I just purchased a lionel train #2036 and I dont know anything about them. How does the engine run? and how do I make it run? Does it run on batteries, cant seem to find where they go? any help would be appreciated? thanks Helen
[#welcome] to the forum, Helen ! It sounds like you have purchased a Lionel train, & it runs on 3 rail track, plus you will need a transformer to run the train, & not batterries. I suggest you try to find a Hobby shop in your area to give you some help. Did you buy this to put under your Christmas tree this year ? Maybe a little more info would help also, as there will be others along wanting to help also. Hope this helps some.
John pretty much covered it. You’ll need an oval of O27 or O gauge three-rail track (available at most any hobby shop) and a transformer to provide power to the locomotive. You’ll also need a bit of wire to connect the transformer to the track and what is known as a “Lock-on”, which is a device that clips onto the track so you can connect the two wires to the track.
I have several small, new, starter set transformers laying around here. If you’ll contact me at almiller@vt.edu, I’ll be happy to send you one (no charge) to help you get started.
The 2036 is a fairly old model, and may not have been run in quite some time. So, if there’s a hobby shop in your area, I would recommend that you take it in for a cleaning and lube job. These locomotives were well made and will perform well for a long time, but like any other mechanical device, they do need a bit of grease and oil from time to time.
You did not mention a tender and cars in your post. Hopefully, you at least got a tender (“coal car”) with the locomotive. You will need that. Other cars in O27 size are readily available from several manufacturers (Lionel, K-Line, etc.) so you’ll have no problem finding cars for your train to haul.
Provide us with a bit more information about what you have, and I’m sure you’ll get some good advice here.
thanks so much for your help. I will find a hobby shop and I only have the engine, that is all I purchased. Did I get it for a good price? Helen
I don’t know if you got a good price or not, not knowing what you paid for it. If you have the tender, or coal car as some of us call it, $50-$100.00 is reasonable.
Like most of the guys mentioned you will need track for this locomotive. There is a switch on the top side of this locmotive that will let you run it in one direction only or go between forward neutral reverse neutral forward, can not say exactly where this lever is but it should be silver in color. The tender is # 6466W, it has a whistle device inside of it and needs a transformer with a whistle control to activate it. Not sure if new transformers work on the older style whistle.
Lee in south Florida
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