Need Help With Information on Lionel Train Set


GuilfordRailman

GuilfordRailman

Well-Known Member
I acquired a Lionel train set today from Facebook marketplace! It was only $45! I know very little about Lionel sets and O Gauge.

The gentleman I purchased the set from didn’t have the box or instruction manual and couldn’t remember the name of the set since he bought it so many years ago.

My questions are:

1) Does anyone recognize the set based on the pictures below?

2) The train runs but what do I need to do to service the locomotive and tracks to make them run at their best?

3) What is the switch mechanism on top of the locomotive in the last picture?

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That looks like an MPC set from the 1970s.
The lever on the engine is for the reversing unit. Move it one way, and the E unit will reverse the motor, move it the other way, and it will lock the motor in one direction. That switch is useful if you have dirty track, it will prevent the engine from reversing itself if it loses contact.
 
bnsf971 said:
That looks like an MPC set from the 1970s.
The lever on the engine is for the reversing unit. Move it one way, and the E unit will reverse the motor, move it the other way, and it will lock the motor in one direction. That switch is useful if you have dirty track, it will prevent the engine from reversing itself if it loses contact.
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I’ll see what I can find out about MPC sets online.

Thanks for the help!
 
So I gave the locomotive an official test run and realized there are two issues…

The first is that the locomotive seems to be missing a rubber traction ring on one wheel. Assuming there should be one on each side? The one that is present is worn so I’m looking to get replacements of those. Any recommendations for where to buy them?

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The second issue I noticed is that the train has a wobble to it. This seems to be because one main rod is set more forward as opposed to the other. Unless this is normal? If this isn’t the issue, what else could cause the wobble?

Another question I have is can I send this locomotive to Lionel directly for servicing?
 
bnsf971 said:
That looks like an MPC set from the 1970s.
The lever on the engine is for the reversing unit. Move it one way, and the E unit will reverse the motor, move it the other way, and it will lock the motor in one direction. That switch is useful if you have dirty track, it will prevent the engine from reversing itself if it loses contact.
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You are correct sir, as usual!
 
GuilfordRailman said:
Bruette stated this set was approximately 1971 but I didn’t see any listings for the year. Maybe I just missed it?
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At first glance that is a Lionel Post War Library. (1946-1969)

As Terry said, and I agree, your set is an MPC Era (1970-1986) Lionel set, if it is in fact a set. It could be a set with a replacement locomotive and or other items.

An interesting part of this story is when Lionel was bought out by Model Products Corporation, MPC used any and all of the remaining stock left over from the Post War era. They made up sets with whatever they had. Some are one of a kind! And very valuable if you have a complete set. Most of that was gone by the end of 1970, but not all. Some pieces can be found from 1972 and 1973 or even later in Lionel dealers' inventories.

If we had a box to see that would be an immense help but we can still dig deeper into this. It could take some time. Something I am truly short of now. If you are patient, I will try to go through my books that are packed away. It might take me weeks or even months. Forgive me.
 
Bruette said:
At first glance that is a Lionel Post War Library. (1946-1969)

As Terry said, and I agree, your set is an MPC Era (1970-1986) Lionel set, if it is in fact a set. It could be a set with a replacement locomotive and or other items.

An interesting part of this story is when Lionel was bought out by Model Products Corporation, MPC used any and all of the remaining stock left over from the Post War era. They made up sets with whatever they had. Some are one of a kind! And very valuable if you have a complete set. Most of that was gone by the end of 1970, but not all. Some pieces can be found from 1972 and 1973 or even later in Lionel dealers' inventories.

If we had a box to see that would be an immense help but we can still dig deeper into this. It could take some time. Something I am truly short of now. If you are patient, I will try to go through my books that are packed away. It might take me weeks or even months. Forgive me.
Click to expand...
It didn’t occur to me that it could include different components making up a “false” set!

Unfortunately the person I bought it from no longer had the box as he bought this “set” from someone years ago at a flea market. I have found similar sets online with the main difference being solely the color and road name of the locomotive.

I certainly appreciate the help and don’t feel obligated to get anything done in a set amount of time. I will wait:)

Where I’m at currently is getting the locomotive in “prime” condition, meaning oiling it up and servicing it any way necessary. Mainly what I want to know is where are the oil/grease points on this locomotive? Do I just add a bit of oil onto the gears?
 
GuilfordRailman said:
2) The train runs but what do I need to do to service the locomotive and tracks to make them run at their best?
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A good cleaning along with light weight synthetic oil and synthetic grease. is your basic Maintenace. Oil for all moving parts and grease for the gears.

You will need to replace both traction tires on the locomotive. A cheap, but not so simple fix on a steam locomotive. Easy if you have experience, not so easy if not.

