My 671 Turbine and GG1 work fine on 027 track in case you want to run a tighter circle (ie: smaller layout). That being said, I did convert over to the Lionel Fastrack due to the convenience that track offers. On old trains I find I always try to clean as much of the old oils and grease away as possible first, then re-lubricate using Lionel's recommendations as a "suggestion" as there are better lubricants out there today (you can do online searches and find most of the instructions for the trains you own, or similar one, which will give you maintenance information. In regard to the 671 you will need to take off the shell. Back in the day, that was just part and parcel of owning a train, being a little mechanical minded, so many today are not). DO NOT use 3 in 1. No no. I use sewing machine oil for all the locations Lionel says to use oil on and a molly based lubricant where they say to use grease. I've brought back to life some non-running engines from the 20's and 30's this way without anything more then a good cleaning and oiling. Of course on these real old ones once you get it running you find you need to fix other issues like wiring where the insulation has dried up and come off. I replace the insulation with shrink wrap tubing. Saves the original wiring and I only need to unhook one end of the wire to slide the tubing on helping to keep everything straight.

In case anyone else buys one and wants to know, no, the Blue Comet does not come with a whistle on ts sound board. Research found when they first tried the sound of steam they did have a whistle on their earlier attempts with it but they would fail often so they discontinued the whistle portion of the sound board. Do what I did, buy another baggage car and add the guts from a whistle tender to it. Having the spare car keeps the value of the set intact. Sounds good too.

Well, I just took this track out. After careful observation I noticed each time a train ran over it the circuit breaker light on my TW would flicker on and off and on my shorter engines where I had the e-unit set to work it would stop the train. I suspect I have a defective track. Will try trouble shooting it later. A short may explain why the milk cars work fine when run straight off the TW but not off the track. Now for the next question and lets see if I get any replies on it.

Well, in case anyone has these cars or ones like them, the windows are part of the roof. They have little wedges molded in, 2 per side, one front, one rear, that lock into a window frame. All you have to do is gently push those in on both sides (start on one end, then go to the other) and gently lift off the roof. Near impossible to figure out. BUT-i did fit an old postwar whistle inside that fits. Bought another car like it to have a non molested one to go with the set but it does now have a whistle with the ever so hi tech sound of steam.

Larry, locking the e-unit is not a "fix" for this problem as the e-unit was/is a design function for these trains. If there was an "interruption of power" it would not elect what vintage the engine was to interrupt yet we both have this issue with the vintage engines, not, in my case, with the more modern engines even thought they have the same pickups as the older version. Yes, I bandage the problem by doing what you suggest but again, it is a bandage that does not allow use of the full features the engine offers. I've had this happen when using my whistle at times too on these older engines. It almost seems like something happens to the current at some of these track junctions or use of electrical functions which fakes the early (or perhaps more worn) e unit into thinking there was a power interruption.

I had the same issue with the tenders, fine when they had all the juice but not with an engine. Ultimately I replaced the rectifier disc with a diode and now they work fine while with the engine. Don't understand how a copper disc wears out, but they do over time. Just s thought.

My ZW transformer has an issue, 2 if you count the fact that it is on each side. The whistle doesn't work. In fact, it acts the same as the direction function. I've already rundown the wiring and confirmed all is connected and where it should be. I cleaned the contacts, I added a solid state circuit breaker. Everything else works like it should. I'm at a loss. Any ideas?