AF 4-2300 Auto operating oil drum loader

Does the barrel fall of while in transit (mid-platform), or immediately fall off when turning from the loading ramp? I find with this accessory, the slower the movement, the better.

Penn-Pacific posted:

Does the barrel fall of while in transit (mid-platform), or immediately fall off when turning from the loading ramp? I find with this accessory, the slower the movement, the better.

The barrel falls off the truck when turning from the loading ramp. The drum does not get turned  up right and  falls off the loader.  The slower speed, 6 volts worked better than 8.  3 out of 6  barrels made it to the train,  tried about 6 times. 7 is too fast  and 5 is too slow.

Brent

The oil drums that came with this accessory varied in weight from set to set. In my experience, the heavier drums worked better. Also, the arm assembly can be carefully tweaked from the underside to work better.

Try a small disc of very thin cork or sandpaper on the fork lift platform.  That tends to help hold the barrels on the truck while it is moving.

Joe S.

The oil drums that came with this accessory varied in weight from set to set. In my experience, the heavier drums worked better. Also, the arm assembly can be carefully tweaked from the underside to work better.

I had a AF/Lionel oil drum loader on my bench not all that long ago. It's problem was caused by the drive arm being loose, causing to not travel its entire distance back and forth.  The drive arm pivot (40-2300-111) had pulled out of the plastic base a bit. I used a little glue to bond it back in place. Don't recall what type.

Here is the material from the Modern era Lionel service manual.

I had the same problem with my drum loader but fixed it in a different way.

The pivot pin 2300-021 which carries the moving bracket 2300-020 is fitted to the base but is loose and moves. When the loader truck hits the braket the pivot pin moves and doesn't allow the barrel to tip squarely on the loader truck.

I fixed mine by turning the base upside down to see where the pivot pin is located.  One end sticks down and the other end is flat against the base. I used some 5 minute epoxy on the two points underneath to stop it moving. These 5 minutes also let me turn it right way up again so I could position the pivot pin on the right hand base upright so that the pin was pushed forward to the loader truck end and the top of it was flush as well with the top of the same upright.

It was a bit fiddly to do but it loads a lot better now.

Before you start gluing it in position get a very small flat screwdriver and just press it against the pivot pin to stop it moving where it goes down into the base and see if this helps first, it worked for me but that does not mean it is a fix for everyone.

Also, in addition to the fixes mentioned above, make sure the rear wheel on the forklift pivots and turns freely, may need a drop of lube.

Here is a drawing from the Lionel service manual that illustrates what UKAFlyer is describing. Maybe it will help your situation. 

Chuck Sartor posted:

Here is a drawing from the Lionel service manual that illustrates what UKAFlyer is describing. Maybe it will help your situation. 

They say a picture says a thousand words and it certainly makes what I was trying to say a lot simpler. I didn't use a paper clip but looking at the PDF it is a good idea.

I wonder how many people were aware of this PDF note, not many possibly. Was it only available to Lionel repair people?