I purchased a Lionel 077 from the well-known auction site; was told it "works well."
It arrived today, and I hooked up some wires to test. It doesn't work so well.
The arm is not free to move up or down. It appears--and I have never had one before and so am working in the dark--that the shaft-pin that goes through the two halves of the arm and then into and through the mechanism case is in a vertical slot in the case. The arm is supposed to pivot on that pin, but it rests in the bottom of that slot, so, when power is applied, the cross braces on the arm touch the edge of the case and keep the arm from descending. Likewise, when it is down, the cross braces contact the edge and keep the arm from pivoting upward. The solenoid buzzes and tries to move, and the light works.
If I hold the arm up so that the pivot pin is at the top of that slot,t he arm will move freely through its whole range. Therefore, my first guess--and it is only a guess--that there should be some sort of insert in each slot that keeps the pivot pin at the top.
Is this making sense? Do I misunderstand the function? Is the piece missing something or is there a more serious problem?
Any information or suggestions much appreciated!
