Scout motors

[ogmth]

I've tried but can't figure out how the pawl system goes back together!  Here's the problem. The last of my inlaws has past and we found an old Lionel train set in the attic when we were cleaning it out. When we brought it home I put the engine on my layout. It ran but jerked and stalled a lot. I told my wife I would have it running for her under our Christmas tree this year. Hope I didn't lie. Anyway, I took the motor out and found it was packed with hair, tinsel ,and pine needles. Hasn't run for years. I cleaned the outside and checked the brushes. They were pretty shot. Order new brushes and clean out the motor housing. Got the new brushes and went to put it back together I remember the pawl and spring fell out. How do they go back in? I'm learning that I don't like these motors. everything is spring loaded. Any help would be helpful. Thanks, Bill

[ADCX Rob]

This should help(click/open in new window for a larger view):

[ogmth]

Thanks Rob! I understand better. These motors are a pain . I'm glad I only have one. Bill

[Train-O]

Bill,
I have a 1950's Christmas Gift Scout locomotive which ran for a few years, then stopped.
The drive wheels were Magne-Traction, but when I had the locomotive repaired, by Madison Hardware years ago, they put in a slightly better motor, with a better type of two position E-Unit, but its drive wheels did not have Magne-Tration.

I found out years later that mostly all of the original Scout motors with the two position E-Units and with Magne-Traction only lasted a few years and the Lionel  'Repair/Replace Procedure' was to replace the Scout motors with a slightly better, two position E-Unit, motor, regardless of whether it had Magne-Traction, or not.
The motor has to fit inside of the Scout locomotive and its E-Unit has NO direction changing/locking lever.
I never did find out and I still don't know if there were/are replacement motors, which fit into a Scout locomotive, have a two, or three position E-Unit, with changing/locking levers and Magne-Traction, as I did not pursue this matter further. 

If, you run into any difficulties with your original Scout motor there maybe someone, or someplace which sells refurbished motors and/or parts and MAYBE, as original, with Magne-Traction, other than the RUBBER BAND tire, as used today!!!!!!

Good Luck,

Ralph 

[Papa_D]

The scout engines of the 1950 era had an ingenious 2 position reversing mechanism that in its low cost implementation proved highly unreliable.  I bought a Scout 1120 steam engine off eBay that just sat on the tracks and hummed when I first tried to run it.  Tapping the top of the boiler case would get it running for short periods before it would stop and just hum some more.  After reading up on the reversing mechanism I thought I had two choices; either secure the drum in the forward position or replace the reversing mechanism completely with an electronic e-unit such as the Dallee 400.  I choose the latter.  Now I have highly reliable forward, neutral, and reverse operation. 

The Scout 1120 was produced in 1950.  It had a die-cast body and Magnetraction but little else, no headlight, marker jewels, bell, or body side grab rails although there were features cast into the body for them.  Having up-graded the reversing operation, I decided to add the missing ornamentation.  Once gussied-up it’s pretty good looking for a small steam engine.

The scout motor isn’t the most powerful.  Mine can pull a tender and 3 MPC era cars around 0-27 curves without laboring.  A fourth car is one too many.

My advice is keep trying one way or another to bring your in-laws' steam engine back to life.  In the long run the sentimental value is well worth the effort.