Jim H:
This is my first posting. Hope I’m doing it correctly.
I’m trying to locate a reversing unit (“E-Unit”) for a Lionel 230 diesel switcher that I bought for $5 at a garage sale last week. None of my local train shops have it. I’ve tried e-mailing some of the parts suppliers that advertise in CTT, but no responses from them.
Any suggestions? Many thanks.
The 102-1 (2 position reversing unit) is available from Jeff Kane’s Train Tender Parts.
Rob
It is also possible to convert to a three-position unit.
Are you sure that the E-unit needs to be replaced? Sometimes all that is needed is to clean up both the motor brushes & armature and clean the little contact points on the E-unit, don’t forget to clean all the wheels on the locomotive of dirt build-up!
Lee F.
If you do decide to upgrade to a 3-position e-unit, you should know that there is a way to do it that makes the motor slower and increases its torque, things that are usually desirable on a switcher. Your motor has a double field winding, only half of which is used at a time. Lionel’s wiring instructions would have you pick one half and leave the other unconnected. But, if you use both of them together, you get the slower, torqueier operation. There are three field terminals on the motor. One common terminal is connected to both windings. The others are connected just to one winding each. Lionel says use the common terminal and either one of the others. I say leave the common terminal alone and use just the other two. This change is completely harmless to the motor. And, of course, if you don’t like the way it works, you can easily rewire it the other way.
Thanks for your advice. I found my e-unit at a parts house in Pittsburgh. Yes, it needed replacement inasmuch as the locking tab that fits through the engine body shell had broken off. The motor itself and the drive wheels (magnetraction) were terribly gunked up with metal shavings, etc. I completely dissasembled it, right down to the the brush springs, and spent an hour a night for about a week cleaning and rewiring everything while I waited for the new e-unit to arrive. Once that came I soldered it into place, re-assembled everything and held my breath. That engine hadn’t run in at least 25 years (the amount of time it had spent in a trunk in the garage of the guy from whom I bought it. The trunk had been in the garage when the guy bought the house 25 years ago. He was just now getting around to cleaning out the garage, since he’s going to be selling the place soon), and as soon as I put it on my layout and powered it up, it took off like a shot out of a cannon!! Even the little bulb worked. It’s really a neat little piece! I run it almost every night, and it seems as if with every usage, the piece actually runs more smoothly.
Now I’d like to install one of those LED replacement bulbs in the “cab” of the piece, so as to make the light brighter. Any suggestions? Thanks for your help.
High all, just moving this post from the FAQ list.
jim H
oconm77,
I have found that emailing parts suppliers is largely a waste of time.
What works for me is:
Using the “Library” at Olsen’s Toy Train Parts, or the K-Line (or Greenberg) Service Manuals for postwar stuff; or the Customer Service pages at Lionel.com (for modern stuff) I first ascertain the precise Lionel part number. The “exploded” or “pictorial” diagrams are virtually essential for this.
Armed with the part number, I go to any of several websites of parts suppliers, locate the part (if available) and order online or by mail or phone. (Never e-mail.) If I have located the part number via Olsen’s most useful website, I try to buy parts from them in order to help support their online service, which is free to you but certainly not free to them.
If I need help or special service I call Chuck Sartor at Mizell Trains in Colorado; David Laughridge (Dr. Tinker) in Massachussetts; Brasseur’s in Michigan; Stanley Orr in New York; or my own local parts guy, Charles F. Schmitt in Maryland; or the like. It is amazing how much info these guys retain in memory or can look up quickly. Sometimes, if a part is not available, they can suggest a substitute. Many parts suppliers attend train shows with large stocks of parts. You might consider getting to know a few of them. Forget e-mail inquiries.
Note1: Mechanical reversing units (“E-units”) have become increasingly difficult to obtain in recent years. Some parts suppliers require that you send them your old e-unit to exchange before they can sell you one, so don’t trash it.
Note2: In some cases it is possible to “upgrade” two-position e-units to three-position ones; or to substitute modern electronic e-units for the original electro-mechanical types. I find the electronic ones to be rugged, reliable and vi