Battery Installation in Lionel Milwaukee Rd 261 S3 Tender

Look for two more screws under the front of the rear truck

Nairb,

Thanks for your reply. I removed them but the shell still is not loose,  Do you think I need to pry one end of the shell?

Bruce

You should not have to pry the shell off. I bought one of these engines off a forum member. I took the tender shell off to remove the battery. If memory serves it came right off after removing the screws but I don't remember how many screws I had to remove. Sorry I can't be more helpful. Be carefull with this engine as they are hard to find. You might go to Lionel's website for a picture of your engine to see how it comes apart.

OK thanks. I'll try to remove a few more screws and see what happens. Fortunately, I have my free handy-dandy Harbor Freight magnetic parts holder to put all the screws in. (Otherwise, I have been known to loose screws.)

Bruce Brown posted:

OK thanks. I'll try to remove a few more screws and see what happens. Fortunately, I have my free handy-dandy Harbor Freight magnetic parts holder to put all the screws in. (Otherwise, I have been known to loose screws.)

For what it's worth, be very careful about magnetizing those screws, as that just might cause a problem with the internal electronics. You never know.

Nairb,

I got the shell off! Your were correct that it took 6 screws, not the 4 mentioned in the instruction manual. But the shell did not easily come off. I had to slowly and carefully alternately holding each of the trucks while pulling on the shell.  I hope this battery lasts a while!

Bruce

Postcript...

The reason why I had difficulty with the shell removal was that there was excess black sealant material spilling over the edges of the plastic speaker enclosure. It would cause friction between the shell and the truck base. I used a razor blade to remove the material and had an easier time putting the shell back onto the base. 

I can now run the S3 at prototypical slow speeds and not worry about the sound suddenly stopping. But in all my years of replacing engine batteries and chips, especially in MTH PS engines, this was the most difficult.

Bruce Brown posted:

Nairb,

I got the shell off! Your were correct that it took 6 screws, not the 4 mentioned in the instruction manual. But the shell did not easily come off. I had to slowly and carefully alternately holding each of the trucks while pulling on the shell.  I hope this battery lasts a while!

Bruce

try this never replace a battery again;

http://hennings-trains.shoplig...unds-batt-repla.html

Bruce:  i found that I needed a battery in the tender.  Before I installed one, the sound on the engine would suddenly cut out and go silent.  As I recall a quick touch of the whistle button would restore the sound but it was annoying and noticeable when it stopped.  I had the engine returned to Lionel several times for a "fix" but nothing that they would do seemed to be foolproof.  

About the fourth visit to Lionel's service dept, is when I realized that there even was a battery clip and connection for a 9v. battery.  I figured: "what the heck, let's try it and installed a regular 9v. battery.  Problem solved!  Never lost the sound again during operations.  

Largest engine I own and also my favorite for regular operations.

Paul Fischer

Paul,

Thanks for your reply,  I had the exact same problem and it was frustrating. I also was ready to send the engine back to Lionel but I was just too lazy. It was only a few days ago that I learned you can add the battery. D'oh!!!  I have to admit it was my fault that I didn't thoroughly read the instruction manual, especially Page 19. But Lionel never explained upfront how critical it was to install. It really wasn't an optional decision.

Contrast this with my brand new Lionel Cass 3-Truck Shay. It runs at super-slow speeds but never misses a beat and doesn't require a battery.

Why the difference?  

Here's my guess...

The Shay uses a hardwired tether between the engine and the tender which allows the tender to also receive power from the engine's pickup rollers.

On the other hand, the S3 uses a cutesy infrared wireless interface between the tender and locomotive. Thus the tender is on its own to provide power to itself.

Bruce