August - agtta

THE MAINMAIN-LINE
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE ALL GAUGE TOY TRAIN ASSOCIATION
VOL. 31, NO. 8
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
HOW--TO CLINIC
HOW
I’m pleased to
announce that this year’s
June Meet, the 25th
Anniversary of AGTTA
Father’s Day Weekend
Open Houses, has been
the most successful of all.
Thanks to all of you who
helped organize the Meet
and to all of you that
attended, each and every
aspect of the day went smoothly and culminated in
a positive financial result. I’ve tried to list
separately everyone who helped out and hope I
didn’t miss anyone.
Table setup on Friday went quickly when
the 90 rented tables arrived early and we had a
great group of volunteers to whip them in position
as planned by Anthony Tarantino. Steve
Waggoner also provided food and drinks to
support the group’s spirit and energy. On
Saturday morning when many of the sellers who
traveled great distances arrived early, Mike Quigg
was there to provided traffic control and oversight
so that they remained respectful of the Church’s
August, 2010
AUGUST 2010
HOW TO REPLACE THE POWER
CORD AND WHISTLE RECTIFIER
ON THE 1033 TRANSFORMER
It’s back! After taking a few months of summer
vacation we are happy to report that the always
popular How-To Clinic is back. This month our
Club Tech Expert, Jim Weatherford, will show
us how to replace the power cord and the
whistle rectifier on the popular Lionel 1033
Transformer. This is going to be another notto-miss Clinic so make sure you don’t. (And
don’t miss the related August Tech Tip on
pages 6 & 7.)
CLINIC START TIME: 5:15 PM
The Clinic will commence at our start time of
5:15. So no excuses! Come to the Meet and
support your Clinics! And if you have any ideas
for future Clinics make sure you pass them on
to Jim.
He would love to have your
suggestions.
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neighbor’s quite hours until 8 am. This year’s
weather was ideal and allowed full use of the
outside walkway space to achieve a total of 156
tables full of items for sale, raffle, auction and
layout support. The hall seemed to be full of
people throughout the day and several of the
sellers I talked with were happy with their sales.
Also thanks to Wendell Callahan for bringing his
portable layout which provided a test track for
items purchased.
Once again the Barbecue Pit catered the
food for lunch, which was delicious and
reasonably priced. Our own Steve Mitton set up
a refreshment stand and had drinks available for
the thirsty. Ken Steele, Alan Hamel and Al Keil
organized a nice auction up on the stage, which a
dozen sellers and a small group of treasure
seekers took advantage of the low cost winning
bids accepted. Actually the huge volume of items
available and low prices on the main trading floor
kept the interest of the majority of attendees at
the regular seller tables and didn’t draw their
attention to the auction.
The clubs fund raising Special Raffle of
the Lionel #8 standard gauge set continued to be
a hit with about half of the minimum tickets to be
sold already purchased. There are two more
chances to win cash at the August and
September meets and then the winning ticket of
the set will be selected in October.
The BIG Open House Raffle, made up of
35 prizes, drew a lot of excited anticipation as
tickets were drawn. This raffle was made more
successful thanks to donations made by the
following: Pat Archer, Carl Burnett, Jon
Everett, Bart Grey, Don Hennig, Ed Jones, Al
Keil, Bob Lawrence, Bob Poley, John Purcell
and Richard Thomson.
During the meet we welcomed four new
members to the club, David Buess, John Fry,
Don Horger and Daryl Williams. These new
recruits added to someone’s total in our annual
membership contest, which concludes at 6:00 pm
at the August Meet. So times running out if you
want to win the Lionel engine and caboose
contest prize by signing up the most new
members for 2010. Get your friends and
coworkers to the August Meet.
Thanks again to the entire AGTTA
membership for making 2010 a BANNER YEAR!
See you at the August Meet on Thursday,
August 12th.
THE MAINMAIN-LINE
is published around the first of each month. The
Main-Line is the official publication of the All
Gauge Toy Train Association of San Diego.
