I will be the first to admit I still have A LOT to learn about model trains. I got my first set back in 2016 from a used toy fair and set it up in 2017, it’s the Pennsylvania Flyer Set 4-4-2 Steam Loco #1400 (SKU: 6-21971). I bought some replacement classic tubular track a few years ago, and it’s been doing fine.
But over the summer we picked up some fun light up FasTrack that we thought would be fun around the holidays, and I mentioned over Thanksgiving we got it set up. Now that I’ve had some time to sit down and take pictures I’d like to document what we came up with a bit better.
Starting point: Circa 2000 train set and transformer with classic Tubular Track, including the Lionel CTC Lockon.
Where we wanted to get to: Use our fancy new Lighted FasTrack!
The first, obvious, challenge was that my transformer didn’t connect to the track with a plug, it uses the CTC Lockon. How do I get power to this fancy track that has a plug hole? Fortunately, I explained my setup so when the local train shop sold us the Lighted FasTrack, they also sold us a FasTrack Accessory Power Wire (6-12053) which we’d need. Except that I didn’t have any idea how to use it. As I mentioned in my last post, this post on Reddit included enough photos for doing the same with some standard track.
But if you’re looking for something more direct and clear, here’s the photo of what I did:
Click to get full size image
As you can see, there’s a wire that extends from the plug, and I’ve unplugged that. In its place, I’ve attached my new FasTrack Accessory Power Wire. And that’s it! Time to find all those tiny screws and close it back up.
From there it was a matter of attaching the other end of my new accessory power wire to my transformer. The wires are exposed, so you can test them by touching them together, but you should secure them in some way. That’s when I grabbed my husband for some help because I knew he had a collection of wire couplers that could come in handy for this project. He attached some detachable couplers that could be used with either track type.
Now I just need to address the squeaky wheels.