For what it is worth, I had an original Gilbert American Flyer Gabe the lamplighter and because I thought it worked so poorly, I sold it. At what voltage are you trying to run it?Perhaps it just needs higher voltage.
As I recall, the postwar one did use a modified Americanl Flyer reversing unit to move Gabe up and down the ladder. Each pulse of the control button advanced the drum 1 "notch". I don't recall how the release worked.
flyer617 - Welcome to trains.com!
Darren (BLHS & CRRM Lifetime Member)
Delaware and Hudson Virtual Museum (DHVM), Railroad Adventures (RRAdventures)
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I just acquired a Lionel version of gabe the Lamplighter. When I connected it to power, Gabe climbed the ladder, but the second time he did not. It appears that the soleniod is not pulling the plate all the way to move the wheel that take up the string. If I lean the tower, the plate will move the full amount but not when it is straight up. The climbing mechanisim appears to be like the reverse units in the flyer engines. How to I get it to work correctly? I know that this item is not a part of the classic toy trains, but I could not buy an original.
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