Disassembly of the Lionel 2-6-6-2 #6-28075...

The first thing I always look at for these kinds of symptoms is the drive rods.  Bent rods or screws backed out and causing a jam can spoil your whole day.

Good idea, thanks. I will those areas a close visual inspection... when this d**n back will allow it! 🤨

Merry Christmas, John. 🙂

Mark in Oregon 🎄

In addition to what GRJ suggested, also check for proper quartering of the drivers. Your problem sounds very similar to one I experienced with a Sunset 3rd Rail Niagara I purchased a couple of years ago. Turns out #1 driver was out of quarter. Quartered the driver. The locomotive now runs like a watch.   Earl G.

@lightningstripe posted:

In addition to what GRJ suggested, also check for proper quartering of the drivers. Your problem sounds very similar to one I experienced with a Sunset 3rd Rail Niagara I purchased a couple of years ago. Turns out #1 driver was out of quarter. Quartered the driver. The locomotive now runs like a watch.   Earl G.

Although I’ve seen a few 3rd rails, and some Weavers with quartering problems, very rarely have I seen Lionel’s ( especially of this era ) with quartering issues,,….not that it can’t happen, it’s usually pretty rare……..more than likely, as John mentioned, loose bolts & screws are a more likely culprit,….there’s 4 eccentrics on this locomotive, if one gets loose, and spins out of time, it’ll lock it up,…..that’s 4 chances…..people improperly handling them, and the rods get bent, and jammed up against other things,…….always look for silly things like that before condemning to bigger issues,….

Pat

Interesting. 👍

A very quick closer inspection revealed that the chassis, wheels, etc are extremely filthy: hair, dust, you name it. It's gonna take a good bit of time to clean everything... hence the need for disassembly. However...

...I did manage to get it running on the bench; I think maybe after the aforementioned cleaning (and proper lubing) it'll be okay. It did seem quiet enough, and all (and I mean ALL ) the lights work. 🙂 Will address it after the holidays....if I can figure out how to take the boiler off,etc. 🤔 🙂

Mark in Oregon 🎄

There are, I believe, 4 screws under the boiler that will release it. I have had mine apart, but it has been a long time. 2 under the cab and 2 more farther forward. There may be 6, but none are hidden.

Note: there is a sprung/suspension/support device toward the front of the boiler that the boiler rides on as curves are taken, Real articulateds had something rather like that, themselves. There is a hook/spring/washer arrangement that you need to note when unhooking the boiler from the guide, after you have removed the screws. Sounds worse than it is; just be observant and careful.

I do not recall this loco being hard to disassemble regarding the major parts.

@D500 posted:

There are, I believe, 4 screws under the boiler that will release it. I have had mine apart, but it has been a long time. 2 under the cab and 2 more farther forward. There may be 6, but none are hidden.

Note: there is a sprung/suspension/support device toward the front of the boiler that the boiler rides on as curves are taken, Real articulateds had something rather like that, themselves. There is a hook/spring/washer arrangement that you need to note when unhooking the boiler from the guide, after you have removed the screws. Sounds worse than it is; just be observant and careful.

I do not recall this loco being hard to disassemble regarding the major parts.

Thank you so much! I will take pictures before, during and after... which is what I should have been doing all along.  THIS time I'll remember! 🙂

Thanks again, and a very Merry Christmas to you. 🎄

Mark in Oregon 🎄🎄

Once you take the 2 screws off the support suspension bracket, there is a spring and small round plate that holds the front truck on. It slips off the drive shaft from the motorized back truck, you can freely spin the front truck and see if it binds. You can remove it totally by undoing the 1 or 2 plugs there for lights and then you have access to the fan smoke unit should you want to rewick it.

I have 2 of these Lionel mallets from 2001 and they run very well.

@Ted Bertiger posted:

Once you take the 2 screws off the support suspension bracket, there is a spring and small round plate that holds the front truck on. It slips off the drive shaft from the motorized back truck, you can freely spin the front truck and see if it binds. You can remove it totally by undoing the 1 or 2 plugs there for lights and then you have access to the fan smoke unit should you want to rewick it.

I have 2 of these Lionel mallets from 2001 and they run very well.