NEWSLETTER CONTRIBUTIONS
Please mail, fax or e-mail all contributions for
publication by the 1st of the month to:
Bill Hohnhorst, Editor
8150 Pasadena Avenue
La Mesa, CA 91941-6425
(619) 461-5039
[email protected]
MONTHLY MEETINGS
Meets are normally held on the 2nd Thursday of
each month at the Torrey Pines Christian
Church, 8320 La Jolla Scenic Drive North, La
Jolla, CA, beginning at 4:30 PM. A big All-Day
Saturday Open House Meet Is held in June.
AGTTA CLUB WEBSITE
www.agtta.com
2010 AGTTA OFFICERS & DIRECTORS
President
Bob Wall
Vice President
Ken Steele
Secretary
Jim Weatherford
Treasurer
Jon Everett
(858) 452-8955
[email protected]
(619) 644-1247
[email protected]
(619) 287-8687
[email protected]
(858) 538-0930
[email protected]
Directors
Andy Estep
(619) 991-0083
[email protected]
Dave Campbell
(619) 575-7578
[email protected]
Steve Mitton
(619) 621-9779
[email protected]
Steve Pierce
(858) 571-6238
[email protected]
Mike Wheeler
(619) 479-0546
Immediate Past President
Bart Grey
(619) 281-9347
Main-Line Editor
Bill Hohnhorst
(619) 461-5039
Website Coodinator
Alan Hamel
(858) 453-5297
[email protected]
August, 2010
Bob
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SPECIAL RAFFLE
LIONEL #8 STANDARD GAUGE TRAIN SET
Donated to AGTTA by Ed and Rebecca Jones
In Memory of Bob Lawrence
In case you haven’t heard your Board has voted to introduce Special Raffles to raise
money to help offset recent and future rent increases that will be kicking in over the coming
year.
Ticket sales for the first Special Raffle Train Set, consisting of a Lionel Standard
Gauge #8 Electric 0-4-0 (red) Locomotive, two #337 Pullman Cars, one #338 Observation
Car and standard gauge track, commenced in June at the Open House. The Set, circa
1925-32, was graciously donated to AGTTA by Ed and Rebecca Jones in memory of Bob
Lawrence.
Tickets for the Set are $10.00 each. The minimum number of tickets to be sold will be
seventy five (75), with a maximum of a hundred (100). They will be sold over a five (5)
month period from June through October. The winning ticket for the Set will be drawn at 6
pm at the October 14th Meet.
At each month’s Meet at 6 pm one ticket will be drawn for a cash prize of $25.00.
Then the ticket will be reentered for the final drawing of the set in October. You must be
present at the monthly Meet to win the cash but need not be present in October to win the
set. This way everyone buying tickets early have multiple chances to win. During the June
Meet a substantial number of tickets were purchased and the first winner of a $25.00 cash
prize was Caroline Poindexter.
Participation in these club Special Raffles provide you with the opportunity to
hopefully have fun while helping AGTTA cover the Club’s basic operational overhead
expenses (hall rent, insurance, newsletter, etc.) and not be forced to increase dues or
charge for admission or tables. So as they say, buy raffle tickets.
August, 2010
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DECEMBER ALL DAY MEET SCHEDULED
GET ON BOARD FOR OUR 1ST EVER HOLIDAY MEET
Saturday, December 11th
Based on the continued success of our Open House Meets in June and preliminary indication
that there would not be a Great Train Expo meet at Del Mar in December, over the last two months
the AGTTA Board has been discussing the feasibility of having a big AGTTA All Day Meet in
December to fill the SoCal year end toy train purchasing demand void.
Just as the decision was made by the Board this week to commit to an AGTTA ALL DAY
MEET on Saturday, December 11th, GTX announced that they are going to host a show at the
Fairgrounds on Saturday & Sunday, December 4th & 5th. But we still believe that AGTTA can fill a
niche and have a successful show for our members by continuing to keep our table donation prices
low ($10), offering free admission and parking, having a few layout displays, having food available
from the Barbecue Pit, and a nice raffle.
