Show Posts - twissmann

Hello Frank. Welcome aboard! I’d be curious to see pictures of the things you have. If you want to PM me on Facebook Messenger, that would be more secure. Thanks, Tom

You have what’s called Lionel tinplate O Gauge track that the original Lionel Corporation made before 1970 in New York. As you’ll notice on each of the 3 railroad ties that hold the rails in place, they have a stamp on them that say Lionel and NY. That size railroad tie distinguishes the difference between O Gauge track, and O27 track. O27 is the same width as O Gauge track, but it’s railroad ties are smaller in height, and the rails are a little thinner. When you make a complete circle in O Gauge track using standard curve sections, it will make a circle 31 inches in diameter, and requires 8 pieces of curved track to make a complete circle. O27 track requires 8 pieces of curved sections as well, but it has a tighter radius diameter of 27 inches. So when you purchase track, make sure you ask for tinplate O Gauge track. You can find this track at any good Hobby shop in your area that sells Lionel trains and accessories. If one is not easily accessible to get to, you can always shop the Internet such as a Trainworld.com, Charles Ro Supply, Grzyboski Trains, etc etc, or you can go on eBay.com and search Tinplate O Gauge Track, or even VINTAGE O Gauge track and find some good original tinplate O Gauge track that was made made in the USA back in the day, and not in China where they’re made today. (Vintage track actually feels a little stronger and sturdier than current production made tinplate track) Either case, that’s what you want to look for to match the track you currently have, that originally was your Fathers’ when he was a boy. Do not be talked into purchasing the new Lionel Fastrack. It’s beautiful track, but it’s not compatible with your Tinplate track, unless you purchase an adaptor track they produce and then purchase all new trackage. It starts to get costly at this point. Stick with what you have. It’s still great time proven track and full proof. I use it myself for my 2 running holiday train displays every year. I just says Lionel to me underneath my Christmas tree.I hope this helps you out. Tom

Checking to see if the air hole in the smoke chamber is clogged is a great idea, but you need to know where that is. It’s located underneath the chamber. Use a a toothpick to clean out the airway. The piston that goes up and down is what pushes air through that little hole which in turn pushes the smoke out of the smokecstack. Also, do not put in too many pills. This will not allow the heating element to heat up correctly to the proper temperature to get it hot enough to generate the smoke needed. I recommend putting the locomotive on the track, turn the power on the track enough to cycle the E-unit into neutral, then turn the E-unit off to stop the humming noise, and then turn the power all the way up to the maximum. This will then make the heating element get to a good heating temperature to start producing smoke and burn off any excess smoke pellets you may have in the smoke chamber. If you start seeing and smelling smoke, manually move the locomotive back and forth on the track making sure the wheels are turning in order for it to move the smoke unit lever, and then to see if there’s any smoke puffing out. This will be a good test to see if your smoke piston is working properly to push the smoke out before you start taking anything apart to clean. If it starts to puff out smoke, you’re good to go then. If not, then you will have to take the boiler off and do a little preventative maintenance on the smoke unit and check to see if everything is in motion with the smoke unit lever, the piston moving freely up and down, and check to see if the air hole is clogged underneath the smoke chamber. Try the simple way first, then go from there. I usually found that excess smoke pellets usually needs to be burned off. Lionel built a quality smoke unit back in the day that’s pretty fool proof, but you never know. Let us know how you make out.

If the insulation of the original wire is not exposed or brittle, then yes, resoldering can be a good thing. Old solder does sometimes break away or becomes lose and your electrical connection is impaired. And since you have it apart, it would be a great time to give it a really good cleaning and oiling. Check the gears for any hair, fur, or lose material and remove with pointy tweezers. Lubricate the gears with a light grease that you can purchase at your local hobby retailer, or online through eBay. Lionel sells a lubrication kit with grease, oil, and track clean. That might be your best bet to purchase. When you’re all done, your locomotive should operate like brand new when it first came off the assembly line. Please advise how your project turns out. It will be a fun thing to do, and self gratifying. Happy Thanksgiving!!

A toothpick is a great tool, but you must be careful when Going down into the smoke chamber. The smoke generator is inside that chamber and could potentially break the heating element with the point of the toothpick. Try using as well a q tip swab a little Vaseline petroleum jelly to clean off some of the white residue left behind from the used up smoke pellets around the smoke stack. It’s gentle and it work pretty good. But like the previous response you received, try burning off some of the old smoke pellet residue by putting your 2018 Steam Locomotive in neutral, turn off the E-unit to silence the hum, and turn the power up. That should burn off any remaining smoke pellets left behind. At such time, it would be a good way to determine if the your locomotive if puffing smoke correctly. If so Great. If not, then you will have to check and see if the smoke lever is moving freely. If not, then then you will need to remove the shell, and see what might be either binding up, and if the smoke piston is moving up and down in its chamber. Also, it would be a good time to check and see if the smoke units air hole underneath it is unabstructed from any smoke pellet residue. You can clean that tiny hole with a toothpick without worry, then clean the smoke piston, the chamber it goes into, and make sure the smoke lever moves freely with the cross head. There’s a felt smoke stack gasket in between the smoke unit and the shell. Make sure that’s lined up correctly over the smoke stack as well when putting it back together. You don’t want to block the smoke when the train is running. The 2018 was originally built starting in 1956 - 1958, and again in 1960 and 1961. It’s an exact copy of the 2037 locomotive as well as some other locomotives. The only difference is that it lacks magnatraction, but it’s a great runner no matter what. Good luck and happy railroading.