Lionel no. 2026 steamer won’t whistle
Adjusting the mechanism on a postwar engine
QI own a Lionel no. 2026 steam engine with a no. 6020W whistle tender. The whistle blows for about a second and then stops. When I activate the whistle lever on my no. 1044 transformer, the whistle motor runs fine and strong, but then the solenoid “drops” and separates the contact points. This stops the motor for about a second. I have cleaned the wheels, rollers, brushes, commutator, and so forth, but the problem with the solenoid, relay, or transformer is still there
– John Scialabba, Columbus, Ohio
AThe
whistle circuit consists of a complex series of operations going on in sequence. The whistle control has three positions: Off, Pickup Voltage, and Holding Voltage. When the lever or button on your control is at rest, the circuit is Off and just passes current from the voltage handle to the track. As you move the whistle control, it passes through the Pickup Voltage circuit and sends a portion of the track voltage through a rectifier to offset the AC sine wave by around 3 volts. This causes the relay to close. As you continue to move the whistle control, it goes to the
Reversed actions on MTH reissue of Flyer coal loader
Holding Voltage portion and drops that 3 volts to less than 1 volt, which is enough to hold the relay closed.
All the circuitry (whistle control, transformer, relay, and whistle motor) are designed to work together under varied circumstances. Some, of course, are more ideal than others. Perfect circumstances are around 11 volts with a slight load on the track (a lighted car or a locomotive in neutral with the reverse unit on).
If the conditions are met, the fault usually lies in the whistle control. The rectifier disc may be deteriorating or no longer work. Or the resistance wire for the Holding Voltage circuit may be out of tolerance or have suffered damage. Or the wipers on the controller may be distorted or pitted.
This last area is where to start checking, because the contacts need to be “make before break.” This means they must move to the next step in series before leaving the previous step. You seem to be getting the Pickup Voltage, but it’s either disconnecting before connecting to the Holding Voltage or something in the Holding Voltage circuit is damaged. Good luck.
AFrom
what you have described about your modern and updated version of a popular postwar S gauge operating accessory, it seems as though the string is wound in the wrong direction on the shaft. From my experience, it will take nothing more than running the bucket in the down direction (the green button right now) until the line runs out.
As you continue to press the green button, the line will wind itself up in the correct direction. You may want to do this over the edge of a table so as not to slack the line so much that it comes off the pulleys. That should take care of everything.
Reassembly of Lionel no. 392E locomotive
QEverything
on the Lionel no. 392E Standard gauge 4-4-2 steam engine I’m restoring is complete, except for the collector plate. On the plate is a ¼-inch-long cylindrical “button” that transfers the positive current from the rollers upward and touches a brass “tab”(or arm) connected to the motor. The button has two tabs that connect to the collector plate. At the opposite end of the button is a copper nub; inside the button is packing material that surrounds a short piece of wire soldered to this nub. How do I reassemble the button? What material do I use?
– Fred McCoy, Reading, Pa.