Smoke Unit Maintenance

[Anonymous]

I am running a 2037 on my Christmas Layout. It runs great, and smokes great. I notice white residue at the smokestack, and it makes me worry about the smoke unit. Is there any maintenance to be performed on the smoke unit to keep it working?
It may run quite a few miles this holiday. Anything I should check out before it really gets busy?

[lionelsoni]

That residue is very typical of smoke-pellet-type smoke units and, as far as I know, harmless. You could clean it off for the sake of appearance, I suppose, but I never have.

[wrmcclellan]

I am assuming you are using smoke pellets.

Be careful not to overload the unit with pellets, otherwise it may get plugged up. If so all you have to do is disassemble it by prying off the top and carefully scrape out some of the waxy residue in the chamber. You must be carefull not to damage the nichrome wire inside the unit. Once you run it, it should be able to melt and use the residue not removed by scraping. If it still does not smoke, check the air hole in the casting (underneath) and make sure it is clear.

It is best to run the unit until the smoke output decreases significantly to make sure you are clearing out the pellets.

Regards,
Roy

[Anonymous]

I have not used this engine before, and am embarrased to say that I did not know it used pellets instead of oil. I am familiar with the oil units, but this is new to me. Where can I buy the pellets? Are they hard to get?

[ben10ben]

There's a company making pellets now. They sell for $15 for a jar of 50. Originals may run anywhere from $10 for a 1/4 filled jar to $40+ for a full jar.

It's absolutely harmless to use liquid in it. Just be sure to not put more than a couple of drops in at a time, though, or it will overflow.

[lionelsoni]

See http://www.toytrainsunlimited.com/

[Chris F]

Or...you can convert your Postwar steamer to use liquid (as I'm doing with my 2056). Here's the parts list:

600-8141-056 Smoke unit wick, SL, 7/8"
600-2029-016 Smoke unit cover
600-8141-055 Resistor, 27 ohm, 5%, CA-4060
600-2029-015 Sleeve, 1.25, Blk (80-8047-17)
600-0671-181 Gasket, 23/32 OD, 11/332 ID
600-0671-221 Smoke unit liner (2)

These parts should be available at a local Lionel dealer. The cost of the parts, plus a bottle of smoke fluid, will be less than the pellets. OTOH, it won't be original (some collectors care).