American "Backwards" Flyer

[mersenne6]

I have several of the 2-4-4 AF types and their e-units seem to either hum and buzz continuously (but they do work) or they don't and they don't work. I've found the biggest source of non-working e-units on these engines to be large quantites of old, greasy dust and grime buildup in the unit itself. I'd recommend taking the engine apart and giving the motor and the unit a thorough cleaning and de-greasing. If the unit is indeed burnt or ruined you can work the mechanisim to get everything moved into the position where the engine will run forward. Once you have it there set the lever to the lockout position and everything should be fine

[marxalot]

Any chance a good cleaning and application of something like a spray silicone lubricant would help? I remember cleaning a friends A-F units about 15 years ago. I had not worked on these before hand but the application of denatured alcohol with a soft brush for cleaning and the silcone spray worked for both his. I do know this approach works on older Marx locomotives with a sticking e-unit.

[lionelsoni]

Sounds like it could be number 3: It has a reversing unit which is not stepping, because of mechanical failure, an open coil, or open wiring to the coil.

[Anonymous]

It appears to have a switch inside the cab, but when thrown the locomotive still runs backwards.

[lionelsoni]

Several possibilities:

It is old enough not to have a reversing unit (e-unit), was meant only to run forward, and someone has rewired it incorrectly. This is easily fixed by swapping either the armature or field-coil connections.

It is old enough not to have a reversing unit and has instead a switch somewhere that you haven't noticed yet.

It has a reversing unit which is not stepping, because of mechanical failure, an open coil, or open wiring to the coil.

It has a reversing unit which is stepping but powering the motor only in its reverse position, alternating with inaction, due to a broken wire or, more likely bent or dirty contact fingers.

[palallin]

Sorry; I can't help. However, I cannot pass up the opportunity to be an intelligent donkey: at least running backward, it has a prtotypical wheel arrangement!

[Anonymous]

A friend of mine purchased an American Flyer 2-4-4 pre-war O gauge locomotive at a thrift shop. After testing it out, he found out that it runs fine but only in reverse. As amusing as I find this, some one should really help him out.
Any takers? Thank you all in advance for your help.[2c][D)]