I have a 1946 2020 engine and a later 671 engine. I know both should smoke. My question is what do I have to use to make smoke in these engines? Can I use liquid smoke products? I know the '46 2020 had special smoke pellets that it used. I really would like to make them smoke. Thank you.
You can use original SP smoke pellets or the Trainz SP pellets in both.
Rob
Thank you for the information.
The 2020 has a smoke bulb, which you do NOT want to use liquids on. Only the pellets. The 671 can use either.
When I had the engine I did use fluid on the bulb. BUT it has to be a very small amount.
"IT's GOOD TO BE THE KING",by Mel Brooks
Charter Member- Tardis Train Crew (TTC) - Detroit3railers- Detroit Historical society Glancy Modular trains- Charter member BTTS
sir james IWhen I had the engine I did use fluid on the bulb. BUT it has to be a very small amount.
I wasn't going to get in to it with my initial response, but I do the same thing, and to add to the fluid reserve, I put a 671-181 gasket under the bulb and soak that down with the fluid de jour instead of trying to keep fluid in the bulb depression.
One of my bulb smokers had a 1156 bulb in it when I got it over 35 years ago and I did the gasket trick instead of changing it out and it still works great to this day. I have no idea why the bulb has not burned out yet either from over voltage or thermal shock or just plain heat inside that closed compartment, but I'm reluctant to disturb it at all at this point.
I never thought my smoke bulb engines worked particularly well with SP pellets. They would melt, but the engines really did not give off much smoke at all. I have not tried it, but I've read that some people put some wicking on the bulb and use smoke fluid with good results.
First you want to make sure you are not fooling with a bulb type smoke unit. If the smokestack has a big light bulb in it try not to mess with it and put it aside as a curiosity.
If you look into the smoke stack and see wire coils like a toaster, that is a heater type smoke unit. They use SP pills and can be operated with smoke fluid or retro reproduction smoke pills. You can convert any pill style unit to liquid with a conversion kit, but if you carfully clean out the old smoke unit they will work OK with fluid.
The old bulb type smoke units can be or might have been coverted to use heaters but if not they used a special pill that gives off a foul gas and is no longer obtainable wich is why I reccomend not messing with them at all.
Any smoke residue from the original smoke pellets would have decomposed long ago. If it worrys anybody, they can wipe out the smoke chamber and the smoke bulb. I think the 1946 smoke bulb engines are good runners. So what if they don't smoke? I have a number of nice Lionel steam engines without smoke!
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