I’m sure this has been asked before (just went back 56 pages on forum and couldn’t find anything), so I’ll ask again…
I have an older ZW that works great except for the whistle, whenever I move the whistle lever, the train speeds up and no whistle blows, I am running a Lionel Penn. flyer with tender and a Lionel Thomas the Tank. Thanks for your help…tom…GO IRISH…
The old copper disc rectifiers on your ZW are shot. You can replace or have them replaced with $3.50 40 amp Stud Rectifier Diodes[annode+ to case type].
As an alternative you can buy an aftermarket horn/whistle “button box” and wire it to the transformer’s output.
Leonard, where would I buy an aftermarket horn/whistle button box?..
Hi I am interested in horn/whistle box. Where and what is the cost of this add on ?
They cost about $15.00 and can be used either for horn or bell, just depends on how you wire them.
Here is one place to order it from
I did notice that there site didn’t have the price on it. [?] [?]
IT normally about $15.00 each
Just wire it in seires, red wire to transformer, black wire to center rail for bell operation.
Spanky gives a good site to order from.
Most of the N.C. Dealers that I frequent carry the horn/bell buttons in stock. If you are close to a dealer in your area give them a call.
Many of the postwar engines being duplicated in the late '80s–early '90s came with a bell button in the box.