The tracks need to be cleaned. Emory cloth (200-400 grit) is a good start for what you have. High concentrate rubbing alcohol and a cleaner to enhance conductivity is the last step.

GuilfordRailman said:
Another question I have is can I send this locomotive to Lionel directly for servicing?
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They used to, but I'm not sure if they still do. You can contact Lionel customer service by phone at 1-800-454-6635. Lionel Customer Service Representatives are available Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm EST and they are very nice people. At least they used to be.

Don't worry, there are still several other options for service.

Now it is past my bedtime. :D I will follow up with more later.
 
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Bruette said:
A good cleaning along with light weight synthetic oil and synthetic grease. is your basic Maintenace. Oil for all moving parts and grease for the gears.

You will need to replace all the traction tires on the locomotive. A cheap, but not so simple fix on a steam locomotive. Easy if you have experience, not so easy if not.

The tracks need to be cleaned. Emory cloth (200-400 grit) is a good start for what you have. High concentrate rubbing alcohol and a cleaner to enhance conductivity is the last step.


They used to, but I'm not sure if they still do. You can contact Lionel customer service by phone at 1-800-454-6635. Lionel Customer Service Representatives are available Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm EST and they are very nice people. At least they used to be.

Don't worry, there are still several other options for service.

Now it is past my bedtime. :D I will follow up with more later.
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I ordered a kit from Lionel a couple hours ago that contains locomotive lubricant and track cleaner solution. I’ll use that in conjunction with what you recommended.

It could just be my lack of experience with Lionel locomotives but it looks like only one wheel is designed to have the rubber traction ring placed in it. Is it supposed to have rings on all four main drive wheels?

Thanks again for the help thus far! I look forward to your replies later.
 
GuilfordRailman said:
It could just be my lack of experience with Lionel locomotives but it looks like only one wheel is designed to have the rubber traction ring placed in it. Is it supposed to have rings on all four main drive wheels?
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Probably not, as the other wheels need to be bare metal to pick up current from the outer rails. That little roller in the center (seen in post #5) is for picking up current from the center rail.
 
santafewillie said:
Probably not, as the other wheels need to be bare metal to pick up current from the outer rails. That little roller in the center (seen in post #5) is for picking up current from the center rail.
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That makes sense but I would have thought that there needed to be at least one ring on each side of the locomotive?
 
GuilfordRailman said:
So I gave the locomotive an official test run and realized there are two issues…

The first is that the locomotive seems to be missing a rubber traction ring on one wheel. Assuming there should be one on each side? The one that is present is worn so I’m looking to get replacements of those. Any recommendations for where to buy them?

The second issue I noticed is that the train has a wobble to it. This seems to be because one main rod is set more forward as opposed to the other. Unless this is normal? If this isn’t the issue, what else could cause the wobble?

Another question I have is can I send this locomotive to Lionel directly for servicing?
Click to expand...
Hello GuilfordRailman,

For the traction tire, as others have stated, this loco only has one traction tire. And that's all that is really needed. Since model train locos don't have differential units like full size vehicles do when going around turns, putting traction tires on each side of the loco actually causes the wheels to fight each other when going around curved track. Best to let one wheel have traction, and the other wheel to slip slightly on the track. Regardless, a lot of manufacturers still put traction tires on both sides. Go figure.

You should be able to find spare traction tires from someone that sells Lionel parts. And replacing it on this loco should be relatively easy. Simply remove the screw holding the side rod to the wheel, remove and replace the traction tire, then reattach the side rod and screw.

The wobble you're experiencing may be caused by either a bent axle or a wheel out of perpendicular with the axle. Either of which could have resulted from being dropped at one time in its life. Spin the drive wheels and see if one wobbles - if so, then this is causing your wobbling problem. Hopefully it's not a bent axle - this could be hard to fix without knowing how to disassemble locos. If a wheel is out of perpendicular with the axle, you may be able to tap the wheel with a small hammer to realign it. Just have to be careful to not hit it too hard so you don't break something.

To be right honest, this is not one of Lionel's higher quality train sets, but rather, one of the cheapest O27 sets they would have offered whatever year (or years) it was produced. I'm seriously guessing it's not now, nor probably ever will be, highly collectible. However, from your pictures, the loco and cars look to be in very nice condition, and with the track and transformer included, $45 for everything was still not a bad deal on it. Just good, cheap fun. 👍
 
santafewillie said:
Probably not, as the other wheels need to be bare metal to pick up current from the outer rails. That little roller in the center (seen in post #5) is for picking up current from the center rail.
Click to expand...
As Willie said, the center rail is often referred to as "hot", the outer rails are "common" completing the circuit. Old traction tires are ok, but they make your track dirty quickly and will likely fall apart.
 
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