. After all those years the AF gray cord was as
flexible as day-one. The Lionel cord on the other hand broke into
numerous pieces, obviously requiring replacement. I keep four
transformers near my control panels to run switch motors and uncoupling
ramps. I estimate they are nearly my age--so far so good!
Bob Werre
Al:
Good advice! I have five AF 50-watt transformers for power on SHABBONA
RR. I leave them on while I'm in the basement, and have had nor
problems, but, like you said, they can happen without warning. I have
the transformers plugged into a terminal strip with an illuminated
switch to turn them off, and the whole layout circuit is tied into the
basement light circuit that turns everything off when I go upstairs.
So far, no problems, but I am always aware of what is going on in that
part of the basement when I am working down there
boB Nicholson _________________________________________________--
--- In [email protected] <mailto:S-Scale%40yahoogroups.com>,
"alsflyer" <alsflyer@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Guys,
>
> Jean and I just one hour ago had a big scare. I had been running
some of my trains around our Christmas tree and left the transformer
on while getting a drink. I had just sat down and was watching TV when
all of a sudden there was a loud POP! MY cats went running out of the
room and my wife yelled FIRE ! I jumped up and ran over toward the
tree and saw smoke and fire coming out of the bottom of one of the
transformers, the one I had left on. Man, I grabbed the power cord and
unplugged it and pulled the transformer off the floor and somehow
undid the power wires to the track and ran it out to the garage and
placed it on the concrete still smoking hot.
