Hello everyone and I'm sorry ..apparently I have made 2 post in the wrong forums...If any moderators could do me a favor could you move my post from general disscusion (model railroader) to hear I am in very desperate need of help with my train...I am new to all of this and am sorry for any inconvienence I may have cause...My post is "Lionel #1120 troubles"
If anyone could read it and make suggestions I would appreciate it greatly...Please post it here so I don't cause any troubles.Thank you !
Thanks,
Dauby
Here is your orginal post.
dauby wrote: Hello everyone.. I am new to this site and would like to say hello to all the members. I am just starting my very first train collection and need some help. I have just recieved an older Lionel #1120 steamer from a friend of mine, and the train only goes into reverse...Is there a "E-Unit" inthis model that can be bad...I have had someone tell me this model is from the 1950's and that it has no "E-Unit" if this is o what can I do to get this train working properly? Any type of info on this type of steamer would be greatly appreciated,as I am starting this collection just in time for Christmas as a set up for around the tree for my children. And then I hope to continue the set by creating my own track set up/ town for hobbying. Thank you very much, Happy Holidays! Dauby
Hello everyone..
I am new to this site and would like to say hello to all the members. I am just starting my very first train collection and need some help. I have just recieved an older Lionel #1120 steamer from a friend of mine, and the train only goes into reverse...Is there a "E-Unit" inthis model that can be bad...I have had someone tell me this model is from the 1950's and that it has no "E-Unit" if this is o what can I do to get this train working properly?
Any type of info on this type of steamer would be greatly appreciated,as I am starting this collection just in time for Christmas as a set up for around the tree for my children. And then I hope to continue the set by creating my own track set up/ town for hobbying.
Thank you very much,
Happy Holidays!
Celebrating 18 years on the CTT Forum.
Buckeye Riveter......... OTTS Charter Member, a Roseyville Raider and a member of the CTT Forum since 2004..
Jelloway Creek, OH - ELV 1,100 - Home of the Baltimore, Ohio & Wabash RR
TCA 09-64284
What you've got there is called a "scout" locomotive. It was a short-lived low-priced line of trains. It doesn't have a separate e-unit. The reversing mechanism is part of the motor, and is none too reliable. There is a lever on the top of the boiler which locks the direction wherever it is when the lever is operated. Yours is probably locked into reverse. Just find the lever and move it to see whether it begins to sequence between forward and reverse.
If that doesn't do the trick, the mechanism is probably stuck somehow. Even if it can't be gotten to work, however, it should at least be possible to get it to run forward all the time instead of backward.
Bob Nelson
Are you sure it's not 1130? The 1100 series was the "Scout", the low cost line in postwar years. It will need a good cleaning if someone hasn't already done that. It should have an E unit, and that should be cleaned. There is info and books out there on doing this. You can go to www.postwarlionel.com for more info about your steamer.
(ooops.... I jumped in late)
From the article this guy is posting ..they are saying it is kinda like the 1101...is that true...I'm not fully understanding the way he has it worded.He's stating something in features bout the 1101...and it having a two position E-Unit...this is in the 1110 posting...and in the 1101 posting it's stating that the 1101 has a 3 posititon E-Unit...man this is getting hard to figure out...I have it in a shop right now and they guy there is telling me that it has a E-Unit..buthe hasn't had time to look at it yet. And I don't wantto hafta pay for something being repaired if it doesn't have it in it...
http://www.postwarlionel.com/cgi-bin/postwar?ITEM=1110
If I do have the E-Unit ...could someone figure out the part number for it...what do I go by to figure out the part number for that model? Sorry if I'm asking alot from you guys..but I am so new to this I still have the new train enthusiast smell to me!
The postwar Lionel web site has numerous errors. I think that the 1101 reference in the 1110 listing is a typographical error. The 1101 does have a 3-position e-unit; but the 1110 and 1120 do not. Instead, as I said, the reversing function is integral with the motor and has only 2 positions, forward and reverse.
An e-unit is a separate mechanism, a specialized type of stepping switch. The so-called 3-position e-unit, used in most postwar Lionel locomotives, swaps the motor-armature connections to accomplish reversing and includes a neutral position in which the armature is not connected. It actually steps through 8 positions--forward, neutral, reverse, neutral, forward, neutral, reverse, neutral--in each revolution.
