18043 C&O Hudson (1995)

Can't help you with your problem, but don't worry about it "having been asked before". The "topic police" sometimes get a little testy.

It's your Forum, too; if someone doesn't like your questions, they are, after all, free to ignore them.

Normally I put more than 3 drops when the smoke gets low. Usually 6 to 8 does it. Do you operate it in conventional or Command mode? Command mode allows the smoke unit to keep copious smoke output due to constant high voltage.

I am in conventional mode, about 11volts indicated on my ZW (with 5 Williams Madison and 2 MPC freight cars)

That would explain it. Most Lionel big steam engines made during then and before used the old style puffer type smoke unit which is rather weak by today's standards. The more voltage you applied, the more smoke the unit would put out. Since the Hudson was one of the bigger engines, it needed at least 13 or 14 to produce significant smoke output. At least, that's my experience. The 18043 and 18005 1-700E Hudson don't produce much smoke unless above that amount in conventional mode.

Ok. Must be it. Thanks Thomas. Just strange that 18016 (1992) really puts out the smoke? Maybe they changed it for the Hudsons but not the Northerns ?  Maybe someone makes a better unit that I can install. I don't think I can use Command mode without the new controller?

It might have to do with the fact that the Hudsons, with their larger motors, require more voltage than the toy-sized Northerns, like the 18016 Northern Pacific and 18007 GS-2 Daylight. I've had experience with all these engines. At the same voltages, the Hudson smoked less and ran slower, where as the Northern ran faster and smoked more.

There are still many CAB-1 command packages around at very low prices, so I wouldn't say that.

Well, when all fails, move in another direction, so I decided maybe there was not too little, but too much smoke fluid, maybe from my previous tries, so I inverted loco and removed the pilot truck and screw that seems to go into smoke box assy and a lot of fluid drained out. I blew in some (very low pressure) compressed air into that screw hole, thoroughly wiped away the truck and smoke box and let it sit for several hours to drain. I reassembled and put it back on the track, adding no fluid and it smoked very well, like I had never seen it do  before! Evidently a little fluid goes a long way in these. I am so happy with it now. These engines are awesome and can be bought so cheaply (I paid $180 in C9/P9) as evidently Lionel way overproduced them. And they do not have circuit board issues that I have heard plague some recent China MTH and LL engines!

Thank you all for your inputs. See you at York. 18040 is now on my list. Valete!