newer lionel whistle tender to old lionel 2018. i need help please.

[the nitro man]

hi, i have a newer lionel whistle tender that has what looks like a headphone jack plug coming from the front of the tender. does anyone know where & what kind of jack i need to purchase to wire the engine so that it can power the tender? the tender doesn't have roller pick up's. it gets it's power from the engine. it's just a whistle tender, no railsounds or mighty sound of steam, just a air whistle. thanks for anyone's help.

[phillyreading]

Maybe you can find a part at Radio Shack or an electronics store.

What I would do is find a truck assembly with a roller wheel for center pickup and wire it that way as it will look better and you won't have to take the steam locomotive apart.

Lee

 

[the nitro man]

i thought about changing the trucks, but their not like any lionel trucks i've seen before. their diecast but different than all the others i've seen from lionel, & their factory.

[phillyreading]

Have not heard of Lionel using diecast trucks in years, diecast trucks went out in the 70's from Lionel. Lionel usually has plastic truck frames unless it is the O gauge trucks with springs inside and these have a habit of coming apart.

Lee F.

[the nitro man]

their not spring loaded. like i said, their not like any lionel truck i've seen.

[phillyreading]

Does the tender have a number on it, usually on the bottom. I am not familiar with this tender or truck set.

Lee F.

[the nitro man]

no number or even a part number, just lionel. it's a norfolk western tender. it came with a 2-6-4 in the late 90's i believe. can we post pictures on this site?

[the nitro man]

here's a like to one like it on ebay. i bought the tender for a 2056 but it just didn't look righ behind it. i had a 2018 so now i'm just going to run it behind it.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Lionel-N-W-2-6-4-Steam-loco-Tender-18638-1994_W0QQitemZ260026586620QQihZ016QQcategoryZ4148QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[phillyreading]

Went to the ebay site and saw what you are talking about, the tender has a plug coming out of it to the engine. Wiring it to an older engine may be tricky, may have to wire it to the headlight wire not any wire coming off the reverse unit. Also not sure if you need to provide a negative wire to the whistle unit. Test things before doing any final wiring.

Lee F

[1688torpedo]

Hello Nitro Man!    The Tender in question here has a Wire with a Plug that will fit into a Jack in the Firewall of the Steam Engine that it was originally sold with. In order for the Whistle to work you will need a Pair of Trucks with Pickup Rollers on them( You Can get them from Olsen's Toy Train Parts) & Get a Wiring Diagram from Lionel via e-mail showing how to wire up the Whistle/Relay to the Pickup Roller's & you should be all set. Or, if you have a Lionel Service Center near you then they should be able to help you out. Lionel also has made Tenders for seperate sale that are equipped with a whistle that would be a better match for your 2056 here & most shops should have them in stock.( You do not have to worry about Jacks or Wires with these seperate sale tenders either) Take Care. & let us know what happens.

[the nitro man]

i think you both are right. i can put these trucks on another tender, & put roller pick ups on this one. it might be tricky getting it wired to the older 2018, plus it would be cleaner looking. thank you all.

[the nitro man]

well i got it going. i ended up buying a roller pick up assembly off ebay & just put it on the factory truck & wired it. it works like a charm.