I have an old 2245 Texas Special that is not moving along the track. It receives power and will try to move but will not. It sounds like it is straining but I dont know why. Can anyone help?
I suggest you post your question on the “Classic Toy Trains Magazine” forum instead of here. The discussions on that forum cover all aspects of Lionel and American Flyer trains.
first, welcome to the site. lots of good help here.
are the pick up rollers rusty? a few minutes with a scotch brite pad (not steel wool) will clean them up. Have you removed the shell to check for loose/broken wires>? The motor might need new brushes, and a general cleaning. Doesn’t sound like anything more than an old train that’s been sitting a few years. good luck!
Dave
I suggest you lube the bearings and gears with 5W20 engine oil or your favorite lube. You can even lube the commutator with engine oil without a problem. I recently did two Lionel Scout locos, (one was a 249) which were very tight until I lubed them. They now both run very free.
Bruce Baker
I agree with Bruce, and I’d bet your commutator face is dirty or scored and needs a good cleaning (and possibly the brushes replaced, as mentioned.) If it’s getting power and seems like it “wants” to move but is having trouble, I’d bet it’s a cleaning and lubing that’ll get it moving again, as it’s very likely that your wiring is OK. Good luck!
Here is what I recommend you do. Take the shell off of the engine. You will have one vertical motor. Remove the two screws that hold the brush plate on the top of the motor. Carefully remove the brush plate and don’t break the wire from the field coil and don’t lose the brushes. Clean the commutator and brushes and brushplate with isopropyl alcohol. Remove the armature and clean off whatever crud is on the worm and lower bearing. While the motor is disassembled, turn the engine over and oil all four of the bearings for the drive axels. There are two idler gears between the two drive axels and the center shaft. Oil the shaft that these gears ride on. Oil the center shaft on both ends. One or two drops of oil is plenty. If you don’t have a pin oiler, get a bottle cap from a milk bottle and pour a little oil into it. Use a bent paper clip to pick up the oil a drop at a time. Turn the engine back over and put a few drops of oil on the spur gear that is down inside the truck. This is the gear that engages the worm on the motor shaft. I think the lower bearing is at the bottom end of the motor shaft. Some are just below the coils. Oil this bearing and put the armature back into the motor. Now is the time to oil the commutator if you want to. One drop of oil is plenty. Put the brushes back into the brush plate and hold the brush plate and motor vertically (so the brushes don’t fall out) and put the brush plate back onto the motor and replace the two screws. Make sure you put the wire from the field coil back the way you found it. Some of the motors have this tab insulted from the motor field core (steel laminations) and some don’t. Oil the top bearing of the motor. You may have a felt wick for this bearing. If you do, oil the bearing and the felt wick. Before you put the motor armature back in place, the wheels should have turned very easily.
The 2245 was made with a horizontal motor in 1954 and with a vertical motor in 1955.
The vertical motor’s thrust bearings are at the lower end of the armature and above the worm, not below the worm. One end of the field coil is soldered to a ring lug that is riveted to the bottom of the motor. The other end, along with the wire from the e-unit, is soldered to a ring lug that is riveted to the brushplate and therefore insulated from the motor frame.
Oiling a motor’s commutator is not usually done and is controversial.
Bob,
I know it is controversial to oil the commutator, but I have had absolutely no problem with it. I have done it to several engines, and the one that has the most hours on it is a 2333 with two horizontal motors. The engines starts and runs smoothly with low friction. I do not smell any burning or see any unusual sparking or smoking from the commutator. I run this one sometimes without the shell so I can see the commutators. I disassembled my 2046 after a few months to check the commutator, and found nothing unusual about it. This is the first loco where I oiled the commutator. I had the engine apart for another reason which I need to post.
Bruce Baker