1950 Lionel Union Pacific O scale

[BR60103]

jgregor: There's a place where there may be damage: the horn required a battery to operate and these were often left in when the loco was stored and then leaked.

There is also a lever on the lcomotive that turns the reversing unit (called an Eunit) on and off. Check out the olsens site for instructions.

[lionelsoni]

Some people here have greases that they swear by; but I just use ordinary automotive bearing grease.

[dwiemer]

Don't worry about the questions, there are others who are starting out and may gleen some information for themselves.  I would not just spray degreeser into the truck, you can't be carefull about where it goes and you want to avoid any fluid getting onto the brushes and armature.  If you follow the instrucions on Olsen's site or if you purchase a Greenberg's guide to postwar train repair, you should be able to do a fairly good job of servicing your engine.  One thing to be sure to check, many older transformers have cracked power cords, check and if so, either replace the cord, or the transformer.  You can get a #1033 postwar transformer off Ebay for about $15.00.  This is a good unit and may be worth it if yours is bad.

Welcome to this forum and please come back, ask the questions and update us with your progress.

Dennis

[Anonymous]

jgregor,

A clean and properly lubed 1950 Alco #2023 will ordinarily go like a jack-rabbit. May I respectfully suggest starting with the U and B terminals rather than U and A.

The reason is that U-B gives you a throttle range of 6 - 16 volts (moderate) whereas U-A gives a range of 10 - 20 volts. Try U-B first and move up to U-A if and when you need the extra juice -- and are willing to forgo slow-speed operations.

It doesn't really matter at this stage, but I believe Lionel's convention for a single-throttle transformer like the 1144 would suggest connecting the U post to the center rail and the B post to one of the outside rails.

Hope this reaches you before your wonderful new locomotive goes sailing off your workbench....

Incidentally, I doubt that your transformer is "bad." It sounds as if  you connected the track to one of the fixed voltage combinations (A-B = 6 volts fixed) which would explain both the snail's-pace and total lack of throttle control.

Check the site at Olsen's (link posted above) and DO follow the advice of replacing the cord if it shows any signs of cracking or crumbling.

And please post your progress.

[Anonymous]

I will have to check when i get home, if  not i will try that.  Not to go backwards but can i spray engine degreaser in the truck to clean out the old grease?  What kind of grease should i replace it with and how much?  Sorry for all the questions, i am new and i ma getting very interested in it.

 

[lionelsoni]

Okay.  You should wire terminals A and U to the track.  Is that what you did?

[Anonymous]

The transformer i have looks like this one:

1144 Multivolt Transformer

[lionelsoni]

If you can't find any numbers or letters on the transformer, look through these http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/searchcd2g.htm and see if you can find it.  Or describe it in a little more detail:  What size, how many terminals, labels on the terminals, shape of "knobs", etc.  It sounds like you might have wired to the wrong transformer terminals and put a constant accessory voltage on the track.

[Anonymous]

What about the transformer, should i have it rebuilt?  I'm not sure of the exact model number.  It is black a black knob for direction and whistle and a red one for speed.  One of the things i noticed when the train was running is that it wasn't responsive to where i had the speed selected on the transformer.  The train also didn't respond to the direction knob.

[lionelsoni]

Yes.  Take a single screw out of the bottom of the power truck to separate the motor and truck.  Clean out the old grease with Q-tips, screwdriver, paper towels--whatever works.  It doesn't have to be antiseptic before you put new grease in.  Here is the service information for that locomotive:  http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/2023.htm

It's up to you whether you want to clean it yourself.  It's not particularly tricky to do.  Unless the wiring is clearly deteriorated, there is no need to rewire.

[Anonymous]

Can the truck be taken apart so it can be cleaned and greased easier?  What is the best way to replace the grease?  I have a quote of 45.00 to have the engine rewired and cleaned, does that sound like something should do?

[lionelsoni]

That is probably the 2023 "anniversary ALCO":  1950 was Lionel's 50th anniversary.

It sounds like the track and perhaps the locomotive's wheels need cleaning.  Clean the track with Scotch Brite.  Clean the wheel treads with whatever will scrape off the black stuff that might be caked on them.  You will probably also need to replace the grease in the worm gear between the motor and the truck and on the spur gears on the side of the truck, and oil the axle bearings.

[Anonymous]

My father in-law recently gave me a train set that was his when he was a child.  I have never really been into trains but after getting this older train in good condition it has kind of sparked an interest.  It was purchased in 1950 (still has the receipt) and it is a Lionel Union Pacific Diesel O scale.  I know next to nothing about model trains but i set up a small oval just to see if it would run.  After a few sparks it did slowly move along the tracks but it was making a lot of sparks at the tracks and wasn't moving very well at all.  I cleaned the armature and brushes and tried it again, it moved a little better but still not very well.  Are there any hints or tips you could give me so i don't end up burning up the motor.