We’ll utilize the great promotional opportunities that will be available at TTOS-SP Cal Stewart
Meet on Nov 20 & 21, Holiday Nights (Christmas on the Prado) in Balboa Park, and the GTX at Del
Mar, both happening the weekend before our meet on December 4th & 5th, to get the word out (i. e.
advertise). We’ll need all of you to help spread the word about what a great deal the Meet will be
and how it certainly would be worth your time to attend.
To avoid problems with unlikely, but possible, inclement weather we anticipate having only
sale tables inside the hall where we can accommodate up 106 tables, Based on the 146 tables that
we sold for the June Meet we would expect that table availability will go quickly and would suggest
reservations be made as early as the September Meet.
We hope that you agree with our decision to have an All Day Meet in December and will
support that decision with your positive feedback and commitment to a successful event.
Other Key Volunteers assisting in the
upfront promotion and advertisement of the Meet
by distributing flyers and placing ads on TV,
websites and in newspapers were Andy
Anderson, Alan Hamel, Bill Hess, and Mike
Quigg. Once again Ken Steele put on a profitable
auction with the accounting assistance of Alan
Hamel and Al Keil. Along with the delicious food
made available by the Barbecue Pit, Steve
Mitton organized and setup a needed liquid
refreshment stand. And finally special thanks to
Marshall Carpenter who assisted me though out
the day with seller table location directions and the
selling of the “BIG RAFFLE” tickets.
We simply could not have had such a
fantastic event without the help from all the above.
Thanks guys & gals!
Bob Wall
IT TAKES A VILLAGE
A big part of the success of our annual
Open House Meet goes to the planning and
arrangement of the tables. This is no small feat as
the event grows in size. So a very appreciative
THANK YOU from the membership goes out to the
following volunteers.
To Tony Tarantino who handles all the
table reservations and produces the table locations
chart. To the Hall Heroes who did the physical
placement of the tables and chairs throughout the
hall, foyer and patio area as well as the unseen
hall cleanup at the end of the meet. Our Hall
Heroes were Dave Campbell, Marshall
Carpenter, Lee Davis, Greg Drusch, Jon
Everett, Happy Flohe, Bart Grey, Alan Hamel,
Warrie Leeke, Mike Quigg, Steve Pierce,
Caroline and Christine Poindexter, Charles
Smith, Ken Steele, Steve Waggoner and Jim
Weatherford. A BIG THANK YOU also to Steve
Waggoner who brought pizza, drinks and
sandwiches for the hungry table setup crew on
Friday evening.
August, 2010
MEMBERSHIP NEWS
Four New Members – Our streak of new
member months has once again reached three as
we welcomed a total of four new members in the
months of June & July.
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2010 Membership Renewal & Status – Our
Secretary
&
Membership
Director,
Jim
Weatherford, is happy to report that long-time
members Frank Sowa & John Zomiski renewed
their 2010 membership. Jim reports that with our
four new members and two renewing members we
now have 141 paid members. That is great news!
We would like to extend a very warm
welcome to our following new members:
David Buess, a San Diego resident,
whose primary interest is ‘N’ Gauge,
John Fry, who resides in Santee and is
interested in both ‘O’ & ‘S’ gauges,
Don Horger, a past member who lives in
Chula Vista and is an ‘O’ gauge enthusiast, and
Daryl Williams, who lives in San Diego
and collects ‘HO’.
We welcome you to our family and hope
that each of you will become active members. To
our existing members we encourage you to extend
a very warm AGTTA welcome when you have the
opportunity to meet one of these gentlemen.
