Lionel MPC EMD NW2 Demonstrator

[pbjwilson]

I got this little switching engine and some cars on e-bay a couple weeks ago. I think it was probably run once and put away. Its like new. Very nice clean lettering and graphics. Also has the big red running lights in front. These MPC engines run nice and are so basic and easy to work on. If you dont have any and would like a runner for the kids or just a nice utility engine they are a bargain. This one runs great, and is breaking in nicely.

[otftch]

I picked up one at a train show last year.I thought the paint scheme was neat.Unlike yours,mine probably has 100,000 miles on it,but still runs well.I swapped couplers from another old engine so they both work.When I bench run the engine,the gears are so worn I'm surprised it runs at all.Don't ever count out MPC.I have all the parts to rebuild it with a three position e-unit when I get the time.Good luck with yours.

                                                                 Ed

[lionelsoni]

When you rebuild it, try putting the field windings in series instead of Lionel's recommendation to use only one winding.  Don't connect anything else to the terminal where the red and green windings are now connected together and just use the other end of each winding as one end of the new winding.  The locomotive should run slower for the same voltage, which you may agree is desirable in a switcher.  (If you don't like the result, it's only a few seconds work to change it to the other scheme.)

Another trick you might consider is connecting the headlights to the motor brushes instead of the pickup, to get directional lighting.  This is particularly nice in a switcher, which will be reversing direction often.  If you wire the motor in the usual way (field to frame), one light will be on fully and the other will glow dimly, usually not bright enough to be noticed through the lens.  (This one is also really easy to undo.)

[otftch]

Thanks Bob.That should make it work really well.I never thought about wiring the lights that way.

                                                                Ed