subject: Electric Model Trains - A Long History [print this page] How about 100 years? That's how long electric model trains have been around. Originally they were either powered by a wind-up system or by tiny steam engines. Electric models didn't show up until late in the 19th century.
The year 1906 saw the first Lionel trains. They quickly caught on and became the favorite in America. Since then many other brands have been made, but Lionel trains hold their own in popularity.
Electric trains work by transforming 125 volts into either 12 or 16 volts. What happens is simply that the DC voltage is sent on to the tracks of the electric model train.
Once the power is in the tracks, the wheels of the model trains pick it up - the actual power goes to an electric motor housed in the engine. The train tracks, of course, consist of positive and negative poles.
Once the models trains are on their tracks, there is a completion of the circuit and this lets the trains move. Lionel tracks are a bit different from this general rule. They sport three tracks - the middle track and one of the outside tracks power the trains.
It is remarkable how powerful the small motors inside the engines are. They can pull quite a few cars connected to an engine. They are very efficient little electric motors.
The kind of electric motor you find in a set depends on the specificities of the different manufacturers. They try to anticipate the needs of their customers and try to accommodate them.
What will give a hobbyist a great deal of flexibility is the kind of controller they are using. The most popular ones these days are digital controllers. They are called DCC or Digital Cab Control. The power is sent to the tracks where the wheels transfer it to the motor inside the engine.
The way the train's movements are controlled is this: the motor's amplitude and polarity are controlled to either speed up or slow down the train. The receiver is also in charge of lights and sounds of a given set.
The thing to remember is that the DC current is transferred to the tracks whence it is picked up and thus the electric model train can move. This means that to keep the tracks with good conductivity, they must be kept clean.
The very first tracks were made of copper. This gave excellent conductivity, but it was also due to corrode fairly quickly. To solve this, manufacturers began to use a silver copper alloy. This remained conductive without being vulnerable to corrosion.
