Lionel 2466WX Tender --- NEED HELP!

[DorkyDan]

Hello!

I need help with a 2466WX tender I just purchased.  I'm not familiar with Whistling tenders.  And I need help in figuring out HOW to make it WORK!!  I acquired this via an engine/tender combo (Engine 2035).

Technically, what do I NEED to make it work?  I bought a newer 80 Watt Lionel Transformer because it has the "Whistle" and "Bell" buttons on it.  (My older Lionel transformer had neither.)

So, to make this tender actually WHISTLE, what else do I need?  This model has the two roller pickups for the center rail, plus it has a shoe on the magnetic coupler (which I assume is just for uncoupling the car).

Any HELP or ADVICE would be GREATLY appreciated!!    (DorkyDan - email: [e-mail])

[lionelsoni]

Because you already have everything that you should need, I'm guessing that you have already put it on the track, turned up the voltage, operated the whistle control--and nothing happened.

Here's how it works:  Inside the tender, there is a special "slugged" relay that operates on DC voltage, but not the AC voltage that powers the train.  When you operate the whistle control, it adds a DC component to the track voltage.  Then the relay should close and connect the whistle motor to the track voltage, whereupon it should run and blow air through the whistle.

So the first thing to check is the wire from the center-rail pickup to the relay coil.  If that is intact, then see whether the relay will operate when you operate the whistle control, which should put the required DC voltage onto the track.  If the relay operates, then check its contacts, to see whether they are closing completely and, if so, are clean enough to pass current to the motor.  If all that looks okay, then check the motor wiring and brushes.  The brushes may be worn out or missing, or their springs may not be pushing them properly.  If the motor seems to be trying to turn, you may have dry bearings or something caught in the impeller that blows the air through the whistle.

(You're right about the shoe:  It has nothing to do with the whistle.)

[TrainLarry]

If the whistle does not work when on the track and the whistle or bell button is pushed, take off the tender shell (4 screws in the corners on the bottom of the frame). Check to make sure all the wiring is intact and not worn, broken or frayed. Replace or repair as necessary. You will see the relay for the motor. Put the tender back on the track and turn on the power. At the bottom of the relay is the movable contact . Lift it gently by hand and the whistle motor should run. Chances are it may not run well, and the motor will need a complete cleaning and overhaul.

Larry

[servoguy]

Larry, I will differ with you on the whistle motor needing cleaning and a complete overhaul.  Whistle motors don't get used very much, and I have never seen one in 40 years that needed a complete overhaul.  The most common problem is the bearings need lubed, and for this I recommend ordinary motor oil.  There is an upper bearing which is clearly visible, and there is a lower bearing on the other end of the armature.  You can get oil on the lower bearing with a tooth pick or bent paper clip.  

The oldest whistle tender I have was made in 1948, and I have never removed the brush plate to clean the brushes and commutator.  It whistles just fine.

[cwburfle]

Both of the previous posters make good points.

Whistle motors are lightly used.
But sometimes the do need a good cleaning and replacement brushes due to over lubrication.

Much of the work I've had to do on toy trains was the result of over lubrication, or the wrong lubricants applied to the wrong places.

[phillyreading]

Not sure if this might be a concern with the older whistling tenders but the newer tenders need the red terminal or A to D terminals(on a ZW) to go to the center rail and the common or U terminal to go to the outside rails. The Lionel CW-80 has a red and black terminal that go to track power, use the red terminal for the center rail and black for the outside rails.

[lionelsoni]

The older relay-operated whistles can't distinguish the polarity of the DC provided by the whistle control.  Either polarity will blow the whistle.

If you look carefully at the relay, you can see two heavy copper rings, or "slugs", at the bottom end of the coil.  These make the relay coil act like a crude transformer with a shorted secondary, The AC current in the primary (the coil) induces a current in the secondary (the slugs) that opposes that in the primary and largely cancels the magnetic flux which would otherwise operate the relay.  But transformers don't work for DC, so the DC component added to the track voltage does create a steady flux that moves the armature and closes the contact.  All that matters is that it is DC, not AC, for the relay to operate, not the polarity of the DC.

[servoguy]

The relay will operate on 25 Hz down to DC.  Years ago, Lionel had information about this for people that lived in upstate NY.