Whenever children visit my O gauge layout, the operating accessories attract their attention more than any other feature. To accommodate them, I locate the controls for these toys nearby in the molding around the edge of the table, rather than on a central control panel. I have several industrial sidings, all close to viewers. Each siding is dedicated to a particular freight train, with the cars arranged in a predetermined order to bring them in line with their related accessories when the locomotive backs them onto the siding.
When a visitor arrives, I spot one of these trains onto a siding and shut it down. The guest can now operate the accessories while the train is stationary. This lets me run other trains without interference or having to move the dedicated train to align it with any of the accessories.
Pick your roster
Begin by selecting the cars you want in the train and place them in your preferred order. In this example I’ve chosen a Canadian National switcher, a Lionel operating log car, an Atlas O tank car, a Lionel coal dump car, a Lionel Bosco milk delivery car, a Lionel gondola, and a caboose.
Back the train onto the siding. Put a bumper at the end of the siding so the train always stops at the same spot when the back coupler of the caboose touches the bumper. Line up the accessories next to the cars they service. I have a Lionel reproduction of an American Flyer log loader, an MTH fueling station, an MTH reproduction of an American Flyer coaling station, a K-Line milk car platform, and a Lionel oil drum loader (a reproduction of a postwar Flyer toy).
With the train on the siding (Photos 1 and 2), the log car can receive logs from the log loader and dump its load. You must include an operating track section here to make the car work. (You need a similar track section for any other operating car with pickup shoes on the underside.)
Photo 1 shows the oil filler pipe on the MTH fueling station in the raised position. Photo 2 has the pipe lowered to the dome on the tank car. It can be tricky to line up a tank car exactly for the filler pipe to meet the dome. By backing up the train to the bumper at the end of the siding, you can ensure perfect alignment every time. (Purists will no doubt complain that I’m loading oil into a propane tank car.)
Next is the MTH/ Flyer coal loader (Photo 3). This is among the most reliable accessories produced in recent years, and the action is fascinating. The scoop descends slowly to pick up its load, and the jaws of the scoop close to hold the coal securely as it rises to the top and then moves laterally into the tower. When you release the button, the coal drops into a bin. Another button dumps the coal into a waiting ore car. You don’t need an operating track section here.
The Bosco operating refrigerator car is just one variety of many Lionel milk cars sold during the postwar and modern eras (Photo 4). They all contain a scale-sized delivery man, who deposits milk cans on a platform at the touch of a button. K-Line’s milk platform is somewhat more realistic than the familiar metal version that came with the Lionel cars. It is also the same height and can be used with any Lionel or K-Line product.
You’ll need an operating track section for the Bosco milk car. I recommend wiring it to a variable-voltage transformer circuit, such as post B or C on a Lionel type-ZW or to the throttle post on a separate transformer used just for accessories. These milk cars are especially sensitive to the amount of voltage available. Give them too little juice, and the mechanism will buzz but the door won’t open. Too many volts will make the delivery man too energetic, and he’ll fling the cans all the way across the platform. A variable-voltage circuit allows an optimum adjustment for smooth and upright deposit of the cans.
Last in line is oil drum loader (Photo 5), whose driver travels tirelessly back and forth from the storage rack to trackside, where he dumps the drums into an available gondola. This accessory isn’t as sensitive as the Bosco car, so it’s not essential to wire it to a variable-voltage circuit.
With a freight train made up to align with all the accessories next to a siding, you can let the kids play to their heart’s content and never worry about cargo being spilled on the tracks.
