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Spirit
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 Posted - March 17 2014 : 09:15:06 AM
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Hello,
I'm brand new to this site and apologize in advance for my ignorance. I received for Christmas a brand new Tyco Spirit of 76 train set as a child. It was amazing, however, it never ran correctly. It would travel a small distance and chirp or squeak, sometimes, enough to de-rail some of the cars. My father took it to a local repair shop or called the shop (remember we're talking the '70's) and the guy told him it might need some oil or the track was dusty. This thing was brand new out of the box and malfunctioning. My father had just built the track. Nothing we tried successfully resolved the problem and I eventually received a stream loco probably for my b-day. I can't tell you what made me remember this train set but the other day it crossed my mind. I called my mother and she informed me that it's still in the attic. I would love to repair this thing, if that's even possible, and pass it on to my children. Any suggestions are greatly welcomed.
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Posted - March 17 2014 : 10:37:46 AM
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| Hello and welcome to the site. The chirp or squeaking is from lack of oil. Your locomotive need some oil but the key is to not to overdo it and it put it in the right place. BriansTyco has a great tutorial here that details how to lube your locomotive.
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Posted - March 17 2014 : 10:52:55 AM
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I'd say a visit to your mother is in order.
Then, once you have the engine, you'll need to clean off the wheels and all electrical contacts. The gear grease has probably hardened to the consistency of candle wax so replacing that with some fresh grease would be good. I use some white gear grease from LaBelle, but even Vaseline would be better than wax. A very small drop of light oil on the motor bearings would be a good thing, too.
While it's apart, look for obvious things wrong, like gears out of place or some sort of flash making the axles or gears bind.
After that, diagnosing a problem is a case of isolating it. Run wires straight from the power pack to the motor to see if it runs smoothly without all the possible points of failure between track and wheel or in the locomotive wiring. If you can conveniently separate the motor from what it drives, see if it runs well alone and if the mechanism rolls smoothly without the motor in the way.
I've had motors chirp because the brushes were cruddy where they rub on the commutator. If it's easy to remove brushes, you could pull them and rub that surface and put it back together. Be careful, here, that the brush springs don't go flying off to the fabled hidden valley where elephants go to die.
Tinker with enough things and you'll probably spot the problem. Good hunting!
Carpe Manana!
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Spirit
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Posted - March 17 2014 : 11:15:15 AM
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| Thanks, guys! Yep, I suppose step one is a trip home and a visit to the attic. If I can find it I'll post some pics, as well.
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Posted - March 17 2014 : 11:22:39 AM
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Yes, pretty easy fix... I figured out how to do it at age 12 or 13...
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Posted - March 17 2014 : 1:06:10 PM
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quote:Yes, pretty easy fix... I figured out how to do it at age 12 or 13...
Originally posted by walt - March 17 2014 : 11:22:39 AM
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Ya. I always know when a train needs oil or not when I run it. If it runs slow and growls, it needs oil. If it's really choppy, it needs to be cleaned. If it runs fine, well it runs fine.
-Steve
"A lot of modellers out there who go to these train shows see broken HO stuff and go, 'This is useless' when, in reality, they can still be used for modeling whether it's as a prop on your layout or a cool project to make something old new again."
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Posted - March 18 2014 : 8:43:24 PM
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The chirping sound is usually due ( in the Tyco pancake motor ) to lack of oil in the armature bushing, and/or the little gear binding on the big gear. Either one can cause it. Binding in the gear box area where the axles rest in the slots is another area to look at, but doesn't cause the chirp.
Hopefully this attic had adequate ventilation, and didn't get so hot it melted the trains. Severe heat will usually destroy any plastic toy of that era stored for many years. Hopefully it's not in bad shape. Give us an update when you re-acquire this set.
Jerry
works on trains
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Spirit
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Posted - March 19 2014 : 09:46:40 AM
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Jerry,
Thanks for the info. Great point regarding the attic.......I never thought about the heat......I suppose we'll see.
Yes, what you're suggesting seems to correlate with what I remember my father saying he was told nearly forty years ago. It also jives with what the other guys above are suggesting. I just wish my father was still around so I could ask why it never was fixed. I simply can't remember the details......too young at the time. Was it common for them to need oiled right out of the box? Its not like I ran this thing for months on end......it chirped right off the bat.
Anyway, looks like I need to head back home. I'll definitely post pictures.
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Spirit
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Posted - March 24 2014 : 09:22:49 AM
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Gentlemen,
I have bad news. I took a trip home this weekend and spent some time going through my mother's attic........I was unable to find my Spirit of '76. Unfortunately, it's gone. My mother has no memory of ever getting rid of it but she can't speak for my father who very well might have at some point in time. I did find an old Lionel HO that was hers as a child. It's a grey diesel with several cars. I was so disappointed in not finding the '76 I simply didn't pay much attention to her old Lionel.
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Posted - March 24 2014 : 4:42:52 PM
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quote:Gentlemen,
I have bad news. I took a trip home this weekend and spent some time going through my mother's attic........I was unable to find my Spirit of '76. Unfortunately, it's gone. My mother has no memory of ever getting rid of it but she can't speak for my father who very well might have at some point in time. I did find an old Lionel HO that was hers as a child. It's a grey diesel with several cars. I was so disappointed in not finding the '76 I simply didn't pay much attention to her old Lionel.
Originally posted by Spirit - March 24 2014 : 09:22:49 AM
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Well dang it. It's no consolation but that seems to be a common thread, things had a way of disappearing. For some reason parents seem to think these old toys are "just old toys".
It wouldn't be hard to rebuild that set though, the components are out there on ebay, in train shows and yard sales. Could be a lot of fun to put it all back together!
http://tycodepot.com/
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Posted - March 25 2014 : 08:08:39 AM
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quote:Jerry,
Thanks for the info. . Was it common for them to need oiled right out of the box? Its not like I ran this thing for months on end......it chirped right off the bat.
Originally posted by Spirit - March 19 2014 : 09:46:40 AM
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Unfortunately, even today, many modern engines come from the factory lacking adequate lube on the gears and motor. Could be just got missed going down the line, but either way, it's always a good idea to check it when you get one to see if it has any at all. I work on HO stuff now, and have seen guys bring in brand new engines, and the gears in the trucks are bone dry, no lube at all was ever put on them.
I suspect repairing it back then is like now - it costs more in labor time to fix it than it's worth to simply replace it. Shame, but that's how it goes. If you can't work on it yourself, you're gonna pay out the booty. Yes, these old Tyco PT motors had a bad rep back then, so it was probably not uncommon to have them chirp and squeal out the box when new.
Jerry
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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