Problems.

[railfanespee4449]

I bought a prewar set off of Ebay. I have some problems. My 1040 transformer smokes!, the whistle tender might blow for 3 sec. and then it dies, the headlight on the 259e doesn't light and the cab is bent. Any tips?

[wrmcclellan]

SP4449,

Well I guess the 1040 makes up for the engine not having a smoke unit.

The 1040 may not be worth saving. Your 259E will work with any Lionel or comparible transformer.

What tender did you get with this guy? The 259E did not come with a whistle tender. There should be a number stamped on the bottom. What is it? Does the whistle work with a different transformer?

The cab on the engine is sheet metal. You should be able to straighten it. There are metal tabs that hold the cab onto the boiler (after you remove the boiler). Be aware that you need to treat these tabs very carefully. You can only bend them 1 or 2 times before the metal fatigues and they break off! So nake sure when you tackle this that you do everything you need to do and that you are happy with the result before reattaching the cab. Test fit it together without securing the tabs so you can see the result.

If you are unsure, get some help from someone local (hobby shop with some contacts for older Lionel) that understands how to bend the metal without damaging the paint (flakes off if bent too much) or the metal itself.

Let us know how it goes.

Regards,
Roy

[eZAK]

Contact the seller!

Repair it yourself or take it in.

Sorry!

[railfanespee4449]

The tender is a box tender.The whistle button of the 1040 doesn't work. I got said results with my 1041. I'm kind of glad there are these problems- I'm making a documentary about the restoration. If anyone wants a copy of the doccumentary, mail me a blank video tape and I'll send you the doccumentary.