As long as it’s smoking, that’s all that counts. Good luck with your 2026!
Jim
I’m in the process of a fix-it-up on a 2037 that has a short. The wiring looked pretty good, so upon some investigation I found that there were two small metal clips moving about in the space between the motor field and collector plate. I was able to remove one with a pair of needlenose pliars for closer inspect (see pic below). From looking at diagrams I cannot identify what this could be - does anyone know?
Assuming it needs to go back somewhere close to where I found it, it looks like I’ll need to pull the collector off. It’s attached by two rivets (see pic below). Is there a clever way to get this off without filing off the rivets? And, once removed, is it going to be simple to reinstall another pair of rivets in their place?
Buzz bar for super O track. one of mine must of gotten loose and mixed with it . told you it had a rough trip. lol [:D]
DON’T put it back anywhere. It’s part of the track, not the engine… it’s a 31-7 Super O Power Blade Connector - see more HERE.
And many thanks to RTC for the generous offer that made this project possible [:D]
By the way, I think you would have found that removing those rivets would not have gotten the pickup assembly out. It is held in place by tabs on the side of the board that fit into slots in the motor frame. It is very difficult to remove and reinsert. The rivets hold the flat spring that pushes the rollers down against the middle rail.
I have a lionel Prairie type 2037 that I am disassembling. I have got out the screws and the bar, but something is keeping the smoke unit from coming out. Therefore I cannot get out the motor. Anybody know what it is and how I can get out the motor?
Smoke unit is screwed in
How do you get the smoke unit un-screwed so you can get out the motor?
In terms of getting out the motor, you would have to pull off the wheels, and then pull apart he frame. From what I have heard, those units bend rather easily. The screws for the smoke unit would be just behind it, on either side.
My skills don’t go that far, so is there a way to detach the motor from the smoke unit and when I want to get it back in attach it again because all I want to do is clean off the commutator.
Tinplate I think he means the whole thing motor,frame,wheels not just the motor. the smoke unit shouldn’t be holding it in you may need to remove the front end parts and may even need to remove the side rods.
I found that there is something slightly behind and underneath the cowcatcher that is keeping the smoke unit in. It is not screwed in because it’s wiggling around, but will not come out.
I know I’m posting a lot, but I really don’t want to mess up on this. I found that I can detach the e-unit and let it hang, and that will let me get out the motor, but would that do something bad? I will not cut the wires, but letting the e-unit hang would give me just enough room to pull the motor up and out.
All things considered E-Units are pretty robust little things, so letting it carefully hang by the wires shouldn’t cause any problems (assuming the wires’ insulation isn’t so brittle it cracks). You might find it easier to unsolder at least one of the wires, but that’s at your dscretion.