Hi I am trying to fix my fathers old Lionel 8903 train witch he bought for my brother in 1979 or 1980 for Christmas before he passed away it was there first family Christmas. so I would like to get this running for this one. What I need is the smoker, The part of the train you drop the pellet in and it smokes. What happened is, A long time ago the gear retainer broke and the cluster gear got lost and someone worked on it and lost the smoker part and I cant find one. So can anyone help?
Call Chuck Sartor at Mizells Trains in Denver. He will have it and can help you.
Lionalparts@aol.com told me the 8903 did’nt have a smoker?
Try Olsen’s, OTTP dot com. They have a plethora of pre and post-war parts and should have a pill type smoke unit in stock.
Becky
If you goto this link which is Lionel supplements and goto page 3-41 and 3-42 you will see the diagram of your engine and a list of all the parts and no it doesn’t have a smoke element in it. Acually pages 150 and 151 in adobe
http://www.lionel.com/media/supplements/Supplement1to9/1Complete.pdf
now to get it running again its a dc engine so you need a dc transformer. if engine isn’t running it could be your transformer also. if you have the transformer that normally came with those sets it will have a accessories side and a track side to hook the wires to it make sure you use the 2 for track.
Lionel 8903, I haven’t been on the forum much as I have had tons of OT at work.
I’m the odd man out as I run my layout on DC current. I have a bunch of this very locomotive. As was said, NO it never came with a smoke unit. These small DC powered steamers use the same motor chassis that is in most of the starter smaller Lionel steamers like the staple 4-4-2 steamer that came in most Lionel sets from 1989 up to date.
But the design of the shell is different and the space inside will NOT allow room for the basic Lionel smoke unit to be installed. There are some other companies that make smoke units such as Bachmann, Suethe and Model Power, but the power requirements of your loco versus these smoke units are different. The other problem is these smoke units generate a lot of heat and can easily cause damage to the plastic shell of the locomotive.
I had installled a lower power smoke unit into one of mine with a scratch built housing to prevent heat damage, but the smoke unit burned out after about a year and I never replaced it. If you want a visual effect, stick some cotton inside the smoke stack and fan it out and you’ll have a simple visual impression of smoke.
The one thing you really need to do is to clean the gears with a tooth brush if they look dirty with gunk on them and to buy a plastic safe gear lubricant at a hobby shop. This should be your main concern. Wiping down the track (provided it isn’t rusty) with 91% isopropyl alcohol should be next and is equally important. You can also use a paper towel with the same alcohol to clean the wheels of the locomotive which will improve running.
The traction tire may also be shot just from time… just the nature of rubber. So you might want to check with a Lionel dealer to buy one. I don’t know if ordering one from Lionel will arrive before CHIRSTmas. A mail order Lionel parts dealer like Jeff Kane, the Train Tender can get one to you pretty quick.
If you are mechanically inclinded and feel comfor