Will using self stick circular pads on the Lionel 3356 horses improve movement on both the horse car and the corral? I would like to use the small pads that are used on cabinet doors.
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I have these little pads on the bottom that work really well on the brown cows. The black cow is as received from the factory and does not work very well. I got the brown cows at our train club not sure where the material came from. Was thinking that some weight on the bottom of the feet might help them from falling over on the corners.
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James, you can also power the corral and the OTC lock-on separately. This allows you to modulate the voltage on the corral to slow the horses down so they don't tip or increase voltage to speed up any stragglers getting up the ramp. likewise you can slow voltage in the car to contain the horses while the others are boarding. I use the same principal on the barrel ramp also with good results. a consideration is that this takes up two variable posts on your transformer tho you can combine other accessories which have on/off switches or different accessory numbers if you are using TMCC or Legacy. all the best
I've never been able to get that thing to work as intended. Seems to be one of their worst operating accessories. Never meet anyone else that could make it work good either. Work? Maybe but not good.
From looking at the my cattle and the picture of yours above I believe the fibers on the bottom look to be slanted toward the rear which may make the cattle or horses move forward. That is so just any old fiber pad may not work.
I agree operating the barrel ramp and cattle pen and cattle car work better with a variable voltage to allow changing the voltage allowing the operator to find the amount of vibration needed to move the drums or animals. I use track voltage for that and kill the section of track the engine is on or cycle the eUnit to neutral.
Charlie
@Jim 1939 posted:I've never been able to get that thing to work as intended. Seems to be one of their worst operating accessories. Never meet anyone else that could make it work good either. Work? Maybe but not good.
It remind me of those electric football games we had when we were kids. Did anyone ever run a play without the players scattering off in all different directions? Still, it was fun.
Check the bottom of the cattle. If the rubber is brittle, a simple fix may be to purchase new ones it would be best if you could buy them in person so you could make sure the rubber is pliable and fresh. I had the same problem and this helped tremendously Also consider the previous suggestion of regulating the voltage.
I've propped up the outside edge of the corral with a 1/4 piece of wood. There's enough give in the car doors to close the gap. The prop lessens the grade of the ramps, making it easier for the cows to re-enter the car.
Jon 
The feet on the bottom of the horses or cattle needs to be soft and slanted For direction. If there is no flex or direction they just bounce there. For the corral itself, the only good fix I found is to get one of the newer designs. Exiting is the same angle, but going back in is a long gentle slope. It works well with my Reindeer corral. Keeping the critter upright is still a problme at times. . I haven't tried adding a weight at the base of the critters, it may be something to try.
Kj356,
The material on the bottom of the cows is from a painting pad. Did the same thing years ago.
Joe Connor, thanks for bringing back good memories from the football game. Bert
@kj356 posted:I have these little pads on the bottom that work really well on the brown cows. The black cow is as received from the factory and does not work very well. I got the brown cows at our train club not sure where the material came from. Was thinking that some weight on the bottom of the feet might help them from falling over on the corners.
@CSXJOE posted:Kj356,
The material on the bottom of the cows is from a painting pad. Did the same thing years ago.
I vote with the soft felt like material. I am lucky enough to have what I think are originals from Lionel although I never heard an explanation of why two versions. The hard rubber with the tines is useless.
Thanks to everyone for all their help. I would like to use the paint pads to improve operation, but I am unsure where the best place to purchase them is as well as the product number and manufacturer. Thanks so much. Jim
It's called Mohair, and you get pads from Portline hobbies. Glue with Walthers goo to a flat bottom horse, the tangs on the bottom removed and trim. American Flyer cattle used the same material.
Thanks Chuck. I'll order the pads from Portline Hobbies.
The Postwar horse corral has always been problematic in my experience. I have generally had good luck getting cattle sets to work reasonably well but the horse corral was just a bad design. The corral does not vibrate enough to coax the horses to move fast enough and the ramps are too steep. They always stall out halfway up the ramp and then increasing the voltage too much generally knocks them over. Perhaps the corral could shimmed in the rear to lessen the slope of the ramps?
@Ryan Selvius posted:The Postwar horse corral has always been problematic in my experience. I have generally had good luck getting cattle sets to work reasonably well but the horse corral was just a bad design. The corral does not vibrate enough to coax the horses to move fast enough and the ramps are too steep. They always stall out halfway up the ramp and then increasing the voltage too much generally knocks them over. Perhaps the corral could shimmed in the rear to lessen the slope of the ramps?
See KOOLjock1's advice above - same idea.
