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Lionel Locomotive

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I have been trying to set up my old Lionel set that my dad had bought in the early post war period. The locomotive is a Hudson streamliner with the 221 number on the side. It used to run that you could hit the stop button on the Lionel transformer and it would stop and then hitting the button again and releasing would cause the locomotive to go in reverse. Now it will not leave reverse no matter how the track is wired. Any suggestions of what I need to fix to make the train go forwards? It is a strange layout going backwards all the time.

I have gotten the watchman to pop out with his lantern and the cattle car platform to work (a later addition to the set) but I may need to get a new cattle car to work with the platform as the solenoid in the car does not seem to work.
 
Hi Dave, I got one of those. There is a small lever that needs to be switched. It will change it from the fixed direction mode to the mode you are wanting. Without looking I believe the lever, a silver colored flat piece, is sticking out of the top of the boiler. It probably got moved with normal handling.
 
Tom,
I wish it was that easy. The switch was not working so I had it out and cleaned it yesterday. That got the train moving, but only in reverse. I know I used to jiggle the switch when it was not running right, but now it does not want to disengage and then change direction.
 
Dave,
It might be a broken or shorted wire. Or maybe the switch is not making contact in the other position. Sounds like it might be something that has been getting worse over the years. My 221 is in a storage locker right now so I can't look at but I remember the switch as being pretty basic. I do have a newer #8632 4-2-2 here that has the switch under the left side of the cab. It is a simple spdt switch that has a blue wire to the center and a white to one outside tab. Apparently it closes a connection to run one direction and opens it to change directions.
I would suspect a short in one of the wires or the switch that does not allow an open connection.
 
I'm a Gilbert guy, so a "double-tap" of the control should set it into the opposite direction.

...look to th' GROUNDS, young Jedi. :jester:
 
Not quite sure what I did, but I have it running again, and the forward / reverse feature works about 75% of the time. I just tried to clean out the gear at the bottom of the reversing unit, soldered a wire that my dad had just twisted on sometime in the past, and tried to clean everything a bit. I am amazed that it seems to be working okay, but I won't complain. Now to find a solenoid for the cattle car.
 
Glad to see it is running. I got most of my Lionel when I was a kid in the 50's. Kept is all. I never had the cattle car but do have the Great Northern Rotary Snow Plow and the Bosco car among my collection. I was a young kid and stayed at my uncle's one summer and worked in tobacco, helped with the milking and general farm work. He gave me $80 for the summer and I went right out and bought a Lionel train with the money. He thought I was really foolish, I still have the train!
 
Tou and mopdel trains... another great way to spend time and money!!!
I had Lionel as a very young kid, I started getting more American Flyer as an adult. The magazine Classic Toy Trains might be helpful in locating stores and parts.
 
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