North Pole Central

[SantaFe158]

if you have a 2-6-4, that's basically the same design smoke unit that the postwar locomotives had, they weren't made to hold liquid when tipped, with the pellets it was ok, but there's no way to seal the liquid in. (although they smoke better with fluid)

[tfabrizio]

I agree, it seems to be a problem with the smoke unit. I usually run the set with the North Pole Central Expansion set... six cars total plus the tender. 

Does anyone know of a good repair shop in upstate Vermont?

[Penny Trains]

I had a problem with smoke unit overflow on a 1992(?) Santa Fe 2-6-4.  If the engine was tipped on it's side, the smoke fluid would run back along the wires and saturate the circuit boards.  This would cause the electronic e-unit to lose it's mind and the engine would just sit there and freak out.

Your description sounds more like a short internal to the smoke unit rather than one on the motherboard.  Turn the smoke unit off till you can get it to an authorized repair center.

Becky

[ADCX Rob]

SantaFe158

I'm almost certain this is your problem.

Me too.  On newer engines, the smoke unit is wired to the motor circuit so it only smokes while moving(so as to not burn out the smoke unit element in neutral).  This puts a much bigger load on the E-unit especially with long trains.

I rewired my Lincoln Logs smoke unit to bypass the E-unit.  All runs better now - running & smoking.

Rob

[SantaFe158]

I have an older 1990's era Lionel 4-4-2, had to cut the wire to the smoke unit (no on/off switch then) because it fried, and was shorting out everything, same symptoms of yours. These were just poorly designed smoke units. Same with my Mikado Jr. just leave it off or replace the smoke unit. I'm almost certain this is your problem.

[doc d]

How many cars are you running? Last Christmas I was running 9 cars and burned up an E unit and maybe the can motor. Found out that these locomotives are notorious for this problem.

My LHS replaced it and this year I am running no more than 5 cars and haven't had a problem yet.

Merry Christmas,

Doc

[Texas Pete]

Turn the smoke off and it runs okay.  Hmmm.  Might be a short circuit in your smoke wiring, something causing it to draw too much current so not enough gets to the motor.

The loco is the standard starter set 4-4-2 and the two switches under the left side of the cab function as follows:  The one towards the rear of the loco is the reverse unit on/off, the one in front of it is the smoke unit on/off.  Off for both switches is to the rear of the loco, on is to the front.

Pete

 

[Roger Bielen]

I'm not familiar with that specific engine but in general one switch turns the smoke unit on or off and the other locks the engine in the directioin last running.  A sluggish engine usually is due to the lubricant thickening as it sits in storage.   If you still have the paperwork from the set check on the switch settings and add some light oil to the points indicated and a light grease to any gears that are visible.  Make sure what you use is plastic compatible.  Sometimes just running the engine without any cars will loosen things up after a few minutes.  If I recall correctly if the switchs are to the front of an engine the smoke will be on and the direction can be changed.

[tfabrizio]

While running my Christmas layout today, my North Pole Central 4-4-2 steamer started acting funny. On full power, she barely even crawls. If I move one of the two switches on the bottom of the steamer, she seems to run fine, but will not smoke. The other switch seems to have no impact. What are the switches for, and what happened? Any ideas?