Thanks Ted, that is very helpful. Those "2 screws" you mentioned: they must be located towards the front of the engine (?) I see 2 screws back around the firebox area, which I assume are the ones I'll need to take out as well. Thanks again; hope you are having a good Christmas. 🙂

Mark in Oregon

@D500 posted:

There are, I believe, 4 screws under the boiler that will release it. I have had mine apart, but it has been a long time.

1.  2 under the cab and

2.  2 more farther forward. There may be 6, but none are hidden.

1(?)

2(?)

I'm pretty confident those back 2 (1) are correct; not so sure about the front ones...(2)

Thanks!

Mark in Oregon

This is a used  Lionel 2-6-6-2 boiler casting that I got for a possible project (too many of those).

The pencils are stuck in the screw holes you'll need to mess with. The one in your second photo is not a boiler screw. It seems to relate to the sliding support mechanism for the boiler sticking out over the articulating lead engine.

FYI - when looking for screws to release a body or boiler (or anything else), if I'm not sure I back out the likely suspects just enough to see if there is any looseness in the part I want to remove. Can't hurt.

Mark,

The 2 screws under the engineer come off as well as 2 screws in the middle. The support bracket has 2 screws that you can take off to release the front truck. I usually take 1 off and loosen the other but leave it on. You can slide the front truck off. Just keep in mind about the small spring and plate that go on the bracket as there is a hook on the truck that goes through the small plate or round disk.
Once you undo a mallet once or twice, you will get the “hang of it” in taking one apart. Easy to do!

D500

Thanks; your photo will be very helpful; I appreciate the assistance. 🙂

Ted

Thanking you as well; your comment "easy to do!" is encouraging. Hopefully, I won't need to do this too often! 🙂

Perhaps best of all; my back (disc) is improving greatly, so it's my hope to be able to tackle this project fairly soon. 😊

Thanks again guys, for all your help. I truly appreciate it...

Mark in Oregon

Mark,

I’ve taken my 2 mallets apart a few times to re-wick the smoke unit and to replace a traction tire. One wheel is simple to do with little to take apart while the other one takes more work.
I know what it feels to have a back disc issue. Had a herniated disc many years ago. It healed but it tells me when I do something wrong!

Ted, et al.

Thanks for all your assistance; was able to get into a sitting position (🙂) long enough to get this apart, cleaned and running, sans tender... which, I reckon, is one of the reasons I was able to buy this so (relatively) inexpensively. Since it is capable of running without the original tender, I use whatever I have on hand until I can (hopefully) find a proper replacement.

Although not a big fan of articulated types in general, this certainly is a nice model: lots of added on details, etc. Not at all bad for a 21 year old release. 👍

Anyway, thanks again. 🙂

Mark in Oregon

PS: since this is a pretty heavy engine, does it really need those d*mn traction tires? 🤔

dear sirs,what is quartering problems?can someone explain this to me.trying to learn.I would love to have the skills and knowledge you all have

@kranky posted:

dear sirs,what is quartering problems?can someone explain this to me.trying to learn.I would love to have the skills and knowledge you all have

The driving wheels, ( drivers) are connected by a rod. All of the driver’s crank pins have to line up so they all turn at the same time. This is known as quartering. If one crank pin is not in line with the others, the drivers will lock up or be “out of quarter”

Pat

thank you

Pat summed it up perfectly...of course!

Fortunately, my issues with this engine had nothing to do with "quartering": in fact, I can't recall having a Lionel engine that ever showed any signs of being out of quarter. Maybe I've just been lucky... 🙂

Mark in Oregon

One final post...(yeah, sure...) 😁

The disc issue that has pretty much laid me up for the last few months is finally feeling better, so today I was able to put some track time on this big (8 1/2 lb.) engine. Now remember, unlike most of you, I'm a real "bottom feeder" when talking newer Lionel: this is only my fourth engine released in this century, so please bear with me. (It's also my first locomotive with a fan-driven smoke unit.)

I picked this up for very little $, and given how filthy (and cheap) it was, I expected... well, not much. Turns out, after the previously mentioned cleaning, this runs really nicely; quiet, smooth and today I added smoke fluid and tested it as well. Gosh, this fan-drive is a vast improvement over the "plunger"(?) types in my other engines. Although I don't normally use the smoke feature, it's nice to see it works.

