Santa Fe F3 2333 twin diesel set

[servoguy]

If you have not done it already, you need to disassemble the loco and lube the bearings and gears inside the trucks.  Once again, I recommend 5W-20 motor oil, not grease or "light machine oil."  The motor oil will last forever without drying out or getting gummy.  I have a 2025 that I have had for about 57 years that was lubed 46 years ago.  When I took it out of the box after 45 years, the lube was OK.  Can't say the same thing for the solidified grease I had to dig out of the gearboxes of a 2333 I purchased about 2 years ago, or the 736 that was locked up with grease that I bought about 4 years ago.  Some WD-40 freed up the 736 until I could lube it properly.

Bruce Baker

[TRAINCAT]

You might also try holding the cab shell under warm running water and scrub the decal with a soft tooth brush and maybe your finger nails. Be careful if you buy replacement decals. Some lurking about are VERY old and will literally fall apart when dipped into water. A good way is to to spray them with TS-13 Tamiya clear, or Future floor polish before installing them. East Coast Trains and Jeff at www.ttender.com can supply the nose decals.

Rob

[msbsouthpaw]

Sounds good.  Thanks again, guys. 

Next project will be a Pennsylvania RR GG1 that I just found in my grandfather's collection.  It's dark green and the body appears to be diecast metal.  Heavy as lead!  Might be a nice project for after all my work towards a Christmas layout featuring his stuff is up and running though...

[TrainLarry]

Matt,

  Glad you got your horn to work. Concerning your decal issue, I would remove the old decal first, before applying the new one, as the old decal may lift off in the future, ruining the new one. Use a decal remover, such as is offered by Walthers, and make sure the shell is clean and dry before applying the new decal.

Larry

[Train-O]

Matt,

Here's some info. on your #2333's:

http://www.postwarlionel.com/cgi-bin/postwar?ITEM=2333

Ralph

[Train-O]

Matt,

I don't know the best way to work with decals, as I mess them up, but try Jeff, the proprietor of "The Train Tender," has many parts, also, maybe the correct decals and he might inform you of how to work with decals.

http://www.ttender.com/

Good Luck,

Ralph

[msbsouthpaw]

Larry:

just sanded off the contacts w/ 300 grit wet/dry sandpaper and gave the shoulder rivet a few taps w/ a hammer, and VOILA!  The horn sounds off!  It's not quite what I expected, but I confirmed it sounds right by looking it up on youtube.  It kind of makes me laugh, but it's touching nonetheless to picture this thing squealing around on my grandfather's old layout in his basement.  Thanks for the "101" lesson on troubleshooting the F3.

Ralph:

those instructions from Olsen's are awesome.  I was about to pay $18 for copies of those.  I did find something else I needed on Olsen's site, and that is a trim kit for the Santa Fe F-3.  The nose decal is falling away, and some of the porthole windows on the side were missing. 

Now, any suggestions on how to replace the nose decal?  Should I remove the old one first, or just try to lay a new one right on top?  If I need to remove the flaked old one, how should I do that?

Thanks again, guys.

Matt

[msbsouthpaw]

Thanks gentlemen!  I tried a google search for instructions on it, but only turned up people either selling the same thing, or looking to buy one.  I'll check that weblink and try the instructions Larry posted, as well.  Will post an update soon hopefully.

Thanks again,

Matt

[Train-O]

Larry,

Your descriptions and instructions are easy to follow and understand.

I was fortunate in that my unit had a clean battery area and all that was needed was an adjustment of the horn's sounding set screw.

It's unfortunate that some people did not remove the battery, when storing the engine.

Even, the battery with "NINE LIVES," at times, leaked!

Thank you,

Ralph

[TrainLarry]

Hello, Matt

The old battery powered horns are quite finicky, and can be a challenge to get to work, but it is not impossible. First, make sure the battery contacts are shiny , and not covered with dirt, rust, or corrosion. Use some sandpaper to make the contacts shiny. Next, check the relay contacts. If they are dirty, use an emery board, or piece of fine sandpaper on the contacts. Be careful not to bend the contacts. Now install a new battery and push the relay contacts up by hand until they close. The horn should blow. If not, check that where both the horn and relay are mounted to the frame is not rusted or corroded. Also check the battery mounting bracket, to see where it is mounted to the frame is clean. Remember, the frame is acting as a wire for the battery, and where the battery, horn, and relay connect to the frame must be scrupulously clean. We are only using 1 1/2 volts here, so any dirt, rust, or corrosion will adversely affect the operation of the horn. If you still do not get any sound, take the battery out, and get a length of hookup wire about 6 inches long. Strip both ends about an inch. Now take the battery and place the bottom (negative) end directly on the horn itself. Now take your hookup wire and touch one end to the top (positive) end of the battery, and the other end to the wire of the horn where it gets connected to the relay. I know, you need three hands here. The horn should sound. If it does not sound, or just makes a noise and not a steady beep, the horn may be bad. If it does sound, put the battery back in the holder and close the relay again by hand. If no sound, or weak sound, you have a wiring problem, probably corrosion somewhere.

  If all works well, put the locomotive on the track and apply power. Push the whistle button and the horn should blow. If it tries, but not loud and clear, chances are the whistle rectifier in the transformer is weak, and will need to be replaced.

Larry

 

[Train-O]

Matt,

Here's some info.:

http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/2333.ht

I hope this helps, maybe you have to adjust the horn, by using it's adjusting set screw?

Good Luck,

Ralph

[msbsouthpaw]

Good Evening:

I turned up at Santa Fe F3 2333 twin diesel set (circa 1949???) looking thru my grandfather's collection earlier this week.  I've become a little more handy w/ the trains since I started posting a few weeks ago, so I got the wheels and contacts cleaned and lubed myself.  The set runs perfectly, even after not having been out of their boxes since the 70's!  One question though:  the "horn" component on the powered unit doesn't seem to work.  It "honks" for a moment when a fresh D-cell battery is placed in it, but it won't come on when I've got it running on track. 

Anyone out there have any experience w/ this before?  I'm wondering if it's something a novice (me) can try to repair, or if I should send it to my local shop?  Any tips or insight would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Matt