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 Posted - August 25 2013 : 10:00:22 AM
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I found this sweetie at a vendor's table, he said do NOT power it up. Once you look at the side of the engine, where the plastic bubbled up, you can see why, the motor obviously got REALLY hot. I started taking it apart, and wow, it has a slot-car armature just like the PT motors in our Tycos!  There was some copper migration across the contact pad edges, but hadn't shorted fully. There was some junk collected in the gaps, and I've cleaned those out as well. Other than the bubble on the shell, this steam engine looks pretty mint. I will see if I can resurrect it somehow. It also has a split frame like the Bachmann engines, not easy to work on. I got the tender with it, so it can be a shelf queen if nothing else, for $5 I couldn't go wrong, I bought quite a bit of other Lionel HO from the vendor, everything, including the engines, were all $5. I got a BN, an American Freedom diesel, among others. Oh, he did have a Lionel F7 powered by another maker, Western Maryland 304, SUPER nice shape, $10, and since I am in the locale of WM, and have an interest in it ( and 304 is a V-8 motor by American Motors carmaker ), I got that one, too.  That was a good stop for me, acquiring quite a bit of Lionel HO, in the boxes no less ( except the engines ) for so cheap. Shhh! Don't tell the wife, I'm not supposed to be buying trains, I'm supposed to be selling some of mine! 
Jerry
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
Edited by - AMC_Gremlin_GT on August 25 2013 10:12:33 AM
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Posted - August 25 2013 : 10:22:35 AM
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this should be a 4-8-4 not a 2-8-4 
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Posted - August 25 2013 : 8:54:48 PM
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quote:this should be a 4-8-4 not a 2-8-4
Originally posted by microbusss - August 25 2013 : 10:22:35 AM
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Gosh, you are right, Ben! Two more wheels magically appeared after you commented! I just missed them.   Anyway, the SP is now resurrected, after cleaning, I put it back together, and powered it up, and....nothing. Light up front came on, no wheel movement. I tried moving them by hand, they would make an occasional movement. Still dead. Ok, so I then proceed to take the plastic plate off covering the drive wheel axles. Pull it off, look at it...BONE dry, no grease anywhere! Yikes. No wonder it wouldn't move! I pulled each axle up, got some grease on them, and the gears, and put it back together. Still didn't want to move on it's own. Ok, loosen the screws holding down the brushes, aaaaaaaaaaaaand....takeoff! Looks like tightening down the brushes too far puts too much pressure on the armature. So I left the screws about 1 turn loose, and now the engine is running okay. So with the mechanical part fixed, the next question is, do I try to "fix" the bubble in the plastic, or leave it alone? I have a heat gun at work, I can make a shield to keep the heat off the rest of the plastic ( I hope! ), but could make it worse. Opinions?
Jerry  
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - August 25 2013 : 9:15:54 PM
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Amazing it still runs after getting that hot. The plastic cover plate probably melted a little, which would explain why it traps the armature. I say "NO!" to the heat gun (tried that trick by holding a warped plastic pilot above a soldering iron to straighten it... lived to regret it), but yes to putty and sandpaper. Or you could just say the hogger let too much pressure build up in the boiler. 
That's the first version of the pancake motor, and they were quieter than the ones in an all plastic housing that came later.
The Tyco Depot
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Posted - August 25 2013 : 9:36:18 PM
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quote:Amazing it still runs after getting that hot. The plastic cover plate probably melted a little, which would explain why it traps the armature. I say "NO!" to the heat gun
That's the first version of the pancake motor, and they were quieter than the ones in an all plastic housing that came later.
Originally posted by NickelPlate759Â -Â August 25 2013Â :Â 9:15:54 PM
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Luckily, it appears the plastic armature cover plate did NOT warp, I was surprised myself that it was / is still flat and true. According to my eyes.... Anyway, I should probably put some oil on the bronze bushings, as I doubt those have any lube, either.
As for the heat-gun approach...yer probably right, just leave it alone. I may take a stab at it sometime, though. Otherwise the shell looks awesome. Not bad for $5. Well, 10, the tender cost me a nother 5, as they were charging per piece...still a great deal in my opinion. Glad it's got the metal-cased armature, then, I will try to run this thing a bit now.
Jerry
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - August 26 2013 : 6:08:03 PM
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What, a Botchmann factory defect? Say it ain't so!
Maybe a thrust washer under one or more of the screws would give the armature enough end play.
These older units also have the drivers screwed on, and I think the axle ends are keyed, which makes them far better than the later ones with the magic splitting axles.
The Tyco Depot
Edited by - NickelPlate759 on August 26 2013 6:09:02 PM
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