lionel 2056 smoke unit

[Anonymous]

My 2056 smokes ok in neutral. It has the old pill type and I use 2909 Lionel liquid. I think the piston hole is plugged up. What is the easiest way to fix this with minimal dissasembly?
Are 2056s easy to take apart and put shell back on-I had a heck of a time w/my 1666 not shorting putting on the boiler)
Thanks
Tom

[ben10ben]

2056s are suprisingly easy to take apart, or at least compared to many other Lionel steam engines. I don't have mine sitting in front of me, but the best I recall, you first need to remove the metal plate that holds the trailing truck. This is held on with two screws. You then need to remove the screw on the top of the boiler. Remove the single screw securing the leading truck assemly. Finally, you should see a screw right between the cylinders. Once this is removed, the shell should lift off as a whole. There should be nothing attached to the shell; all the parts are attached to the motor and frame.

Once you've done this, just pop the smoke unit lid off and ream the hole out with a correctly sized drill bit. You might also want to replace the packing in the bottom part of the smoke unit and make sure the cylinder is clean.

When you reassemble, be sure the handrails get properly seated in their holes on the steamchest/cow catcher casting.

[ChiefEagles]

If the top is "crusted" so bad you don't want to take it off, remove the piston in the bottom and get to the hole from the bottom.

[MartyE]

I've seen these smoke unit where the piston is stuck up inside the cylinder from smoke goo.

[msacco]

I say clean it out and convert it. I've converted all of my postwar runners to liquid smoke by using the Lionel conversion parts. They smoke so much better. PRefer the older pill smell but the amount of smoke makes up for it.

Mike S.

[Anonymous]

Does converting an older engine to liquid decrease its value?

[ben10ben]

Not really, but the way I see it is there's no reason to do it. Once all the old pellet residue is cleaned out, pellet units will work just as well on liquid if not better than they would if they were converted. By not converting, you retain the ability to use both types of smoke-producing material. Pellets are also easier to obtain now that they are being reproduced.

[msacco]

ben10ben,
YOu might have more experience with this then me, but I've always been warned about putting in too much fluid in pill smoke units. Risk of really damaging them or so I've been told. This is why I converted most of mine. I also saved the old units in case I wanted to convert them back.

Mike S.

[ben10ben]

Mike,
The only real risk of damage is if you put too much in and it runs out onto the lower part of your engine and the track. Even then, it cleans up fairly easily.

The pellets melt after the heating element has been on for a few seconds, so you're really dealing with the same thing in both cases. All that changes is the form that the smoke producing material is in when you put it down the stack.

[Anonymous]

Hello Tom,

Sounds like your smoke unit needs a professional cleaning. if you don't not want the hassle , I can happily do that for you for a cheap price. ($5-$10 Labor, a little more for a new gasket and lining), if you just send the unit to me.
If you want a complete installation, just tell me. That means I will solder in the unit and clean up the piston linkage. This means you will have to send the whole locomotive in. It won't cost much more, just more shipping.

I can either clean up your original unit, or convert it to liquid smoke, your choice!! .

I like seeing postwar beuts smoking nice!![;)][:D]

Just email me at [e-mail] to talk about cleaning it.

Jerry