The 2-position e-unit is equivalent to an alternate-action single-pole-double-throw switch. It alternately grounds one or the other of two field windings of the special motor type that it is meant to be used with.
The characteristic scout reversing function is built into the motor. Part of the magnetic circuit of the motor field is hinged. When the motor is started, it pulls into place and turns two toothed wheels with a pawl. Wipers acting against the wheels route the connections to the brushes, which are mounted in the wheel hubs, to alternate the armature connections. A major weakness of this design is that, if either of the brushes fails to make a connection to its toothed wheel, there is no way to cycle the thing to get another chance. Instead you must operate it manually to get the locomotive going again. This is the reversing mechanism that you have if you have an 1120. The lever to step it manually and to lock it into either direction is on the top center of the boiler. Can you see it there?
The scout motor is notoriously hard to get back together. At the least, you need to study this:
http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/1120.htm
Thanks for the link lionelsoni....and everyone that helped on the info...it's running again! It needed a good ol' cleaning and there was a piece of platic lodged inside that was causing it to not go into reverse. I hope I may be considered a member of this forum since all info was very useful and I am going to continue to grow more fond of the train collecting. I'm hoping to someday lend a helping hand to all of you.I'm very greatlful
Thank you!
HAPPY HIOLIDAYS!
Did you take apart a Scout engine and get it back together?
If so, WOW. I have not been able to do it yet in almost 40 years of working on Lionel trains, but I must admit I have not tried it in over 20 years. Now I have to pull out that box of Scout parts and dig in again!
Rob
Brianel to the rescue. Being a crown prince of low budget trains and being in the hobby on set finanaces (thus learningto make do) I can offer a practical solution Dauby.
The "Scout" motor by Lionel has the reverse mechanism as a internal part of the motor itself operating off a cam. When power is cut off, the cam changes position and the locomotive runs in the opposite direction. These critters were major problems for Lionel from square one. The locomotives are a major pain to work on because when you remove the "brush plate" all the various parts pertaining to the reverse mechanism tend to come flying out at you.
If the locomotive fails at all to reverse, you are going to have to replace one of the cam gears in this loco. I don't have my parts book open in front of me but the part is available, but the job is a HUGE PAIN in the rear end even for an experienced train guy like me.
Even if your Scout DOES run in forward/reverse, they are have one more weakness.....
One thing I've noticed with all my Scouts is that they ride low to the track. Where they have a prone tendency to reverse themselves is on uneven parts of a layout, like Unclupling Tracks and Switches.
My fix is to remove the hollow "ring" style roller pickups (which you literally have to just bend and ruin to remove from the loco). Next you want to solder a feeder wire to the electrical contact that once came in contact with the roller pickup rings. Feed that wire through the slot where the loco to tender folded sheet metal "coupler" is, and crimp on a male bananna plug.
On the tender of the loco, you install two roller pickup assemblies on each truck set, removing the wires that go to the ground - or the outside wheels - just leaving the one wire that goes to the roller for the center rail. The wires off each roller pickup get connected together and run off one wire which you connect a female bananna plug to.
You wnat to leave enough excess wire to all some play so the loco won't derail itself on curves. I've left enough wire length to tuck the bananna connections into the locomotive cab area.
By running the locomotive with the center rail power coming from the tender, you eliminate the tendency of the locomotive to bounce itself into reverse on UC tracks and Switches. This works like a charm for me and has eliminated all accidental reversing of my Scout locos.
brianel, Agent 027
"Praise the Lord. I may not have everything I desire, but the Lord has come through for what I need."
The rings can be removed without bending if you're willing to take the motor apart. However, I would be inclined to leave them in place if adding a tender pickup.
I think that the Scout has a more fundamental problem than unwanted reversing. It is that the reversing mechanism is activated by the motor field, so that, if the contacts that reverse the armature ever fail to close, it cannot be cycled the way a separate e-unit can and must be stepped manually before it will run again. I see no cure for this other than cobbling in an actual e-unit.
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