2010 Membership Drive Status Report – Well,
as they say, it’s all over but the shouting. This
year’s Membership Drive contest comes to an end
at this month’s Meet. And unless some member
pulls off a miracle Jon Everett will be the winner
by a big margin. To his credit Jon has signed up
five new members, a really outstanding
accomplishment. But still recognition must go to
JUNE ALL DAY MEET RAFFLE RESULTS
WINNER
Gene Mrowka
David Buess
Mike Melkonian
Ken Flory
John Fry
Gene Mrowka
Pat Archer
Keith Johnson
Joesph Brecka
John Fry
Arlen Hurt
Keith Johnson
Mike Melkonian
Frank Longano
Frank Longano
Ernesto Gutierrez
Caroline Poindexter
Andy Estep
Al Keil
Les Cochran
Arlen Hurt
Jim Andrews
Ken Steele
Arlene Hess
Al Keil
Kathy Bartol
Bill Durmick
Pat Archer
Les Cochran
Caroline Poindexter
Mike Melkonian
Al Keil
ITEM DESCRIPTION
SOURCE
Lionel NYC ‘O’ Hudson 4-6-4 Steam Engine
AMF ‘S’ Dockside Steam Switcher Set
Lionel SP 0-6-0 Dockside Steam Switcher
Lionel ‘O’ Executive Inspection Car
Atlas San Diego ‘O’ Trolley #407
MTH Operating ‘O’ #465 Oil Derrick
AMF Operating ‘S’ Oil Drum Loader
Lionel Operating ‘O’ Barrel Loader
MTH ‘O’ #334 Dispatch Board
AGTTA ‘O’ 40th Anniversary Boxcar
Lionel Erie ‘O’ Animated Gondola
Lionel WP ‘O’ Dep Ctr Flatcar Ext Searchlite
Lionel ‘O’ Freight Station
Lionel ‘O-27’ Double Loop Track Pak
‘O-27’ K-Line Switch – Right 042 Radius
Lionel ‘O-27’ Switch
‘O’ MTH 2001 New Year Boxcar
Lionel ‘O’ Boston & Maine Boxcar
Weaver ‘O’ 171055 Conrail Boxcar
Lionel Little Caesars Tractor Trailer
K-Line Heavy Hauler Tractor Trailer
Lionel Learning Curve Snowflake Express Set
L-Line ‘O’ K103 Steam Whistle Station
AGTTA Pink XGL T-Shirt
VC&T White XGL T-Shirt
Wooden Trolley Lamp
Toy Trolley
Toy Motorcycle
Transformer
2 New Brite Toy Train Cars
Transformer
Train Pen Set
Provided by AGTTA
Provided by AGTTA
Provided by AGTTA
Provided by AGTTA
Provided by AGTTA
Provided by AGTTA
Provided by AGTTA
Provided by AGTTA
Provided by AGTTA
Provided by AGTTA
Provided by AGTTA
Provided by AGTTA
Provided by AGTTA
Provided by AGTTA
Donated by Richard Thomson
Donated
Donated by Bart Gray
Donated by Bart Gray
Donated by Ken Flory
Donated by Pat Archer
Donated by Pat Archer
Donated by Jon Everett
Donated by John Percell
Donated by Bob Lawrence
Donated by Bob Lawrence
Donated by Bob Lawrence
Donated by Bob Lawrence
Donated by Bob Poley
Donated
Donated
Donated
Donated
A “Special Thank You!” to all the super Members who donated to the June Raffle.
August, 2010
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me by Saturday, August 21st.
We would ask that you do some of the leg
work to make your suggestion meaningful by
visiting or being familiar enough with the location
to see that it meets most of the following criteria.
Location: Somewhat central to the middle
of San Diego County, not Alpine, Oceanside, or on
the border.
Room Size: Seating for 60-80 people. Is
there a minimum number required? Is there any
additional charge for the room beyond the price
per meal? Is the room on ground level or a
second floor with elevator available? Would we
have the room to ourselves?
Parking: Ample nearby parking- free or
parking meters or paid parking lots.
Food: Per meal price: range $15 - $24
including tax & gratuity per person? 1-3 Menu
Options? Drinks: coffee, tea, soda? Are desserts
included or extra charge? Is there liquor (wine,
beer, mixed drinks) available?
