Uploaded August 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
While the Rail King electric model train might have more bells and whistles (literally speaking), it can't beat the reliability of a 1950s Louis Marx and Company "Stream Line" electric train (Made in New York, USA!). Both trains send variable voltage through the tracks into the locomotive. The 1950s train simply sends that voltage to a motor, but the 2011 train passes it through a sound effects circuit in the coal car first. The wiring between the coal car and the locomotive uses tiny 10-pin connectors mounted on a PC board. After only a few uses, this connector had developed a loose connection. And it seemed to be the only "weak link" in an otherwise very nice looking "O Scale" train.
0:00 A Ready To Run Set
0:15 Family Train History
0:42 The Dead Locomotive
1:28 Tracing Power Connections
1:47 Coal Car Circuits
2:30 A Bad Solder Joint
2:51 The Train Is Fixed
3:35 Does the 50s Train Work?
3:50 Yes it does!
4:00 Conclusion
While the Rail King electric model train might have more bells and whistles (literally speaking), it can't beat the reliability of a 1950s Louis Marx and Company "Stream Line" electric train (Made in New York, USA!). Both trains send variable voltage through the tracks into the locomotive. The 1950s train simply sends that voltage to a motor, but the 2011 train passes it through a sound effects circuit in the coal car first. The wiring between the coal car and the locomotive uses tiny 10-pin connectors mounted on a PC board. After only a few uses, this connector had developed a loose connection. And it seemed to be the only "weak link" in an otherwise very nice looking "O Scale" train.
0:00 A Ready To Run Set
0:15 Family Train History
0:42 The Dead Locomotive
1:28 Tracing Power Connections
1:47 Coal Car Circuits
2:30 A Bad Solder Joint
2:51 The Train Is Fixed
3:35 Does the 50s Train Work?
3:50 Yes it does!
4:00 Conclusion
