READER TIPS

Jim Amen writes in response to matching paints on Lionel postwar locomotives: “Testor no. 1103TT Gloss Red is a close match to the red that Lionel once used, although it depends on the condition of the engine’s paint. If you use this paint or any other, be sure to test it on something else or in an unseen area before you apply it to an obvious location.”

John Sherwood checked the instructions packed with K-Line diesels to learn about how to tether them: “If the unit has a tether wire, it lacks the electronics to run by itself! The unit with the receptacle is the unit with the electronics. If the engine runs by itself, it won’t have the tether sticking out the back and interfering with the following car. A second unit has the tether to plug into the first, but the opposite end of the B unit has a receptacle. If the second (or third) unit is the A unit with a tether, it plugs into the preceding unit’s receptacle and the other end has no wire or receptacle.

“According to K-Line, as many as three units could be connected together. That meant there would be six motors, with each unit having two motors. No matter how many units are run, the trailing end will not have a tether.”