Please pass on your suggestion(s) to me
via phone message, 858-452-8955, or e-mail
[email protected] no later than Saturday August
21st. Thanks, Bob Wall
members Jim Murphy, Steve Pierce, and Jim
Weatherford who each signed up one new
member. That means that the contest resulted in
eight new members being recruited for the Club.
However you look at it, that’s super. I hope you
will be at the August Meet to congratulate Jon,
Jim, Steve and Jim for doing an outstanding job.
CHRISTMAS DINNER –
WE NEED YOUR SUGGESTIONS
Each year AGTTA has a December Dinner
to celebrate the year by dining together with
AGTTA members and significant others and to
acknowledge those who during the year have
made significant contributions in time or service to
the club by awarding AGTTA Letters of
Appreciation. The event usually concludes with a
very nice large raffle.
The selection of the dinner location by the
Board is made from member’s suggestions. It is
now time to make plans and reservations for our
December Dinner gathering. So if you would like
to propose a restaurant, club or other location for
the event, please submit your recommendation to
JULY RAFFLE RESULTS
WINNER
ITEM DESCRIPTION
SOURCE
Richard Thomson
Lee Davis
Nels Soderberg
Bill Hungerford
Bill Hungerford
Jim Murphy
David Buess
Ed Samsen
Lnl ‘O’ 6-12719 Animated Refreshment Stand Donated by Jim Andrews
K-Line Heavy Hauler Tractor Trailer
Donated by AGTTA
Williams ‘O’ 401 NP Boxcar
Donated by Ken Flory
Lionel ‘O’ 6042 Black Gondola
Donated by AGTTA
Lionel ‘O’ 6112 Black Gondola
Donated by AGTTA
BHM #1935 Plasticville Water Tower
Donated by Pat Archer
Lionel ‘O’ Alum. Passenger Car, OBS
Provided by Ken Steele
Great Toy Train Layouts Boxed Video Set
Provided by Ed Karper
Large Black Train T-Shirt
Provided by Ed Karper
White San Diego Training T-Shirt
Provided by Lee Davis
White San Diego Training T-Shirt
Provided by Lee Davis
Gretchen Archer
Pink San Diego Training T-Shirt
Provided by Lee Davis
Richard Thomson
6 Issues of 1991 Classic Toy Trains
Provided by Lee Davis
Ed Samsen
6 Issues of 2001 Classic Toy Trains
Donated by Jon Everett
Ed Samsen
6 Issues of 1996 Classic Toy Trains
Donated by Jon Everett
Steve Pierce
5 Issues of Antique Toy World Magazine
Provided by Ed Karper
David Buess
10 Issues and Binder of Classic Toy Trains
Donated by Ed Jones
Richard Thomson
UMD ‘O’ C&NW Stock Car
Donated by Steve Pierce
Steve Pierce
Workin’ on the Southern Pacific - DVD
Donated by Nels Soderberg
Bob Wall
BNSF Needles Subdivision - DVD
Donated by Nels Soderberg
Jim Murphy
PRR GG! Framed Print & Northern - VHS Video Donated by Ed Jones
Steve Pierce
Great American Trains Rides - VHS Video
Donated by Ed Jones
Christine Poindexter AMF ‘S’ Steam Engine #21165
Donated by Lee Davis
A “Special Thank You!” to all the super Members who donated to the July Raffle.
August, 2010
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at 5:00 PM, the second at 7:00 PM. All trains will
leave from and return to the Campo Depot. The
available dates and times are available on the
Museum's website: http://sdrm.org/npl/
Last year all their trains sold out. So if you
don’t want to be left at the depot, you should think
about ordering your tickets early. Tickets will go
on-sale to the public beginning on Thursday,
August 15, 2010.
CLUB NEWS
July White Elephant Raffle Big Success - The
Club had its annual White Elephant Raffle at the
July Meet. This is where members donated/traded
items for raffle tickets. It was a big success with
enough tickets being sold to make $92 for the Club
Treasury. We would like to thank everyone who
participated and donated all the Great Stuff.
