Howdy all. Today when I got home I had a package at the door...I love this time of year! :)
Anyway, it was an Ives 3252 I had purchased on Ebay. I was glad to see that the paint was better than the pics made out. I put it on the track and got nothing..and the light didn't glow.
I then began to take it apart. The light wasn't hooked up at all, so I spliced it in and it works now. I noticed that the brush plate had been messed with at some point. One "brush" was soldered onto the plate while the other was some thin copper strip sandwiched in between some fiber insulator. It looks kinda hokey.
At any rate I cleaned it up and bent the brushes in a bit and it now will travel around the track pretty good. It most of the time needs a push to get it going.
I did notice that the band that goes around the arm and connects to the electro magnet gets pretty hot. Is this normal? I don't recall ever touching one after it has been running.
Thanks for any thoughts!
Tim
MBL
P.S. this is my first Ives train.
Although i dont run much of my ives, as most is clockwork, i dont believe the heating up to be normal. I would guess it had something to do with the brushes. I believe the 3252's brushplate is screwed on so it shouldnt be too hard to get to the brushes and replace them. You will have to be thrifty though as i don't know of anyone who makes replacement brushes. I've had good luck with brass sheetstock and cut down HO or S brushes. Good luck, Cant tell me those were not ahead of their time. If you tell me the colors of the body and windows i would be more than happy to date it for you. I also will need to know if the frame is Iron or die-cast.
Lets see if I can post a pic .
Haha thats the same one that got me into Ives. Chocolate brown with Terra Cotta window trim. Made in 1922, it came with 60,61,62 Brown Pullmans with olive roofs. Before I was born an elderly relative passed away. Their niece knew my father liked trains and gave them the set they had found in a cupboard in the house. Him and his wife had bought the set to run around the Christmas tree and had no children. the set sits above my bookcases in LN condition. The box also contained a confederate naval Colt revolver. Enjoy the engine, maybe it will spark an interest in you as well. Happy Holidays.
Nice find, Tim. Congrats!
- Clint
Dave
It's a TOY, A child's PLAYTHING!!! (Woody from Toy Story)
Both of the "brushes" seem to be just bent strips of metal..they are not brushes like on prewar Lionel...I think this must be a change that someone made to the brush plate.but perhaps not. I need to see this same motor on the brush side from a different loco. To compare.
I did notice that this engine does not have a revearse switch...which I thought was standard on the 3252. Maybe it was removed, but it I don't know where it would be hooked to.
Does anyone have a picture of the arm side of the brush plate on this engine...or the 3250?
Ivesboy: You mentioned that the 3252 came with the 60,61,and 62 cars. I actually have purchased these on ebay to match the loco...but would this set not have the 68 observation car too? If not then I can stop looking so hard for it.
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