Lionel ZW 275 Watt Horn Operation

[Kooljock1]

EXCELLENT!  Have fun!

Jon

[DonBjunior]

Thank you Jon!  I did put a fresh new battery in my 404 Budd engine and low and behold.....I pushed the whistle lever up and "beeeeeeeeep" it worked!  I am very happy with this transformer.  I thought maybe the rectifier diodes were shot in it.  Time for me to remove the battery for now.....Thanks again!

[DonBjunior]

Thank you!

[Kooljock1]

On a Lionel product, the Whistle is located in the locomotive tender.  On a diesel or electric, the horn is in the engine itself. 

When you push the "Whistle" lever forward, a portion of the ZW's output is converted to DC and laid onto the rails along with the AC power.  The DC pulse closes the Whistle/Horn relay on the engine, and the whistle/horn blows.

On a Post War diesel, the relay closes, but a type "D" cell battery is required to blow the horn itself.  This is why many Post War diesels today have battery acid damage.  They will also blow their horns when overturned, as gravity will close the relay.

On "Modern" era stuff, the DC pulse has been separated into DC- and DC+.  This gives the operator the choice between blowing the horn or ringing the bell. 

A Post War ZW will need a Bell/Whistle button wired between the track and transformer to add this extra feature.

I hope this helps!

Jon

[rtraincollector]

First welcome to the forum. The whistle button triggers a horn/whistle in the engine if so equipped.

[DonBjunior]

Hi all,

My name is Don and I just recently bought a ZW 275 Watt transformer.  I know that the plug has been replaced and the bottom repainted.  Other than that, I don't know what else has been replaced or needs to be replaced.  What I do not know is how does the whistle operate?  Does it whistle on it's own or does it somehow trigger a horn from a train?  I have two sets of trains.  The one I will use the most is my Budd cars.  I have a 400, a 404, and a 2559, all in original boxes.  lol.....all I need is another 2559 and 2550 and I will feel complete (and in heaven).  Any info will be greatly appreciated for I am clueless about how this works.  I do need to get a instruction manual.  Thanks for taking the time to read this.