One other thing I noticed is that, in spite of running this on 080 track, the overhang is still quite noticeable: the manual says it'll take 054, but I would think that would not look...great.

Anyway, thanks for letting me ramble on... maybe I'll get lucky some day and find a matching tender...🙂

Mark in Oregon

I run my mallets on 048 fastrack with ease at shows, just the overhang is quite noticeable.
If you want to be adventuresome, you can always re-wick the smoke unit and take the sleeve off over the resistor. It will smoke even better.

@Ted Bertiger posted:

If you want to be adventuresome, you can always re-wick the smoke unit and take the sleeve off over the resistor. It will smoke even better.

Wow...I dunno if I'm ready to be that "adventuresome" yet. 😁 Will keep you posted. Thanks again for your help with this project.

Mark in Oregon

If you have the front truck removed, the smoke unit is right there held to the cab with a small bar and 2 screws. Unplug the 3 wire power feed and 4 screws off the top and the resistor is there. I use an acto knife to cut the sleeve slowly go inside and cut away from the wire resistor.

Thanks Ted, that's good information to have.

Question: have you had to replace any of the (4) traction tires, and if so, how difficult is it to get to the drivers on the #1 axle, behind all that valve gearing? The other 2, being on the tail end of the second set, appear to be a pretty straightforward task.

Thanks again.

Mark in Oregon

That 1 traction tire is a pain but can be done by removing the drive rods and gear there. Not easy to do but it is doable. The others can be done by slipping it around 1 un-loosened screw off a drive rod and stretching it on with tweezers and maybe a screw flat head screwdriver.

@Ted Bertiger posted:

That 1 traction tire is a pain but can be done by removing the drive rods and gear there. Not easy to do but it is doable. The others can be done by slipping it around 1 un-loosened screw off a drive rod and stretching it on with tweezers and maybe a screw flat head screwdriver.

Yeah, that's what I thought. My example came to me without any TTs, and seems to run okay without them.

Having said that, I have some on the way and will attempt to install them when they arrive. Don't be surprised if I ask you for more advice! 😁

Mark in Oregon

Here's what a hundred bucks bought...

Lousy photo, but you get the idea...

Mark in Oregon

Wow, that 's a deaL. You can run it without traction tires with the weight from the engine, it will pull most trains. I have that one and the 8005 WL&E. No tender? You can use any wireless tether tender with your engine and you will get the sounds that are in that tender.

Thanks Ted

That's what I was hoping for... now to just find one! 🙂

Mark in Oregon

It sounds like you work with a limited budget Mark, nothing wrong with that. You haven't mentioned if you were looking for the "correct" tender, or just " a tender".

Trains has  a TMCC tender from Lionels 18056 hudson with the vanderbilt tender.

It needs some TLC but seems reasonably priced, of concern is no mention of the sound working, but you seem to like the challenge of fixing things. I'm sure folks here could help.

https://www.trainz.com/collect...-central-tender-5344

@RickO posted:

It sounds like you work with a limited budget Mark, nothing wrong with that. You haven't mentioned if you were looking for the "correct" tender, or just " a tender".

Trains has  a TMCC tender from Lionels 18056 hudson with the vanderbilt tender.

It needs some TLC but seems reasonably priced, of concern is no mention of the sound working, but you seem to like the challenge of fixing things. I'm sure folks here could help.

https://www.trainz.com/collect...-central-tender-5344

Thanks for the heads up, Rick. I think I would prefer a non-Vanderbilt tender, but will look into this, just the same.  Thanks again. 🙂

Mark in Oregon

@Strummer posted:

Thanks for the heads up, Rick. I think I would prefer a non-Vanderbilt tender, but will look into this, just the same.  Thanks again. 🙂

Mark in Oregon

So...I started a thread regarding NYC Vanderbilt tenders; I guess this is technically a "fantasy" scheme, so the search will continue. But I do appreciate the help, RickO. 🙂

Mark in Oregon

For anyone who may still (or have ever been) interested; here she is, after a good cleaning of the superstructure with furniture polish (Endust):

For a hundred bucks, I'm thinking this may be the best deal I've been lucky enough to score; looks good, runs good, so what the heck...

Mark in (beautiful-60 degrees today) Oregon

PS: the darker area on the center area of the boiler is simply from the fact there's not light above it; just towards the front and cab sections...