Adapting A Lionel ZW 275 Watt AC Transformer To DC Power

Hello everyone I decided to make use of my old Lionel 275 watt ZW AC transformer and adapt it to use with my DC 2 rail trains until I can decide what DCC system and decoders to use. Other people have done this and it’s very easy to do.   Below is a film of my engine running back and forth on the Outdoor test track using the ZW plus some pictures of a wiring diagram and the buildup of the AC to DC converter using a bridge rectifier.

Disclaimer:  

Doing electrical work with these old transformers can be dangerous, proceed at your own risk.                  

I am not responsible if you burn your house down, burn your layout to ashes, melt your favorite train into a molten blob of metal or plastic goo,etc. etc.  
This post is how I did it and is for entertainment use only.

I noticed I need to do some track realignment and some ballast work, but all in all everything seems to have made it through the winter fairly well. All I did was wiped the track down with a mixture of WD-40 and 91% rubbing alcohol, set the 3451 on the track and test ran it back and forth. 

Here is the Radio Shack 25 amp full-wave Bridge Rectifier glued to the inside bottom of a plastic container.

Here is an overall view of the set up before wiring. (Please note the rocker switch on the lid was the wrong style of switch, I ended up replacing it with a DPDT toggle switch that I put on the lid in later photos, since I had already drilled the hole I just left the rocker switch in place rather than having a hole in the lid)

A hole was drilled on front and back side for the wires to go through.

Here is  wiring diagram I tried to draw up,

Black wire on the common and the red wire on A

Here is the wiring going from the transformer into the Bridge Rectifier

Here is the wiring going to the DPDT Switch (Please note you are looking at the switch from the bottom instead of from the top like the drawing

Here is another view of the wiring going to DPDT Switch.

Here is an overhead view of the box which is how the wiring diagram is depicting.

Here I am testing voltage on the layout next to the transformer I got a reading of 17.65 volts.

  

I then went to the other end of the layout and it brought up a reading of 17.63 volts, not to bad considering that it's going through just track pins, none of the feeder wires and main buss wires are hooked up yet.  I have to say I am very satisfied with the results, especially considering the track has been out in the elements since fall.   

I hope I wasn't to confusing.

Until Next Time.