312 loco

Thank you very much, Martin.

You might want to search the web for a copy of Greenberg's American Flyer service and repair manual, it has some simple repair tricks as well at some diagrams and also if you can find it the K-Line or Aurotech Complete service manual for American Flyer Trains. It has diagrams and parts list for just about all the Gilbert flyer S The Aurotech and K-Line are identical so you can get either. There is also one for Lionel post war which is also a handy tool for your work bench.

I'm no expert, but the smoke in tender uses a small open frame motor to drive a bellows using an eccentric. It runs pretty much continuously unless you wire in an on/off switch. If it works it is really neat, but with age the bellows and motors are suspect. 

Bellows cracked with wear and age. Gilbert offered a kit to convert the bellows to a piston like the one in Martin's wiring diagrams.

Coming back to my query of last August, what I really need is the wiring diagram for the 312 SIT tender. The tender worm drive motor just won't move. I wonder if some connexion is missing.

Thanks.

Some previous discussion of smoke-in-tender locos and bellows unit:

https://ogrforum.com/d...nt/11285375694868231

One of the first things I do is to remove the stud that connects the bellows rod on top of  the fibre gear, this will remove any load from the motor while trying to get it to run.

If you have a multI meter handy you can trace the voltage supply with the tender on the track with power on about half. Start with one lead on a truck rivet and then just follow the wires to the different points of the motor circuit in series. Possible trouble points are where the switch is, the lever that hangs down underneath, the moving lever connects to a rivet and I have found that the two can have a build up,of grunge which stops voltage flow. If this is OK then trace it through the field coil and to a motor brush. It could be a sticky brush in end plate or a dirty armature. I have even had the armature shaft seize in front motor bearing due to oil drying out. You then need to remove the two brush plate bolts and remove andclean out. See how stiff the armature is to move with a finger first to check this out. From here if the voltage picks up on both of the brushes continue to check it to the other tender truck rivet.

Once you have the motor sorted you can hen concentrate on what to do with the bellows and how to repair it as in the other posts

I have been to several web sites and cannot locate a wiring diagram for the tender.  I would email Port Line Hobbies and ask Doug about this.  He is extremely helpful.  He could possibly email or mail a diagram to you.  They also do repair work,

Marty

Marty,

There isn't a diagram for the SIT unit as far as I am aware. It is a pretty easy unit to work on though, no reverse unit problems to complicate things.

Neil

Thanks everyone.

I'll get to work.

No diagram per se, but the attached photo might help.  One lead from the engine goes to front truck from which another wire goes to the left post of the smoke element. One lead from the engine goes to the rear truck from which another wire goes to the left post of the on/off switch.  Two wires extend from the right side (engineer's side) of the on/off switch.  One to the lower brush of the motor, the other to the right post of the smoke element.  One lead from the motor's field goes to the upper brush.  The other lead from the field goes all the way up to the left post of the smoke element.  BTW - this is photo a a Gilbert factory piston and cylinder instead of bellows unit.  They work great - plenty of air flow, crisp audible choo-choo, and less mechanical background noise than the bellows, but I run/repair them as well.

Thank you all. 312 is running and smoking.  I also replaced the tubing running from the tender to the loco chimney.

Main problem was the tiny and delicate springs that connect to the bushes in the tender. I wanted to replace these but they are smaller than the usual smoker ones. I wonder if they are available somewhere, with the springs... perhaps at Portlines ?

I am always amazed when one of these old locos gets moving, with 60+ years under its belt. I suppose we humans compare favorably...

Many thanks. This group is of great support to me, more or less confined indoors with this -35 celsius weather this week, and going to -40 tonight, apparently --- this is a rare event, when Fahrenheit and Celsius meet on the thermometer.

Regards.