Zeke, if you can’t find CRC anywhere you can clean up the dirt with mineral spirits. As for the rust, how heavy is it? You might try scrubbing it with an old toothbrush and some plain white vinegar and see what that does for you. There are other treatments for rust, but white vinegar is the cheapest and easiest to try first. This is just my opinion, but I’d be willing to bet the dirt is probably causing more problems than the rust.
Since it was working a little beforehand, the engine must still have life in it. It should be possible to get it going.
I have had luck in purchasing CRC at Home depot on the isle with the electrical tools and wire. You would be suprised with what a good cleaning and lube will do to the lionel iron horses. As for track, whatever you do, make sure you do not use steel wool. Once cleaned, go ahead and use it. But, once you start any kind of permanent layout, buy new tubular, it is cheap and won’t have a lot of the issues of using older track that has seen some rough times. One suggestion, get a copy of Greenberg’s repair and operating manual for Lionel 1945-1969. They have lots of diagrams that will help in getting your train running. Also has lots of information on transformers, etc. If you don’t have the time now, you can go to Olsen’s Train Parts, they have a library that has the diagrams for most postwar items on the web site. Also, if you would like, email me as I Have a extra copy of the “Greenberg’s” manual I mentioned above.
and serving my country was the best thing i have ever done in my life…i wish i was still in…but im not…so now i got time to “play with trains” …as my gf puts it
well i did everything exactly as you guys stated and nothing…doing the same thing…i evan hooked up to a guide and a screw and nothing…what a bummer…what now? can the insides be replaced or are there more ways to fix this old girl…i really want to but this is my first train and i am sorta lost…
I just did the same thing with a 2025 parts special I purchased for $10. Learned a lot in the process. The final step over the past few weeks was a stripping and repainting of the engine. It now runs well and looks pretty good!
The first step is to remove the brush plate and clean the armature. Use a VERY fine sandpaper to make sure the top is clean (fine as in sandpaper used as a last sanding in automotive work 300 grit or so). Test the continuity of the amarature with an OHM meter. There should be VERY small resistance between each of the three sections of the armature.
Next, clean the brushes with the very fine sandpaper. Whenever you use sandpaper, make sure you clean it our VERY well. Put the motor back together and then lubricate the two bearings lightly. Test the motor by connecting one lead from the transfomer to a ground, the other lead to the live brush terminal. The live brush terminal is the one connected to the e-unit. The other brush terminal connects to the field around the motor. Make sure that the wheels turn freely. A little oil and grease does wonders on the gears and wheels.
If the unit runs, that is good. If not, you may need a new armature. They are available on e-bay but replacement requires the pulling of the wheels off an axle and I consider that job hard to do.
If the moter now runs, you need to attend to the e-unit. The advice above about the Greenburg manual is invaluable! The e-unit is two things - a plunger that goes up each time voltage is applied and a drum that the plunger moves and connects different contacts to cause the forward, neutral, reverse action. Make sure all the contacts are clean. It comes apart by separating it and can be cleaned much easier. It does take a little patience to get it back together.
By working on an old parts train, I had a lot of fun and learned a LOT. I put in WAY more time that the item is
Spray all the rusty parts with some WD-40. DO NOT spray the motor (comutator) or the field (copper wires) with it. Let the WD-40 work on the rust for a while, then start turning the wheels by hand.
CRC can be found at Home Depot in the electronics isle. Clean off any WD-40 from the motor with that and then oil and lube all moving parts, especially the axle bearings. Since they are rusty, oil those parts well. Lube the gears with white grease. Oil both ends of the comutator shaft as well.
Even with an open armature winding, there will be low resistance between commutator segments. The thing to check for is having the same resistance for each of the three possible commutator pairs.
“Test the motor by connecting one lead from the transfomer to a ground, the other lead to the live brush terminal. The live brush terminal is the one connected to the e-unit. The other brush terminal connects to the field around the motor.” I’m afraid I don’t understand what is meant here. Disconnect the e-unit wires from the brushes (or put the e-unit into the neutral position if you know how to do that). Connect one transformer wire to one brush. Connect the other brush to the field terminal (which is still connected to the e-unit). Connect the other transformer wire to the locomotive or motor frame.
just wondering something…i have taking this down cleaned it with the crc…
could it be my transformer? or how would i know if its bad? i mean it lights up some accessorry’s i got so i assume its working? i really dont know how to totally do a tear down rebuild…but it doesnt seem to hard but…i havent done it so i dont know.
my track was pretty rusty i hit it with a wire brush ( before i knew it was bad ) and now its shiny for the most part…ok so when i had the engine on it and trying to get it to move i noticed my tarck was lighting up in a spot is that normal…and it got pretty hot…
i think i got in over my head with this train set but hey it was only a dollar at a garage sale…but i would like to run it…
The track should not light up nor get hot. You may have gotten a bristle from the wire brush in there somewhere, creating a short circuit between the center rail and a tie.
Well there’s your problem right there mister! The last shot at the bottom shows the reversing or “e-unit”. It is a solenoid that drives a pawl that catches teeth on a rotating drum. The drum has copper contacts on it that touch agains the metal “fingers” hanging down against it.
Looking at yours, it needs complete cleaning and/or replacement.
A good Lionel parts dealer should be able to send you a brand new unit for only a few bucks.
well thanks…i knew it had to been something bad…now is it easily replaceable…id really like to use this enging…my gf tells me to let an old dog sleep but me i love older things and restoring them…i restore cars…but a train…hmmmmm i think i can…
Looking at those photos, it looks like you got what you paid for. And since you only paid a buck, that’s ok.
I’d take a Dremel tool and knock off as much rust as you can. Use a stainless steel wire brush attachment. DO NOT use steel wool! I’ve had post war trains that were literally welded together with rust. When I got done using the Dremel tool on them all moved freely and worked fine. It looks like at the very least, you need to have that e-unit overhauled. I think it would be easier to just replace it with a rebuilt one. They usually cost about $30-$40.
Your 2025 is from 1952 and has no magnatraction. I can tell by the sintered iron wheels. If your cab had the number 2035, it would have magnatraction.
Get rid of as much rust and dirt as you can, then coat all those axles and bearings with plenty of oil. Once you have the wheels turning freely and smoothly, the rest of the cleaning will be a cinch. If you can restore a car, you can restore a toy train. Keep us posted.
This next link will lead you to the assembly diagrams and spec sheets for your particular locomotive. Very helpful, these diagrams also list the part numbers next to each illustrated part.
Two more thoughts: the 2025 when fixed is one of the best running steamers of ANY era! AND Lionel destroyed the tooling back in 1997, so it is a limited edition item they will not be re-making any time soon.
Of course you do realize now that I’ve said that it will show up in the next catalog!
The one qualm I think of for using a wire brush to clean trak is that a loco equipped with magnetraction can pick up a particle left behind. The 2025 does not have this feature, unless the motor was swapped out with that of a 2035. None the less, make sure that all metal particles have been removed. Rust free track is a dime a dozen and most the time can be found on popular auction sites for less than shipping.
