2046W Tender Whistle

[lionelsoni]

You're welcome!

[RAVL]

Tried the masking tape trick and it worked like a charm.  Thanks!

And thanks for the tender information as well.

[rtraincollector]

servo guy you have been told over and over the newer stuff doesn't your still in the 50's and 60's I have a recent as a year ago pulled a engine from the early 70's and the grease and oil was soft as ever

[servoguy]

Did you lube both of the motor bearings?  Did you use motor oil?  The lower bearing is hard to see.  Just put a few drops of oil under the armature as close to the bearing as you can get it.  Don't use 3 in 1 oil, Lionel Lube, light machine oil, lithium grease, as this stuff all gets hard or gummy.  Use motor oil.  It lasts forever.

[lionelsoni]

I agree; it's one of the great Lionel tenders.

I have heard that some of them were assembled wrong at the factory, with the water-scoop opening facing backward.  It can be put in either way and reversed with very little effort; so the factory error adds no value to the tender.

[rtraincollector]

just add one note a 2046 tender has 4 wheels trucks so you must have a 2671 tender which has 6 wheel trucks a very nice tender to have

[lionelsoni]

That is a particularly sensitive relay; and it doesn't take much force to keep it closed.  When the surfaces of the armature (the moving flap-like part) and the pole piece (the part that the armature moves toward when the relay operates) are smooth and well aligned, the magnetic charge on those parts can get close enough together that the relay will not release, as you have experienced.  The fix is easy:  Just put a little piece of masking tape into the gap between the armature and the pole piece, to keep them just a tiny bit farther apart when the relay is closed.  The relay will still operate just as before, but will not get stuck.

[RAVL]

Another issue related to an older set I hoped to use this year at the holidays.  The set with the 2400 cars is headed by a 671 turbine.  I went to see if the tender worked yesterday and it made a low wheezing noise.  I believe this is referred to as the 2046 tender - streamlined plastic body, 6 wheel trucks, Pennsylvania stamped on the side. 

I went through it -- cleaning, a little oil on the wick, etc. -- and now it whistles like a champ but the problem is it just keeps whistling.  The relay stays closed, in other words.  Not sure what is going on.  I run TMCC and my other newer and postwar locos do not suffer this issue, so I don't think it a control issue.  I have tried to keep all oil off the relay, and even went over it lightly with compressed air from a can.  No luck.  Tapping the tender shell will generally result in the relay releasing.  Any thoughts?  Thank you again in advance.