How do you recharge 736 magnets

There may be something else in play here as I have a 736 w/o any MagneTraction(726RR) and it pulls tremendously.

There is an advantage to having the magnets, but it's far from providing "most" of the traction.

I agree with Rob, there may be something electrical causing pull strength failure. I've always thought of magnetraction as an aid in keeping it from flying off the rails more than anything else.

'Loss of pulling power' can be caused by many things. The locomotive may need a good lubricating job and motor overhaul, wheels/track may need cleaning, and the rolling stock axle bearings may need to be oiled also, especially if they are postwar.

Larry

The magnetraction wouldn't get weak all of a sudden.  I'm thinking that maybe one of his rear wheels came loose on its axle?

Hi Rob when you say tremendous how many cars are you taking about

Thanks  all of you but nobody has answered the question of how to recharge magnets or if it's even possible. Well I went on the web and it can be done but you have to take the entire engine apart to get at the magnets .Then you can take a VERY LARGE MAGNET and rub it in one direction on the bad one and this sort of force feeds it. I don't know if it's worth all the trouble, but I do have a magnet that weights 4 lbs and can lift the entire engine so maybe one day when I want to experiment I will give it a try 

I think the reason you did not get a response is because re-magnetizing Lionel Magnetraction engines cannot realistically be done.

In the early 1960's Lionel developed a Service Station device called the "H.O. Magnetizer". It was designed to refresh HO motors that were weakened by disassembly. Lionel cautioned that it would not refresh magnetraction.

Here is a whole thread from practical machinist on re-magnetizing magnets. Opinions are mixed on how effectively it can be done. I don't recall how the magnet is mounted in a 736. It might be rather difficult to remove.

More than can fit on the layout - practically anyway - at a time, generally.

Hey Rob,

All I can say is AWESOME!!!!!  What a GREAT Christmas layout.  I watched the video several times and each time I saw something that I didn't see the time before!  Very, Very Nice Indeed!

Chief Bob (Retired)

quote:

CW it seems like I'm following you around lately. Yes, Lionel's postwar steam and diesel locomotives can have their magnets remagnetized and the engine doesn't need to come apart to do it either. You just need to have the same type of magnetizer that Lionel had, and we do.

Dennis

That's OK with me .
Is it safe to assume that your magnetizer is not something an average person would be able to fabricate at home, or find at a local shop to have the motor re-magnetized as a service?

quote:

CW it seems like I'm following you around lately. Yes, Lionel's postwar steam and diesel locomotives can have their magnets remagnetized and the engine doesn't need to come apart to do it either. You just need to have the same type of magnetizer that Lionel had, and we do.

Dennis

 

That's OK with me .
Is it safe to assume that your magnetizer is not something an average person would be able to fabricate at home, or find at a local shop to have the motor re-magnetized as a service?

That's a good assumption. The magnetizer we have is modeled after the one Lionel used at the factory, just more compact as we really didn't need the huge capacitors Lionel used. Steam chassis and diesel trucks were not assembled with magnetized axles or magnets in place. They were assembled and then magnetized. Place the truck or chassis on the rails and give it a single 2 second shot and you're good to go.

Dennis,

Is re-magnetizing something that your shop could do if someone sent the chassis to you?

Yes it is - not a problem.

I would think the discussion of how many cars you can pull with an engine would be very dependent on whether the cars were postwar cars/trucks or the newer plastic body cars with fast angle wheels and needle point bearing on the trucks. 

BTW, that carpet layout is awesome. 

Going through a hallway and multiple rooms along with the squirting water raises the bar.

I would have to call in all of my I.O.U.s in order to pull that off.

Or I could send my grandson in to ask for me.

Hmm, that is a much better plan.

Hi Dennis,

I have a Lionel 2033 Union Pacific silver diesel from 1954 that doesn't have the Lionel magnitraction to bring it up the Lionel 110 trestle set tracks like it used to when it was new.

Do you think your magnet device will restore them enough to climb the steep grade of the 110 Lionel trestle pieces?  I think somebody mentioned on the OGR forum that the grade is almost 10 percent or something.

Thank you so very much for your answer.

Using a coil of wire and a constant current power supply, I was able to

restore the magnetic pull of a truck. The coil of wire was large enough

for the truck to fit in but what the number of wire turns and the current

was, it was a long time ago.

The B&A Hudson that Lionel sold thru the mail had a magnet too close to

a rear driver. The driver rubbed the magnet so the engine did not run

very well. After some ideas from a forum member, the magnet was moved over

with a great improvement in performance.

How much the magnets add to pulling power is questionable but they do lower the center of gravity and allow my silver Alco to hold the layout speed record

for 032 curve track.

We have essentially the same magnetizer that Lionel used at the factory. As long as the magnets in your trucks are not damaged, yes they can be re-magnetized.

1 - If a locomotive spins the drivers but the train does not move, you have an adhesion (traction) problem. The "magnets" can play a part in this.

2 - If you have another similar loco w/o Magnetraction that pulls well/normally, the problem is certainly not adhesion (the magnets, among other things).

3 - If the loco does not lose adhesion (spin) the problem is an actual "power" problem - the motor has become weaker and/or the mechanism (bearings, rods, gears...) is impeding progress. The brushes may be worn out - they need periodic replacement.

4 - It's power, it seems, not adhesion, that is your problem; forget the magnets - check the drive train/motor.

I'll just throw my 2c worth in here.  I have always been a big fan of the 2343 F-3s as they had no trouble pulling my passenger train consisting of 10 aluminum streamliners.  Recently I bought a like new 2333 AA set and just for grins put it on the track with the 10 streamliners.  It pulled the train with no trouble.  I no longer am concerned about magnetraction or no magnetraction since for my layout it does not seem to matter.  I keep the track clean, have no grades greater than 2% and have 072 minimum curves.  By the way, this 2333 set has no trouble pulling 15 post war freight cars either.

Rolland