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  1. M

    Lionel What was I thinking?

    Great explanation, Louis! I just wanted to add for the benefit of other folks out there, virtually this same explanation holds true for 3-rail O-gauge too, where "O-scale" is more of a suggestion rather than an strict mandate.
  2. M

    Lionel What was I thinking?

    Absolutely! Right on the money! The bigger the radius, the better. No matter what scale you choose. And the same goes true for with switches (turnouts). The bigger the radius (or number) that you have room for, the better your trains will operate! Yes, that's the universal remote! Although...
  3. M

    Lionel What was I thinking?

    Hi Louis and Mr. Steve, I'm fairly confident that a Lionel Universal Remote will run everything that Steve has, seeing as how it appears to be all newer production (LionChief Plus 2.0 and later). At around $55.00~$65.00 or thereabouts price point, it would be more than affordable enough to...
  4. M

    Sawdust? What can I use for HO sawdust?

    You might try...................... A rectangular slab of pink foam to fit in each trailer. Carve the top of it to look like a pile of sawdust, then sand smooth with a fine grit sandpaper (say around 240 grit or so). Lastly, paint it with an appropriate sawdust color of cheap acrylic craft...
  5. M

    Conway Arkansas Train Show, August 22&23rd 2026

    Rats, a little too far away for me to attend. Some pic's and/or videos would be nice, if you or someone could swing it! 🙂👍
  6. M

    Decal source

    K4 Decals is good source. Lots of road names and scales available. I've purchased quite a few from them over the past several years. Matter of fact, I'm working on painting and decaling a Lionel Standard 'O' box car (true 1/48 scale) right now. K4 Decals Note for 3-rail O-gaugers: For...
  7. M

    Lionel 224 steam engine, questions on motor and tender

    Same here. In addition to re-facing the armature from my 1655 loco, I also ended up refurbishing the E-unit. The finger tips, while not bent, were darn near worn through right at their drum contact point. Every last finger on this particular unit! I cut some new tips from some .005" or .006"...
  8. M

    Lionel 224 steam engine, questions on motor and tender

    Glad you found your problem. Excellent E-unit repair video by Grampy's Lionel Trains. I like his videos, they're generally straight and to the point. In lieu of the pry bar shown in the video, I use a Mini 4" End Cutter-Nipper, which you should be able to find anywhere that sells tools...
  9. M

    Lionel 224 steam engine, questions on motor and tender

    Check the field coil (the windings on the motor frame) for continuity. Check the field coil wires where they are soldered to other wires or frame ground, to make sure they are making good contact. Also, make sure ALL the fingers on the E-unit are lightly touching the rotating drum. Be very...
  10. M

    Lionel 224 steam engine, questions on motor and tender

    Good points. I'm starting to think that with Blk6999's level of experience, your advice may be a far better route for him to take for now. Like you say, playing with wheel removal can wait for another day. A simple cleaning of the commutator faces and brush holders (tubes) should go a long...
  11. M

    Lionel 224 steam engine, questions on motor and tender

    Try blowing your armature out with some compress air or spray it with some CRC Contact Cleaner. This should clean it up if any copper dust got somewhere it shouldn't. Also, you can't just touch the hot and neutral wires to the brushes, like you would with a DC motor. Since the AC motor has...
  12. M

    How do you store your empty locomotive and rolling stock boxes?

    Probably depends somewhat what scale you are in. For instance, I was into N-scale for a couple of decades, and have amassed enough N-scale to stock a small hobby shop (or so it seems). Since N-scale takes up so little room, I have virtually all the boxes/cases/containers that they all came in...
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    Lionel 224 steam engine, questions on motor and tender

    Hello Folks, Sorry I'm a little late to the party, but with Bruette's excellent write-up and the video posted by Marlin39, virtually all of Blk6999's questions were very well answered without my help. Which was definitely a good thing! 😁 It just so happened that I had a non-running Lionel...
  14. M

    I've got a very BAD habit

    You need to spend a few days at my place. I'll have you cured of that silliness in no time at all! 🤪
  15. M

    Lionel's 0-27 sized Big Boy

    Although I've been into model trains ever since I was a young boy, in both HO and N scale, I got a late start in life with 3-rail O-gauge trains. And while originally attracted to the full 1/48 scale size, the past handful of years have found me becoming more enamored with the slightly smaller...
  16. M

    Missing Member

    This fellow and his post, by any chance...............................? RetiredInIowa
  17. M

    Mineral oil in a pinch?

    Plain old vegetable oil would work, too. It not only smokes good, it smells really good (some say like french fries 🤪). However, there are a couple of caveats with continuously using food-grade smoke oils, or "smoke fluids". One item is the fact that they don't evaporate after vaporization...
  18. M

    Frustrated can’t get to work Lionel legacy system

    Come to think of it, I have a Lionel Legacy locomotive that I run with only a CW-40 transformer for power and a Universal Remote for control. Although quite limited in what the Universal Remote offers (namely forward-reverse, bell, horn, front & rear couplers, and crew talk) it does everything...
  19. M

    Frustrated can’t get to work Lionel legacy system

    I'm no expert by any means on the subject, as I do not own any of these systems (yet)! But doing some quick research, apparently you need a Legacy Cab-2 remote with the 992 command base charger (990 Legacy Command Base Set # 6-14294), along with your Legacy Powermaster and your 180w power...
  20. M

    I need help making a relay operated two train O gauge layout

    Glad you like my ideas. I THINK they will work (whenever I try to think, it hurts, ya' know!🤪). In addition, you may or may not need to use the insulated rail idea for other turnouts on the layout, I didn't take time to study the route for them in the video. Come to think of it, a master...




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