lionel 2026 i adore the engine dearly but having issues

[emdfan2]

i can spin the wheels by hand halfway around the pickups get current but locomotive will not move

[Firelock76]

If I follow you correctly you can turn the drivers freely with no binding?

And you're sure there's current to the track?

Are you using a transformer with short-circuit indicator or protection, and are you getting a short warning or is the breaker popping?

OK, does the locomotive's headlight come on?  Can you hear a buzz from the E-unit?  If no to both questions, your E-unit may have gone bad, it happened to a 224 steamer I've got, although it was obvious when it happened, there was a shower of sparks and the engine stopped cold, AND the breaker popped on my Z-1000 transformer.

If the engine hasn't been run in a long, long time, or even if you run it fairly often, you can try cleaning the E-unit with electrical contact cleaning spray, most hardware stores have it.  Spray it out good and give it plenty of time to dry.

If the E-unit's dead, a quick fix to get going again is to remove the E-unit and solder the pick-up wires directly to the motor.  That's what I did to get forward-only movement.  Since I rarely back a train on my small layout it's no big deal, one day I'll replace the E-unit.

Wish I was there looking over your shoulder.

By the way, is this the 2026 2-6-2 or the 2026 2-6-4?  My 224 that crapped out was a 2-6-2.  Either way both 2026's are at the 65 year old mark or near to it, anything's possible at this late date. 

[ADCX Rob]

It sounds like one of the rod eccentrics is out of sorts and is not letting the wheels make a complete revolution. Can you post pics of both sides of the engine wheels?

[lionelsoni]

I had that problem once.  It turned out that there was a speck of metal, or something hard, stuck in the grease between two of the gear teeth behind the wheel.