Echo "Classic Rail" smoke issue

[darkknightdetec]

(I hope this isn't a dumb question--I'm very new to this)

Hello, I have an Echo toys "Classic Rail" train from the early 90s.  Its a G-scale, entirely plastic train.  Anyway, I took it out of the box for the first time in about ten years, and I'm having problems getting the smoke maker to work.  Its a small box that sits in the smokestack with two holes in it--one is for putting smoke oil in, and the other is the exhaust.  There is a tube that connects the exhaust down to near where the box that creates the whistle is.  There are also two electrical wires coming from the power source of the train that connect directly to the smoke maker box.  Now (again I'm new at this) I've heard these things work by generating electrical heat, which causes the oil to evaporate.  However, the smoke maker box never seems to get hot at all, and therefore no smoke of any kind is created.  I've tried a bunch of solutions, but none of them seem to work.  I feel like its an electrical problem with the wires going into the box, but I'm not completely sure of that.  If anyone on this forum has any ideas I would really, really appreciate it.

[cacole]

I have no experience with your particular brand or model, but many G-scale steam engines with smoke generators have a toggle switch somewhere to turn the smoke on and off so the heater doesn't burn out if it contains no fluid.

Look at the back of the boiler, inside the cab, and see if there's a slide switch in there that may be marked as turning the smoke on or off.  Another possible location would be behind the front of the boiler if it can be opened.

If you can't find a switch, the smoke generator may be burned out from running without fluid.

[darkknightdetec]

There is a switch--it controls the train whistle, whose air in turn is supposed to cause the smoke to rise up.  When you turn the switch off, there is no smoke or whistle.  But when I have it on, I'm getting whistle but no smoke.  

What do you mean by "burning out" the smoke generator?  How exactly does that happen?

[cacole]

darkknightdetec

What do you mean by "burning out" the smoke generator?  How exactly does that happen?

The smoke generator is a heating element, usually consisting of nothing more than a few windings of very thin nichrome, or electrical heater wire, around some type of ceramic core.  With no fluid in the generator, the element overheats and the wire burns through.

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