Lionel Smoke Unit Problem

Classic Toy Trains Forum
1

I’ve been using JT’s Megasteam in my Lionel 4-4-2 NYC Flyer for several weeks now. Usually, 6 - 8 drops at the start of each session, followed by 20 seconds or so of 3/4 - full power in nuetral would yield some great billows of smoke. But I started to notice that lately, the smoke tends to decrease after only a few minutes. Last night, the smoke was only marginal - comparable to what I used to get with Lionel smoke fluid. I’ve also noticed that the front truck that holds the two sets of small wheels were wet with oil. After wiping them down, I ran the engine again and noticed more oil was there after the session.

Anyone have an opinion as to what might be going on and what needs to be done to fix it? How often should I be adding smoke fluid? Is my start up procedure to blame?

Jim

2

Hi Jim,

It sounds like you are putting in too much fluid. Lionel have small reservoirs in their smoke units. Put a paper towel down and turn the engine over and see if any smoke fluid drains out of the smoke stack.

After you have drained the excess fluid, try running your engine for a few minutes and see if the smoke output is better.

The oil on the front wheels is excess smoke fluid leaking out.

tom

3

Thanks for helping out a newcomer, Tom. The engine is only a month old. I’ll definitely put less fluid in and see how that goes before taking it to the repair shop. I hope it isn’t leaking!

Jim