Lionel electronic reverse board in a MTH Steamer

[RRaddict]

I purchased one of those MTH Steam Locomotives on Ebay that someone took all the electronics out of it.  A new Proto Unit is out of the question as it would be more than a new locomotive.. I have a cheapo Lionel steamer  that  has an electronic e unit I want to remove and put in this MTH steamer.  Does anyone know if it is possible to do this?

Thanks,

Kevin

[lionelsoni]

I couldn't say whether your electronic Lionel e-unit will work with that locomotive.  But I bet an electromechanical one would.  I replaced (and sold) the electronics from an MTH Big Boy and a GTEL with electromechanical e-units.  Surprisingly, there wasn't room in the Big Boy for a regular vertical e-unit; so I used a horizontal one (with a spring inside), either a 671-50 or a 726-51,

[RRaddict]

Bob I don't have a clue on the mechanical e-units as I wouldn't know where to put that lever.  The electronic e-unit is in a locomotive that is much smaller than the MTH locomotive so hopefully when I open it up I can make heads or tails out of it.  I know power and ground have to be hooked up but the wires that connect to the motors I am not sure of.

Thanks

Kevin

[lionelsoni]

You don't actually need the lever.  You can substitute an SPST switch, presumably whatever switch you might use to turn the electronic e-unit on or off.  In fact, the horizontal e-units that I mentioned don't have the lever.

I assume your MTH locomotive has a DC can motor; so you would need a rectifier too.  But that would be quite small and easy to fit into the locomotive, I am sure.

[RRaddict]

Bob I forgot about the rectifier which I already have both but dont know how to hook it up.

[lionelsoni]

With the electronic e-unit, you probably don't need it.  I would expect there to be one already included in the unit.

With the electromagnetic e-unit, connect the (bridge) rectifier's ~ terminals, one to the frame (outside rails) and one to the pickup.  Connect the - terminal to one end of the e-unit coil and to the green wire.  Connect the + terminal to the other end of the e-unit coil and to the red wire.  Connect the blue and yellow wires to the motor.

[gunrunnerjohn]

You can buy a new electronic reverse from many of the parts dealers for around $15.  It's a simple four wire affair, two to the motor, and two to the pickups.  No additional parts are required, this unit takes the AC track voltage and controls the motor.

The Lionel part number is 107-100 for the electronic reverse unit.  Jeff at www.ttender.com has them for $15.