Lionel 2026 buy

[pjdog350]

Got your email. I will us the train99 thingy in the morning. Loco only! Flat rate!  I’ll use my new tender

[pjdog350]

Payment sent this morning Terry for the 2026!

[pjdog350]

Got Terry’s Lionel postwar 2026 and was very happy. It’s great. Needs a little TLC but this one is worth the effort. Terry said the smoke unit may not work. I replaced it with a Liquid unit. One of the rear drive Wheels was lose? Never did see why. I removed it, cleaned the axle with lighter fluid. Lined it up so the side rods would line up. Taped it and she’s good to go.  Ran out of time so the rest will be tomorrow!

[pjdog350]

Got the 2026 running this week. It’s a great little runner . Smokes like a WWII destroyer. I put a liquid smoke unit in it. When I first ran it using the 675 tender and 8 modern plastic passenger cars it had allot of trouble running. I replace the tender with a lighter tender and it’s good now. So pulling is not it’s strong suit. I want to couple a few of these 2026’s together. They are easier to mount a front coupler on!

[pjdog350]

I got a set of (4) roller sets to test the locomotives on. Got them from Micro-Mark. I was disappointed. The rollers that are not the center rail collector are great but with a 2026 I could never get the power to the engine? I messed with it allot. Finally said NUTS and used and alligator clip from the transformer to the collector on the engine. That worked. It appears to me that the problem is the roller set with the power pickup never seats between the rails? Good news is this set from Micro-Mark was only $ 41.00. On EBay they where $ 54.00.

I thought that maybe the screws that held the brass thingy’s could be adjusted but they are not! These 4 brass things are at the four corners of the roller set. They are to hold the roller set to the inside of the outside rails. The power pickup roller would click in but as soon as I stop pushing it down it would pop out again?

When I used the alligator clip to the collector on the 2026 engine it ran great and I could test the smoke unit and all the other stuff. I must have a bent axle or a drive wheel not centered as the 2026 does wobble some. But it does run great. And will pull modern freight cars at only 8 volts. This morning it pulled 10 freight cars, caboose & tender. I currently have 2 of these 2026’s completely restored and running great. Once I get the third going I will make front couplers using the pilot truck and triple head them.

While running these this morning I was surprised to see how much smaller the 027 locomotives are compared to O gauge.

[pjdog350]

I ran my trains this morning for an hour. 675's double headed. Love those. Also ran the 2026 I got from Terry. It's turned out to be a sweet running engine. I have it pulling 11 modern freight cars with a 6457 caboose. Smokes great. Like a WWII destroyer. It takes a while to warm up as the 2026 runs good at 8 volts.

When I got this engine from Terry I found lead in the casting above the motor. The lead weighs .232 lb. The 2026 weighs 3.658 LBS with out lead. With the lead in the casting it's at 3.892 LBS. So I'm not sure how much this helps the pulling effort but I give whoever did the lead a good job.  Currently I don't have the lead in the casting but I did not throw it away. Maybe later.

[pjdog350]

The Lionel postwar Lionel 2026 I got on ebay has had a motor problem that has been a real pain to get working. Finally I decided that I'd just take it apart and if I can't win the battle with it I'd buy a motor with nickel rims. Which is what I wanted in the first place. I have gotten several motors lately that just refuse to run. In all cases it has been to someone putting them in something that makes a problem with rounding?

So this morning I broke the motor  down to the basic motor parts and cleaned it up in mineral Spirits. That always helps allot. Then removed one of the motor side plates. I think I see the problem. I believe that the motor field has a ground problem where it's soldered to the field plates. In the morning I'll do a solder job and put it back together and see what happens. If all goes well I'll replace the collector shoe as it was a mess and the smoke lever as it had the ear broken off. Maybe I'll get lucky and have another Lionel postwar 2026. Then I can have a triple headed 2026 set?

[pjdog350]

Finally I got the motor for the 2026 working this morning. The first e-unit that I replaced the fingers in would show a short when I tried it. I had an old e-unit that I had cleaned. I tried it and it sort of worked sometimes. As I was messing with the old e-unit unit I saw the top fingers where not correctly in the slot. I put a knife between the sides of the e-unit and shoved the left side up. Now it works. However I’m going to replace the fingers with new ones.

I also replaced the shoe holder in the bottom of the motor and put a new smoke lever (Flapper) in as the old one had the ear broken off. Which is real common with the original 1948 & 1949 2026.

I need some shrink wrap and a new liquid smoke unit to complete this job. BUT the good news is the motor is working. I had several EBay engines that where stone dead when I get them. It has always been when they where in storage I think someone is putting them in something to keep them from  rusting. Over time this has caused the ground to be compromised! Maybe!

I will now have three 2026 engines I can run as a triple heading. They are poor pullers but hook up them are fun! I love doubles and triples!

[pjdog350]

Put new fingers and a drum in the e-unit. Motor runs like new. Painted the wheel while they where removed. When the paint dries I’ll put them back on. Getting the wheels right is always a challenge for me. Getting a correct off set is tough!

I’m still waiting for the new liquid smoke units material but may be here today. This has been a fun project. I love it when things come together.

[pjdog350]

Liquid smoke unit arrived yesterday. Put them in last night and did a test run this morning!

[pjdog350]

The third 2026 Lionel postwar engine is ready to be put back together. The motor is running like new. Smoke’s like a WWII destroyer. Casting has been repainted and looks super nice. All I need to do is put it all back together.

I will make a front coupler for this engine as I want to triple head them. Should fill the garage with smoke as they all have the liquid smoke units. I hope to take a flat car and put the GoPro on it so I can look back at them pushing the flat car Like Jim does!!!!