Fixing Smoke Units on 5 new Erie FA-2 and FB-2 Diesels.

Looks like you did just fine!!

Did you happen to see the video Mike R did a few years ago??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkDlQ5Cwwlk&t=12s

Jeff T,  I did not see the video Mike did.  I have seen the video Eric's Trains did on "Quieting the fan motor on a smoke unit".  Thank you for posting the link to the video. 

As service stations close or are booked until next year or dates far in the future,  the individual model railroader will have to be willing to attempt repairs and go out of their comfort zone to do them.

Repairing a smoke unit is not a difficult thing on a diesel engine.  It appears the design of the unit will require future maintenance.  The wick material can compact and harden and move less fluid to the heating element. Over-filling the smoke unit would speed up this hardening process, making the wicking less useful.

Thank you again for your information.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

John, excellent pics!!; you may want to take a look at Laidoffsicks videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRcpFRtA6IY#t=180

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1asUWbJtfok

And MRs video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-DEZ6CErz0

Good job!  Love the idea of all locos in consist pulling and making smoke as well.  What good are the trailing units if some smoke & some don't?   The appeal is lost that way because a non smoker represents a loco that's off line or dead in consist. This is a great thread.

Congrats on the excellent fix. Why, those diesels smoke the way MTH ones used to do before they messed around with the settings.

But I have never heard of or seen smoke wadding that has contracted in the smoke unit chamber. Those in your engines look to be the pre-cut squares that Lionel used to fit in Legacy engines. Maybe they were wrongly packed to begin with? If you look at LaidOffSick’s videos he recommends the rope wicking and I have found that it is better than the squares.

The rope wicking is also shown in Mike's video on repairing smoke units.  The wick in the Erie FA-2 engines appear to be cut layered material, not rope wicking.  On one engine, the wick did not reach the bottom of the smoke unit.  Removing the charred/burnt wick material gave a new contact point for the heating element to contact the wick.

The smoke unit repair appears to be a regular maintenance procedure for people who use their smoke units often.  The element can burn wick material it touches, and then the burnt material blocks the element from contacting good wicking material with smoke fluid in it.  (It is like a piece of bread that has been toasted too many times.  There is no soft wick moving fluid to the heat element.  The hard burnt material blocks the fluid.)

Sincerely, John Rowlen

You need to get those diesels to the shop, anything that's putting out that much smoke is past due for maintenance!

Gunrunner John,  Even with my failing eyesight, I can now see the smoke from my Erie Fa-2 engines.  I can't see the other side of the room, but it is a trade off.

I am trying to find a repair facility for the Lionel Legacy Allegheny #1604 that Lionel said they repaired, but did NOT.  I am going to email Dean again and see if they will look at the work they did or did not do.  The engine slows after it reaches speed step "23".  The Allegheny labors at any speed step higher than 23.  A fiber washer fell out of the engine a couple of weeks ago. I haven't run it since.

Lionel cannot fix my Vision Line GG1 #4913 Tuscan five-stripe.  It has been back three times.  It had gear issues and now doesn't run at all.  Katie has been talking to Dean about replacing the VL GG1 with a new engine from a list of choices, none of which are Vision Line. 

I don't know if I have the "courage" to open the Allegheny and try to fix it.  Perhaps I have the "wisdom" not to.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

I've had good luck with Mike Reagan fixing my Big Boy.

The Allegheny is an odd one, I think what I'd do is try running the gear train at higher speeds without the electronics connected (DC power supply) on rollers and see if it's mechanically binding or electronic issues.  It sure sounds like it would be electronics, but without seeing it in operation, that's just a SWAG.

If the GG1 has gear issues, why can't they replace the trucks?