I have a 1954 Lionel Southern ABA. Both rollers on the power unit “spark” quite a lot. The unit seems to run good, however the rollers get very HOT. I have cleaned both comutaters, put on new rollers, new brushes, but the problem continues to be there. There is no evidence of any major work having ever been performed on this unit - it looks to be all original and in execellent condition. I have several other Lionel F3’s from the 1950’s, all run good and do not spark. I would appreciate some info on this issue if possible.
Thank you.
Model Railroad forum would be the location to ask these questions.
Welcome to the world of 1:1 railroading.
I think Classic Toy Trains is what he wants
Porbably the most likely suspect would be the roller tension springs. Few people realize these get weak over the years. They will not hold down the rollers tight enough causing the sparking and heat, along with quick roller wearing. You can get new springs and they can be hard to find. The real problem comes when you get new ones and find most aftermarket springs are worthless and weaker that what you have now. I went through this with a 2333 and a 2344. On my models, the correct springs are grey to black in color. The bright silver ones you may as well throw away if you get them. Some parts suppliers only have the aftermarket ones that have been hand made by a guy who no longer does them. These are the silver ones. They usually do not even have the right bend angles to keep tension on the roller arms. if your engine does not already have them, switch the roller arms over to the ones used on the alcos. They have much better rollers.
Roger
trainrat’s spring tension suggestion is the next thing I would check, actually wouldn’t check but replace the springs…following a thorough track cleaning.
Jack
Another thought to consider is the size of the wire going from the collector to the e-unit. These two-motor locomotives draw a LOT of current, thus creating a very heavy burden on the collector wire. It’s a bit of work, but you might look into replacing it with a heavier gauge.
That is a good point about increasing the wire from the pickup to the E unit . I did that and it helps.
Roger