Hello all..
Been busy on the REAL railroad, and finally got a chance to get caught up. We are a go to start the layout around the circumferance of our game room. In the meantime, I got the track and engine up and running around the Xmas tree lol...
2 items I've found to be problems on the 675 2-6-2 engine. 1: The headlight does not work. THe actual light socket is missing. The light is in a clip on the inside of the front "boiler" cover, and the wires are actually soldered to the light base. The light does not work :( 2: I bought repro smoke pellets, and put them down the stack. Nope..nada..no smoke. What's the best way to troubleshoot the smoke unit?
Also, any maintenance tips on oiling/cleaning the brushes, gears, etc? I got a book but it's not what I was looking for...I'm looking for a good maintenance book for Lionel stuff.
Olsen's Toy Train Parts will fix you up with the light parts you need, as well as any smoke units parts. However, you should only put ONE pill at a time down the stack. More than one will clog the smoker and it will not smoke at all.
Jim
Modeling the Baltimore waterfront in HO scale
Did this engine EVER work with smoke pills? I believe the very early units used the light to activate them, so, no light, no smoke. My 675 works fine with smoke fulid. I don't know if it had been converted, but I seem to remember reading that the later "pill units" (non light-activated) also work with fluid. Joe
it has the heater type unit for the smoke pills...
What am I looking for resistance wise to determine if it's good or not? I have an ohm meter now, so I can do that.
Bob Nelson
yallaen,
Here is the step by step proceedure for disassembling a 675/2025:
1. Pull boiler front out of boiler casting, then pull socket out of clip on front.
2. Remove screw securing front truck, then remove the screw that is now exposed (holds smoke unit.
3. Remove screw from each center driver and also the screws that hold eccentric cranks to boiler. This allows the eccentric cranks and crosshead rods to be removed.
4. Remove two screws holding steam chest to boiler, then slide steam chest forward to remove.
5. Remove transverse screw pin from fireman's (left) side of boiler.
6. Finally, remove the screw from the top of the boiler to complete disassembly.
To reassemble, simply follow the steps in reverse order. Hope this Helps.
jimtrumpie wrote:...To reassemble, simply follow the steps in reverse order. Hope this Helps.
...To reassemble, simply follow the steps in reverse order. Hope this Helps.
Easier said than done, it does take some finesse.
Take some digital pics of each view/angle of the loco for reassembly reference.
Also yallaen, it may LOOK like the wire for the headlamp is soldered to the bulb, but a close inspection should reveal that the bulb is screwed in to a threaded brass sleeve that clips into the boiler front.
Rob
Once you get things open, you might want to take a look at the smoke unit and clean things out while you're in there.
To open the smoke unit, just stick a screwdriver in the big hole in the center, and pry out the cap. Sometimes it will take a fair amount of force, since the old pellets tend to act like glue and some were even glued shut at the factory.
You can use a variety of solvents to clean things out, and then I'd suggest using a drill bit to ream out the small air hole. This should get things working very nicely.
Hi all..
Took the steamer apart..kinda dirty inside. I took some pics, but don't know how to post them here. My wife has Shutterfly, and I posted them to Shutterfly..how do I get the URL's to put here so people can see the pics and what I'm talking about?
Never mind..figured out posting pics..here are some pics of the problem areas...
yallaen wrote:Never mind..figured out posting pics..here are some pics of the problem areas...
That is obviously not the right bulb. The right one is a small globe screw base 1447 type, in a brass base.
The brushes look like they need replacement.
Look here for smoke unit parts from www.ttender.com:
ttender also has just the nichrome wire for .20 / foot.
So, would it be better to upgrade to the "newer" version of the smoke pellet, or even better, to upgrade to the liquid smoke unit?
I have the 1447 bulb, but no brass socket. without the socket..could I do what the previous owner did? SOlder the wire to the bulb bottom? I tested the current light with an ohm meter, and am getting resistance, so I know it's a good bulb..perhaps the bulb is too "big" and is why it's not working?
Also...the inards of this thing are really gunky and dirty. The brushes ride on a...strator (can't remember electrical names). I was thinking of using rubbing alcohol to clean all the gunk up. I also have GooGone..which worked great on the O22 switches I had...
I only have 3 in One household oil for wheels, etc. That ok? I dont have any grease/lube..can something that can be used be bought at hardware store or automotive store? I'd like to get this thing back together in time for Xmas lol..and I dont know if I'll have time to get to the local hobby store
"So, would it be better to upgrade to the "newer" version of the smoke pellet, or even better, to upgrade to the liquid smoke unit?"
