ATSF 3000 BLOWDOWN NOT WORKING

Jim...wish I could help you but I acquired the S-3 directly from the Lionel service center...supposed to have been working correctly, yet....when I put it on the track the blow down worked one time and then the nothing after that.....  Hopefully you will get some answers that allow you to avoid sending it off through the shipping system...

 

Alan

I have this model and the blowdown worked correctly right out of the box - unlike a couple of other things that I won't dwell on.

 

Does the whistle steam feature work? It and the blowdown are run off the same Vision Line auxiliary smoke unit. The blowdown is fed from a smoke unit chamber by what can only be described as aquarium tubing. The same system is used in the Vision Line Challenger for the steam dynamo effect.

 

The tubing can become blocked with smoke fluid or get pinched or detached from the assembly connecting it to the smoke unit. A blockage can be cleared by blowing down the  hole in the top of the boiler that is used to fill that smoke unit. On my Challenger I had to use an airbrush to unclog the piping. 

 

Your ATSF 3000 manual should have an exploded parts diagram that will show the parts I refer to. Below I insert the Lionel replacement parts photos for the engine as a whole and the tubing. The smoke unit is the part numbered 184 and the tubing is 83.

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

I have this model too, there maybe some confusion in "Blowdown" feature.

The Blowdown on the this model is on the aft side of the locomotive, not on the front steam chest like the S3.

Has anyone figured out what the extra rubber tubes and fittings are for in the baggie they give you?

This is a cool smoke feature that blows smoke out 90 degrees just below the firebox.

I would agree with the comments above, check the whistle feature works, then map the tubing back to the fire box.

 

Thanks guys. I will try your suggestions and report back. One thing that is a bit hard to understand from the  instructions is the proper switch position for on and off.

 

tks.

jim r

Yeah some locomotives have marked no. And with eyes like mine I thought it was in the on position

At pages 8-9 of the manual for this engine you will find the switch locations on the locomotive itself, all of which are under the sand domes. The ones that are relevant are the two towards the rear of the engine on either side of the (swinging) bell. The switch to turn the whistle steam and blowdown off and on is under the dome at the back of the bell; the switch under the other dome turns the main (stack) smoke off and on. Here's the manual diagram of the whistle/blowdown switch:

 

 

I should add a warning that on my 3000 the position of one of the switches was reversed so that the "on" position was actually "off". However, if your switch was in fact set to "off" you would not be getting any whistle effect, which I assume that you are.

 

Whatever you do, don't try opening the boiler shell to get at this smoke unit. I know from hard experience that they are best repaired by a Lionel techie.

Did you find a fix for this?? I'd be interested to know for my own repair purposes.

Lionel:    Really? 

the blow down stopped working on my challenger also. I tried blowing through the dynamo hole where you fill the unit to no avail. maybe I need to use more pressure. Hancock, how much pressure did you use?

Hi Guys. I've been very busy getting ready for York, building bridges etc for sale and for pickup at the show. I did try the one suggestion of blowing into the stack without any success. As JohnS asked, how much pressure should we use, could I use an air compressor?

 

See everyone at York, Orange hall booth AA-8.

 

jim r

Not a lot as I was concerned about possibly detaching the tubing from the unit. I used an airbrush at about 18 psi pressure, just a couple of quick shots of air. I could feel it coming out of the exhaust on the lower side of the cab So the tube was connected and clear. Still, I only got a whisp of smoke from that outlet.

 

I have to say that I do not think that the smoke units on the Challengers were very consistent in their operation. Mine went back to Lionel for servicing after I made the big mistake of opening up the shell to see if I could service the main stack unit. It obviously was not meant to be user-serviceable at least in the configuration it came from the factory. I think that Lionel service changed the way the way the wicking was packed in it, which made some difference to its performance but not a lot. It certainly doesn't produce the volume of smoke that I have seen on videos of other people's models.