Seems to me that the loud vibrator motor has worked ok for the past 60 years, but I was wondering if anyone has tried to replace the vibrator with a DC motor to drive the mechanism (filmstrip)?
Is it even possible without major work?
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When Lionel did that, the entire unit was redesigned, including limit switches to stop the motor. A stalled motor smokes; a stalled vibrator string slips. Quieter, yes, but at a cost of added complexity.
Larry
Larry's right, I've had both the old one and new the new one, they're totally different designs. If you want the DC motor version, I suggest just buying it, it'll be a lot less painful. 
I have the 6-12982 Loader and the 6-12983 Unloader. Are they the new ones? Should I be glad, or sad?
Tom, you have the newer versions. The older versions were simple, buzzed, and were somewhat temperamental. The newer versions are quiet, but more complicated. Here is a short video of the postwar 345 in operation. Listen to it and compare it to the newer unit.
Larry
I have the newer ones and had to do some repair work since the previous owner had broken some things...but then that meant they cost less for me to buy. Once the repairs were done they work pretty darned good. I do agree that the newer ones are more complicated but not impossible.
Yes it is a simple conversion if you are handy. Need a small drive belt from a phonograph too. It was shown in one of the TM Great Layouts videos if I remember correctly. Unit worked a lot smoother, but the culvert pipes were still dropping in the wrong places.
Once I tweaked the operation, my loader/unloader pair work pretty well. Once in a while it still has a problem, but I can run through a number of load/unload cycles without any issues.