Either way, the pellet type element is only about 6.50 and can be used with liquid or pellets.
"I have the 1447 bulb, but no brass socket. without the socket..could I do what the previous owner did? SOlder the wire to the bulb bottom? I tested the current light with an ohm meter, and am getting resistance, so I know it's a good bulb..perhaps the bulb is too "big" and is why it's not working?"
The bulb gets it's ground connection from the spring holder on the boiler front, so it has to be all together to work - snapped in to the boiler front & boiler front grounded through the frame to the outside rails.
"Also...the inards of this thing are really gunky and dirty. The brushes ride on a...strator"
Commutator.
"(can't remember electrical names). I was thinking of using rubbing alcohol to clean all the gunk up. I also have GooGone..which worked great on the O22 switches I had..."
That's all fine.
"I only have 3 in One household oil for wheels, etc. That ok? I dont have any grease/lube..can something that can be used be bought at hardware store or automotive store?"
That's fine too. Very sparingly oil all axles - that includes the armature & all gear axles. The engine will run well. I use Mobil 1 full synthetic in a needle oiler(less than .16/oz.) and Lucas Red 'n Tacky grease(~$5.00 for a lifetime supply at NAPA). Grease is for gears.
"I'd like to get this thing back together in time for Xmas lol..and I dont know if I'll have time to get to the local hobby store"
You'll get it together. Might not smoke at Christmas this year, but it's serviceable for running for sure.
excellent! I'll grab the grease at O'Reilly Auto...and use the goo gone and rubbing alcohol...if I can get the light to work..that would be bonus..alas, no smoke.
I do have another question about the smoke. There is a bar that goes under the cup? How does the whole smoke thing actually work? I know the heater heats the liquid or pellet. But does that bar hit the cup or something? My cup is horribly corroded :(
ADCX Rob wrote:That's fine too. Very sparingly oil all axles - that includes the armature & all gear axles. The engine will run well. I use Mobil 1 full synthetic in a needle oiler(less than .16/oz.) and Lucas Red 'n Tacky grease(~$5.00 for a lifetime supply at NAPA). Grease is for gears.... Rob
... Rob
Good morning. I was wondering where you picked up the needle oiler. I wasted my money on a lube kit from a hobby store. no oiler included, and it was much more expensive than buying what you did. Next time I'll check the forum before a purchase
yallaen wrote:excellent! I'll grab the grease at O'Reilly Auto...and use the goo gone and rubbing alcohol...if I can get the light to work..that would be bonus..alas, no smoke.I do have another question about the smoke. There is a bar that goes under the cup? How does the whole smoke thing actually work? I know the heater heats the liquid or pellet. But does that bar hit the cup or something? My cup is horribly corroded :(
That is not corrosion, it's actually hardened smoke pellet residue from overfilling the smoke unit or tipping the loco while still hot. The common misconception with pellet-type smokers was "more is better", but actually one pellet was good for sometimes years of operation for most seasonal operators. There is that first "plume" for the first minute after a new pellet is pretty impressive, but once the output tapers off, it will smoke for hours. Adding another, which almost always happened, causes overfilling & spillage.
You need to clean up & clean out your smoke unit. The lower cup riding on the smoke lever
is the piston, the upper part connected to the smoke bowl is the cylinder. The lever is actuated by the crosshead, another tricky part to reassembling a 675.
Study these pics for your 675 to get an idea of how it all goes together:
675/2025 Parts/Exploded Diagrams
jakeoregano wrote: ADCX Rob wrote:That's fine too. Very sparingly oil all axles - that includes the armature & all gear axles. The engine will run well. I use Mobil 1 full synthetic in a needle oiler(less than .16/oz.) and Lucas Red 'n Tacky grease(~$5.00 for a lifetime supply at NAPA). Grease is for gears.... RobGood morning. I was wondering where you picked up the needle oiler. I wasted my money on a lube kit from a hobby store. no oiler included, and it was much more expensive than buying what you did. Next time I'll check the forum before a purchase
I started with Labelle Oilers, 1/2 oz. bottle (101,104,107,108) and I refill with 0W-20 or 5W-30 Mobil 1.
I also have a few precision oilers form Radio Shack. I'm not sure if they carry them any more, with the terrible direction those stores have gone in recent years.
