What to do with Dad's old trains?

[cnw1995]

I was recently fortunate to get some huge boxes containing a group of my dad's old Lionel trains - a new and old Scout and an ancient 248 - along with rolling stock, etc. I'm wondering if it would be wise, in your opinion, to just put them on the track and see if they run - I figure they've been stored for about five years. Or should I try to take them apart and lubricate them - I'm not sure how...What do you think?

[Algonquin]

Hi cnw1995,

First thing to do is make sure you have a safe transformer. If you plan to use one that has been stored for a long time or has evidence of corrosion or a brittle or cracking power cord, it would be a good idea to have it checked out by a service station before you try it. The trains will probably run initially without lubrication but they would benefit from a little oil. The scout and 248 should each get a drop of oil at the ends of the motor shaft and at each wheel bearing between the wheel flange and the frame. A little grease should be applied to the visible gears between the wheels. Post war cars will also roll better with a drop of oil between each wheel and the truck frame. You can pick up a lubrication kit containg oil and grease at just about any hobby shop.

Regards,

Tim Pignatari

[Anonymous]

let thier genies out of the bottle and get them rolling again!
like Algonquin said.. give them some lubrication, if you think two drops of oil is enough... use only one.[;)]
have fun, good luck

[cnw1995]

I really appreciate your advice. I have a brand-new trainset transformer I'm going to use. Can I see the motor shafts, without taking the engine apart?

[Anonymous]

On most old trains such as Lionel, you can indeed see the motor shafts that are connected on the end with a gear. Place a drop of oil on the connection of the motor shaft and gear and then put lube, such as white lithium grease on the gear teeth and then also check out your transformer cord to make shure they are not frayed or cracked. Have fun

[Algonquin]

I don't have an engine in front of me, but you should be able to see the shaft on one end sticking out of the brush plate between the two brush holes on one side of the engine just above the drive wheels. I cannot piture the other side at the moment. The Lionel website (www.lionel.com) has parts lists and exploded diagrams for most of their pieces. Check the supplement labled 1 to 9 and look through the steam engines. Yor should be able to find one that matches your engines and you can see where the ends of the shaft are.

Regards,

Tim Pignatari

[Anonymous]

Doug,

Carefully take them apart, clean them, inspect them, replace any bad wiring, lube them and run the daylights out of them! Most of the old stuff can be rebuilt forever.

Run it!

[brianel027]

CNW, if those Scout Steamers run okay after lubrication, I wouldn't go pulling them apart, if this is the kind of engine you have (The Scouts include #233, 235, 236, 245 and 246). You won't be able to see the motor armature because the motor is an enclosed in a bakelight plastic assembly.

IMPORTANT: When you take these things apart they have a tendency to spring apart and go all over the place. Yes, it can be done, but it takes patience. And they are tough to get back together. It can be done, but I can be a royal pain too. Hence, the phrase "the dreaded Scouts."

There's no actual reverse unit in these like other Lionel engines. The reverse mechanism is what is called a pawl and pawl spring. Get the Lionel Greenberg Repair Manual and read about Scout motors before you pull this apart.

Now, a trick on the operation of these Scouts ... the mechanical reverse unit has a habit of tripping itself whenever the loco goes over rough spot in the track, like switches and uncoupling tracks. This is due in part to the tight space underneath the engine... the pickup roller pickup shoes cause this bumping and clunking which reverses the loco.

I've refinished 2 of these guys and I removed the roller pickup shoes and then soldered a feeder wire from the contact strip of the engine running to a newly installed roller pickup assembly on the tender. I used a male/female wire butt connector on the wire between the loco and tender. Removing the roller pickup shoes eliminated the clunky operation of the loco over the switches and uncoupling tracks, thus eliminating the unexpected reversing of the engine.

Gave one away as part of a train set for a kid. My nephew has the other one which is run on DC current. The loco runs much quieter on DC than AC. It also runs like a champ. Pulls 10 cars no problem. A long train for a kid's layout!

[thor CNJ]

Some instructions for old trains are posted in the O/O27 section of the All Gauge Page, listed in my signature. Look for the O/O27 Manuals. Also, there are Marx instructions posted.

[Anonymous]

Doug,

I had a similar situation about 12 years ago, when I pulled out the box of 1950s vintage Lionel trains that my mother had packed away. These things were so well-built that, after a careful startup to shake out the cobwebs, they took off like they'd never been stored for 30 years. All have been lubricated and worked on in the intervening years, but they still run. The oldest power is a pair of Erie 2032 Alcos from 1952, I believe. Lionel made great locomotives in those days.

Sounds like the advice above is all good. I say be careful and apply the lubrication, but put them on the track and see what you've got.