Board Meeting Held – Your AGTTA Board of
Directors held its 3rd Board Meeting of the year on
July 27th at the SD Model Railroad Museum. It
was a productive meeting with much getting
accomplished as you can see from all the great
stuff being announced in this Main-Line.
MODEL RAILROAD NEWS
K-Line Production to End – Jerry Calabrese,
Lionel CEO, has confirmed that Lionel is going to
cease producing the K-Line product line by the end
of this year. He also confirmed that Sanda Kan
owns the tooling, so future use of that material is
basically up to Sanda Kan and their parent firm,
Kader. Kader also owns Bachmann so some items
may be resurrected under that brand at some
point. However, until things get sorted out it looks
like items such as Super Streets, and the limited
amount of K-line product that was being produced
will be scarce for a while. UPCOMING EVENTS
Great Train Expo Announces Del Mar Dates –
After some questions as to whether there would be
an Expo at Del Mar this year the Great Train Expo
spokesman Bill sent out the following e-mail
announcement:
“There were some problems getting our
regular date with them as well as some logistical
issues with the facility itself. Because of those, I
did not worry too much about fighting for the date
or getting them to address the issues.
After hearing from so many of you
concerned over the loss of the show, I spent a
great deal of time with them and have got our date
back and fixed my issues with the facility.
So, with that, I am pleased to announce
that we will continue our long standing Del Mar
show in December (4th & 5th). For those of you
with permanent space at that show, confirmation
letters will be going out this week. For those of
you without permanent space, but who wish to
sign up for the show, I am working on the new
exhibitor pack and will have that on the website
tonight or tomorrow.
This show addition is a direct result of
exhibitor input, and I thank you. It is extremely
important that I hear from you when there are
issues. I may not always be able to fix them, but I
will always try.
I hope to see you in Del Mar or other
shows in the near future. Bill”
EDITOR’S CORNER
Good to be Back – Sorry about not being able to
put out a July M-L Newsletter. My wife, Montse,
and I went to Spain for about 3 ½ weeks, primarily
to help celebrate her parents 50th Wedding
Anniversary. Just didn’t get home with enough time
to get together a July issue. I want to thank Jim
Weatherford for covering for me by sending out
July Meet reminder postcards and e-mails online.
Sure hope you enjoy this August issue. ☺
SATURDAY, AUGUST 21st, 2010
12 NOON to 6 P.M.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 22nd, 2010
10 A.M. to 4 P.M.
Admission $7
Toys • Teddy Bears • Dolls • Trains • Soldiers • Disneyana
• Games • Mechanical Banks • Political Americana •
Advertising • Country Store Items • Slot Machines •
Breweriana • Movie Posters • Arcade machines • Pin Back
Buttons • Signs • And Other Great Collector Items
PSRM Announces North Pole Limited Holiday
Train Schedule – The Pacific Southwest Railway
Museum Association has announced their
Christmas Holiday trains schedule. They will be
running trains on eight dates this year. The Friday
dates will run one train at 5:00 PM while the
Saturday dates will offer two trains, the first leaving
August, 2010
GLENDALE CIVIC AUDITORIUM
1401 N. VERDUGO ROAD, GLENDALE, CA 91208
Centrally located in the Greater Los Angeles area
www.allamericancal.com
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August, 2010
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JUNE ALL DAY MEET
The Hall was full of all kinds of Train Related
Goodies
Mike Quigg
Tony Shanley
Marshall & The Girls
Scott Kugler
Arlen & Huynh Hurt
You can see lots more photos from the All Day
Meet on pages 13 through 15.
August, 2010
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AUGUST TECH TIP
HOW TO REPLACE THE 1033
WHISTLE RECTIFIER
By Jim Weatherford
I've written articles over the past several years
chronicling how to repair your whistle controller for
various transformers. Lately, I've been reminded
how far superior the solid state stud rectifiers are to
the old copper oxide rectifiers Lionel used to
generate the half wave DC pulse that energized the
relay in the tender and activated the motor to
produce the bi-tonal whistle we all know and love.
