My quirky Lionel 2035 K4 Pacific.

[SRen]

Hello everyone,

I have been experiencing some problems with my post war 2035 lionel "pacific" and could use some advice for improving its performance.

First I have noticed that my 2035 always seems to balk at running at all after it has been sitting still for a couple hours or more.  However after stutering and lurching around the layout a couple times these problems seem to disapear and it runs smoothly.  Why does this happen?  Why would a locomotive run poorly when it is "cold" but loosens up and runs smoothly after "warming up"?

Secondly, I have noticed that while running in reverse I occasionally hear a ticking noise, especially when running in reverse around curves.  The sound is simmilar to the noise of playing cards flapping in the spokes of a bicycle.  What could be causing this noise and how would I fix it?

Lastly, the e-unit wants to stick in the reverse position.  Does anyone know of any quick fixes to cure my sticky e-unit? 

Scott

PS:  I am planning on installing TMCC in this locomotive, does anyone have any experience in retrofiting old post war engines with for comand control?

[1688torpedo]

 Hello Sren & to the forum!  Sounds like you will need to take the 2035 apart & Check for worn Brushes in the Brushplate & make sure both are the same length. If not, then this can contibute to your 2035s erratic performance. & Check the flat springs in the brass tubes on the brushplate & make sure they are still strong. If not, they will need to be replaced as well. If the e-unit sticks. then, it will need to be taken apart & the drum & copper fingers will need to be cleaned/replaced also. Make sure all moving parts like axles have at least one or two drops of oil & that the gears are greased also.if you do all of the above then at least 99% of your problem should cease. Other folks will come along to help you with your Tmcc conversion. Take Care & good luck.

[msacco]

As stated above I would perform a thorough cleaning, lube and overall tune up. New brushes and checking for brush spring tightness will more than likely cure the balkiness.

   As far as the flapping it's probably the smoke lever making that sound. I know on my 2025 (similiar but earlier model) the smoke lever, which can be seen sticking out of the side in front of the first driving wheel, falls down due to gravity. Mine make a noise too, but that's part of the charm of Postwar.

   Eunit sounds like it could use a spray of T.v. tuner cleaner to unstick it. If that fails it need to be ovehauled with new fingers and drum. Parts are available.

     Don't have to convert it to TMCC. Just a little TLC and it should run like new and forever of course.

  Postwar Rules.!!!!!

Mike S.

[jefelectric]

I haven't converted a postwar steamer, but have converted early 90s vintage Trainmaster with pull more motors to TMCC.  For this one I used equipment by Electric RR.  I didn't add railsounds as Jon has a method of wiring the original horn/whistle to sound under railsounds and the 2 pull mores makes enough noise that railsounds would have to be really loud to overcome that noise.  You will need to have enough room in the tender for the TMCC board and still retain the whistle to do this with a steamer.  Of couse you can add railsounds but takes a lot more work for steam.  Check out the three suppliers most post the instrucions on their web sites.  If you need links to the sites, send me an email.

[lionelsoni]

An e-unit that fails to step is probably stuck in the up position.  This can happen when the pawl wears a notch in the c.r.o.t.c.h of the drum.  The notch catches the pawl so that it cannot slide back down the edge of the tooth.  It can be repaired if you are careful, without disassembling the e-unit, by shaving the offending tooth flat again with a small (1/4 inch) wood chisel, for example.

(There is folklore that says this is due to magnetizing of the magnetic circuit.  If this were true, the next time you turn it on, the strong fields from the AC track voltage would surely demagnetize it.  And it would have stuck in all positions, not just reverse.)

[SRen]

Thank you all for your sound advice, I should have known to check the brushes and springs inside the motor but for some reason I omitted that part of the inspection when I had my 2035 dismantled earlier today.  Oh well, I guess I will have to take the thing apart again.  As for the e-unit, I think it will be easier to replace it with TMCC than to fix it .

[msacco]

SRen,

Eunit repairs take some patience but are not that difficult and certainly not that expensive.

Mike S.

[daan]

If you have severe wear on the brushes, you'll also hear a ticking noise in one direction. But only when driving at low speeds. The brushes will have a surface which is angled (iow, they are not at 90 degrees towards the shaft they're in) This causes the brushes to only run fine in one direction (like the wheels of a shopping cart) and in the other direction they'll want to digg in the collector, where the small gaps between the collector plates make them tick. But that is only when the brushes can move sideways in their shafts a bit. If the brushes are still sufficient length, use needle nose pliers to (gently!) narrow the guiding tube they're in and file the surface at 90 degrees again.

I had this with one of my locomotives and it ran poor, but specially in beackward direction, also making the ticking noise. New brushes and a bit of fiddling with the tightness of the brush holders was all I needed to do to make it run fine again.

[Frank53]

PS:  I am planning on installing TMCC in this locomotive, does anyone have any experience in retrofiting old post war engines with for comand control?