The light circuit is very simple. The wire that you found soldered to the center contact should go to the pickups, but possibly not directly: It may go to a terminal of the e-unit and there to the pickups. As was said, the shell of the lamp base is the return and connects through the clip to the frame of the locomotive. You can certainly use the arrangement that you found, in the absence of a socket. All the socket does for you is to make it unnecessary to get out the soldering iron to change lamps.
There is a very simple modification that you might want to consider, to get directional lighting: Remove the wire that is soldered to the lamp and replace it with a wire from the lamp to one of the motor brushes. (Which brush determines in which direction the lamp will light.)
Rob, thanks for the info on the oilers. In my shopping travels today, I'll look for them at Radio Shack. (Yeah, I STILL have to finish Christmas shopping). I'll post if they still carry them.
Regards,
Jakeoregano (aka Dwayne)
Ok, I've re-assembled the steamer, and to my delight, it works! Well, that is except the smoke unit and the headlight. The smoke unit is kaput..I'll have to get on Olson's and order some parts. The cap for the unit is cracked and messed up as well.
But I'm perplexed by the headlight. I'll need some savvy people to help me with this, so pardon my ignorance. LOL, I tried to call my Dad who's an electrical engineer and used to own a 675 growing up (and handed it to me and I had it in a box in our garage and it leaked...guess where). So, to trouble shoot, here is what I have:
I have a multi-meter from Walmart (no, not very great, but it should do the purpose). I remembered that OHMS were for resistance, and there was resistance across the light bulb, so the bulb is good. I measured resistance from one end of the wire soldered to the bulb, to the other end where it is soldered onto the engine..and it's good. So...
I SHOULD be able to put the engine in "neutral", and give it some juice..and measure to see if there is current coming from the wire to the bulb, correct? Help me here...I'm guessing I want the multimeter set for 20V AC, correct? I should take one lead to the wire, and the other to ground, and I SHOULD get a voltage reading, right? Sigh..wished I paid more attention to these things growing up lol
The bulb must be snapped into the boiler spring to provide the "-" for the bulb, the wire goes to the center rail pickup(but maybe not directly) for the "+" for the bulb.
If the resistance of the bulb is too high, it will not illuminate. Change the bulb, almost any 12-14-18v bulb will do in a pinch.
Gonna change out to a true 1447 bulb..need to solder it in there...i'll post details later
WE HAVE LIGHT!!! That did the trick..broke out the new bulb, new soldering iron...changed it out and TADA! Now to order the new smoke generator from Olson's...
Hey all! Happy New Year first..
Ok, I got the replacement smoke unit and bulb socket from Olson's yesterday. I have time to tackle the project now..so I'm removing the smoke unit and replacing it. I also have the correct light bulb socket. However, there is a hole in the bottom of it..and no place to solder the wire to...did I forget to order something else?
I'll let everyone know the outcome of the project here is a bit..I'm using the computer desk as my workbench lol...I'll post pics of my game room and ideas later as well.
Yep, there's supposed to be a little black washer that fits down in the socket, so the wire can be soldered to it. You would think that would come with the socket. I don't know of a substitute for this piece. You may have to order it.
Mike S.
TADA!!! We HAVE SMOKE!!! But I noticed one of the screws for the driver assembly (the one that goes into the wheel) is slightly stripped and bent :( But other than that...everything works!
Now to work on the switches...
Ok, here's one more thing...the rear truck wheels..very wobblly. I got another CORRECT spring for the rear truck. I have to put that on..but forgot to order the rivet :( But with the rear wheels sooo sloppy and loose..they spark all over the place crossing the switches...any ideas?
Hi,
This is a little late, but I found your post pretty coincidental. Maybe you have gotten the light fixed, but in case not you may find this helpful. I bought a 675 off of e-bay some time ago and found the same identical problem you had with the wire soldered directly to the end of the bulb. It worked, but I found the parts and repaired it. The socket, washer, and bulb parts are available. I have a book that shows a schematic of Lionel locos, etc, but the same thing with parts IDs can be found at http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/searchcd1.htm. I found and got the parts from http://trainexchange.com/. The owner is very helpful, and is a Lionel encyclopeadia, but probably any on-line parts retailer still have these parts. Finally, after I made the repair, I tested the light with the boiler front off, and it didn't work. I finally figured out that the lamp socket has to be in the clip on the boiler, apparently it must serve as a ground, and then it worked like new.
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