You can replace a defective transformer
rectifier with an original copper oxide disk or the
more efficient stud rectifier. Frankly the copper
oxide rectifiers just don't work as well as the stud
rectifiers.
Here's how to determine if you need to
perform internal surgery on your transformer to get
your whistle back in operation. First of all, make
sure it's not the tender's fault when you turn/push
the whistle control knob/button and you get no
sound.
Try the tender with a known good
transformer and conversely, try the transformer with
a known good whistling tender. I'll assume these
two tests point to the transformer as the culprit and
we'll proceed onward. By the way, the rectifier disk
may be bad in more subtle ways and you don't
realize where the fault lies. The whistle may work
when you test it by itself and it may work
intermittently with the locomotive running. Another
symptom is the train slows down when you activate
the whistle even though the five volt compensating
winding is in the circuit. This last symptom is more
often prevalent because the rectifier disk can't
efficiently handle the current resulting in a voltage
drop that causes the train to slow down.
August, 2010
Okay, you've decided to replace the disk
rectifier in your trusty 90 watt 1033 transformer with
a new stud rectifier (good decision). Go to the
nearest electronics supply store and purchase a 15
Amp, 50 Volt peak to peak stud rectifier (like the one
in the above picture). The remaining parts you'll
need are a one inch length of 1/4 inch shrink tubing
and six inches of #16 AWG stranded wire.
Remove the black and red control handles,
the 4 case screws (from the top), and the case.
Make sure the power cord is unplugged.
Let's remove the offending rectifier disk at
this point. Look for a copper colored disk about 1
1/2 inches in diameter that is mounted on a metal
bracket with a push-on speed-nut. The bracket is
near the whistle control knob. Use a small flat-blade
screwdriver to loosen the speed-nut. It will easily
come off the small mounting stud. The rectifier disk
is now free and can be removed. The short
mounting stud and insulators will be left in place and
we’ll add a piece of cardboard in place of the oxide
rectifier.
Cut a 3 inch length of the stranded wire, strip
1 inch of insulation off one end, tin the bare end with
solder, and secure the wire to the threaded stud end
of the rectifier. This end of the rectifier will be
soldered to the disk mounting bracket. Now take a
2 inch piece of the #16 awg wire and strip ½ inch of
insulation off one end. Insert that end through the
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eyelet on the lug end of the rectifier. Solder the wire
to the rectifier lug. Next, slide the heat shrink
insulation over the wire and the rectifier lug. Use a
heat gun or your soldering iron to shrink the
insulation over the lug solder joint.
Now we’ll install a dummy rectifier disk in
place of the original copper oxide rectifier disk. Cut
a piece of dense cardboard the same size as the
rectifier disk. Place the dummy disk in the same
spot where the disk was originally mounted.
Support the brass stud from the back and mount the
speed-nut on the stud. This will prevent the brass
stud from touching the frame. Also you can restore
the transformer to its original configuration using
original parts and a new rectifier.
Make sure the rectifier is out of the way and
install the case and control handles.
Locate the brass strip at the top of the
whistle rectifier bracket. Note: You don’t have to
remove the top plate assembly. Clean a spot with a
small file or fine sandpaper and, using your
soldering iron, apply some solder to the clean spot.
Strip ½ inch of insulation on the loose end of the
wire previously soldered to the rectifier lug. Tin the
end and then solder that end to the spot on the
brass strip you have prepared.
Go to the end of the wire that’s attached to
the stud end of the rectifier and strip ¾ inch
insulation and then tin the end. Clean a spot on the
bracket lug with a small file or sandpaper and wrap
the tinned end around the lug. Now solder the wire
to the bracket.
Let’s test the new and improved whistle
controller. Attach the transformer to your layout or a
test track and place a whistling tender on the track.
Apply 12 volts and turn the whistle control handle.
You'll notice a vigorous and positive response from
the whistling tender and no drop in voltage as the
train is running. All in all, a job well done. The only
problem you have left is to find the time to replace
the oxide disks in the rest of your transformers.
