Them things were about before the advent of the cheap plug-in compressors Jeff - they were popular as an alternative to hand pumping back in the 70's - also pre electronic ignition, oxygen sensor and catalytic converter. I have one of those dinky little 12 volt compressors that I carry in our camper (caravan for you Brits). It does the job, but is deadly slow, especially when trying to pump up a trailer tyre to 65psi. It would work on our 7-1/2" gauge trains for brake air, but I don't think I would try to run a model engine on it unless I didn't mind waiting a lengthy time between runnings. Oh, they get hot if operated very long. Jesse in Tennessee MODEL ENGINEERING DISCUSSION LIST. To UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, send a blank email to, modeleng-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line.