My coal ramp does not work at all. What post on the ZW does the one wire from the controller go to?? Same thing with the coaling station, what post does the wire from the controller go to?? Is is supposed to be fixed or variable voltage?? Do they also need track power to run?? these are postwar lionel items. Thanks.
You can find wiring diagrams for the #456 and #497 here - http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/searchcd2b.htm
Althought the #497 diagram indicates fixed voltage, I prefer to operate all my accessories with variable voltage to “fine-tune” for best operation. With the ZW, you’d use terminal B or C, since they provide variable voltage but do not have reversing or whistle buttons like terminals A & D.
You would not use track voltage with these accessories.
The coal ramp depends on the outer rails of the track for the “common” connection. Thus, if you’re trying to test it without connecting it to the track, you need to run a wire from the U post of your ZW to some metal part on the structure of the ramp, or otherwise attach a single straight section to the bottom of the ramp and use a lockon. Typically, if I want to do something with mine off the layout, I’ll use an alligator clip and hook it onto one of the rails.
The wire from the controller goes to either the A, B, C, or D post on the ZW.
I’m not sure which coaling station you’re talking about. The only other coal accesory I have is the 397, which has two posts on it, for common and hot.
The 497 colaing station uses the outer rail as a “common” and a variable (9 - 15 volt) source from the controller. I use a small transformer to power my 497.