Editor’s Note: At the August How-To Clinic Jim will
be showing in person how to do the above and how
to change the 1033 Power Cord. Don’t miss it!
August, 2010
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AGTTA CLUB MEMBERS TRAIN
STORES & BUSINESSES
Al’s Choo Choo Loco
Elystoys
Repairs, Layouts & Collections
Call: (714) 654-0726
Lionel, Am Flyer, Marx, Ives,
Hot Wheels, Dinky, Aurora Slots
Tonka, Tootsietoy, Smith Miller
D&S Hobbies
28636 Old Town Front Street, Suite 100
Temecula, CA 92590
Wanted to buy N-HO-G
Lionel & American Flyer
Trains, Parts, Accessories
Scott L. Kugler
Debbie I. Kugler
[email protected]
Service and Repairs:
Trains, Accessories,
and Transformers
Jean & Dave Ely
515-664-8217
Urbandale, Iowa
[email protected]
ROCK HOUSE STATION
Hours:
Mon, Wed, Thurs. 9am - 6pm
Fri, Sat, Sun 10am - 7pm
Call Greg Anastopoulos for Hours
Bus: (760) 788-9846
Fax: (760) 788-8164
[email protected]
2505 Main Street, Suite 5,
Ramona, CA
Phone: 951-694-1773
Ed’s All Gauge Train Sale
See & Hold What You Buy
All Gauges - Everything Trains
3000 Trains & Everything For Them
2010 TRAIN SCHEDULE
JUNE 26 / SEPT. 25 / 8 AM – 1 PM
Ed Jablonsky - (619) 287-0819
4838 Old Cliffs Road
San Diego, CA 92120
Electric Trains Keep Roland
Roland Frandsen Jr.
Mon-Fri 9 - 2 & Sat 9 - 1
(619) 258-0862
(Please call before coming)
10259 Escadera Drive,
Santee, CA
SUPPORTING BUSINESS
Eric’s Train Repair
SPECIALIZING IN POST-WAR
American Flyer Trains
By Appointment Only
Bruce Cameron, Manager
Phone Hours: 8am-8pm Mon-Sat
Eric Bense
10705 Lorie Avenue
San Diego, CA 92131
August, 2010
www.reeds-hobbies.com
858-578-2395
E-mail: [email protected]
ericbense@aolccom
TCA #: 01-53270, TTOS, NASG
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ALL DAY MEET – SATURDAY JUNE 19TH
Caroline Poindexter
Al Keil
Charles Smith
Andy Estep
August, 2010
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David Buess
Jim Andrews
Gene Mrowka
Keith Johnson
August, 2010
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August, 2010
Ken Flory
Yvonne Flory
Mike Melkonian
Marshall Carpenter
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August, 2010
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August, 2010
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August, 2010
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August, 2010
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INSPECTION CARS OF THE MONTH
August, 2010
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AGTTA AUGUST NEWSLETTER
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Aug 12 Thursday
Aug 14 Saturday
Aug 22 Sunday
Sep 9 Thursday
AGTTA August Meet
Bob Wall
(858) 452-8955
TTOS SW Division August Picnic
www.ttos-sw.org/activities.htm
TTOS-SP Division August Meet
Ken Flory
(714) 538-8218
AGTTA September Meet
Bob Wall
(858) 452-8955
Nov 19 Friday
/21 Sunday
Dec 3 Saturday/
/4
Sunday
Dec 11 Saturday
Meet
TTOS – Cal-Stewart Meet
www.ttop-sp.com
Great Train Expo in Del Mar
www.trainexpoinc.com
AGTTA All Day Holiday
Bob Wall
(858) 452-8955
ALL GAUGE TOY TRAIN ASSOCIATION
6621 Cartwright Street
San Diego, CA 92120-2407
NEXT MEET:
Thursday, August 12th
4:30 – 8:00
Torrey Pines Christian Church
8320 La Jolla Scenic Drive North
SEPTEMBER MEET DATE:
Thursday, September 9th
August, 2010
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