I have received an early postwar Lionel 3454 Operating Merchandise Boxcar. I have fiddled with the mechanism and it now seems to work well but it came without any of the 6 cubes. So I am thinking of making some out of hardwood but I am unsure of the dimensions. Would someone who has cubes, let me know what the dimensions of the cubes is. Thanks
1/2 x1/2 x1/2 inch. Half inch cubed, if you will.
Dave, I have repros and those are 1/2 inch square. I’ve also made some for myself as you want to do. As you said, use hardwood of some kind. Make sure you sand down the cut sides or get very clean cuts. The Lionel ones and the repros have a high gloss paint on them to help assist with sliding down the metal chute. I’d also suggest making sure that chute slide is rust free and clean. Then give a good shine with Lemon Pledge or some kind of similar polish or Armor All. It’s important that the cubes be able to slide freely down the ramp, to fall on to the plate that will turn upward and eject them from the car.
Also play around with your operating voltage. Mine works on 1033 settting voltage of B-U with a max of 11 volts. It takes the most power to first open the door and start the cycle. Once the door is opened, you can lower the operating voltage so that the cubes are not thrown so far from the train car.
Thanks for the information on the 1/2" cubes. I have made some out of maple and sanded and polished them and they work great.
Thanks Brianel for the information on adjusting the operating voltage. It really helped to make the door open and the cubes unload consistently. It’s quite a cleaver mechanism.
Also this was the first time I have had experience with the early coil couplers. They work easily and consistently, and are silent in operation.