Found My 221 Post War Dreyfus

[Anonymous]

My favorite postwar steamer.It pulls the 2401,2402,2403 cars.Runs like a top very smooth

[Frank53]

actually, this is what the seller posted in the auction:

The Locomotive will lock-up going forward and the motor will turn but the wheels will not move.  I believe it has a bad gear. The engine is made of heavy die-cast metal and all the side rods are bright and shiny.

He also stated it runs fine in reverse.

And yes, he said it in big red letters - surprised this software copied the formatting.

 

[Frank53]

Jim:

Thanks for the heads up - that's an easy fix.

FEC:

I hope the tender decals are as nice in person as they appear in this photo.

[FEClionel]

Great steamer - gotta love how close the tender and the engine lash up! One of Lionels best and my favorite for Christmas layout duty!

[Anonymous]

Frank,

            I think that the problem with your 221 running in one direction and locking up in the other may be due to worn brushes.  The brushes might be worn so that the end profile is no longer perpendicular to the sides preventing them from sitting flat on the commutator.  This can cause a motor to run in one direction, and then the brushes catch on the commutator when attempting to run in the other direction.  I don't think that a gear is stripped, because if there was the motor would turn independently of the wheels regardless of direction.

[Jumijo]

Best of luck with that 221, Frank.

Jim

[Frank53]

Frank, Is that the benchwork that the Chief is trying to duplicate on his layout?

Just kidding,  That trestle looks neat.

It's more like boxwork John. Chief is taking this process in steps - carpet, then boxes, then folding tables, then who knows?

[jefelectric]

Frank, Is that the benchwork that the Chief is trying to duplicate on his layout?

Just kidding,  That trestle looks neat.

[Frank53]

Yeah Frank you can gut it and add DCS or TMCC!

shoot me now.

Keith:

The seller says it's got a problem with a gear where it doesn't go forward, shouldn't be too tough to get fixed. I was willing to go $150-175 for one this nice cosmetically that ran well - this one was $91.47 and I have a good repair guy three blocks from my house. The most he's ever charged me for a repair has been $15.00.

I thinnk it's gonna look great with these passenger cars:

[1688torpedo]

Hello Frank!    Glad you were able to find a 221. Went to a large train show last week & did not see one at all. Hope the price was right for you. Take Care.

[mpzpw3]

Nice looking engine!! I bought one last Sept. off the bay. It is the black version, and not near in as good as shape as yours cosmeticlly. Didn't run, either. I believe that $3.00 in parts (bulb, and points), and a lot of cleaning kept it purring like a cat under the Christmas tree for a month! Just got it out today for a pre-Christmas run, and all is still well. I bought some decals for the tender, but never put them on. Kinda like the "age" the engine has. Good luck with yours!

[MartyE]

Yeah Frank you can gut it and add DCS or TMCC!

[Frank53]

Had to resort to the Bay of Eigh and picked this up today.

From what I can tell from the photos, it appears to be in fine shape appearance wise. It needs some work mechanically, but with post war anything is fixable.

Looking forward to getting it. I've got a nice set of post war passenger cars ready and it'll look good on the track with my New York Central F3's.