k-line/lionel plymouth switcher reverse board can it be replaced with a generic one and have smoke/lights work?

I'm afraid that the board is specific.  It does pass power through to the lights and smoke unit.  I repaired one of these for a gentleman who was experiencing some of the same problems.  The fault ended up being the motor itself.  A parts breakdown is available on the Lionel support site, but most parts are out of stock.  I located a bare motor elsewhere, then pulled & re-installed the worms onto the new motor shafts.  Good as new!

Trainz has some boards on their site. Not sure what board is needed. Search K-line parts.

Not sure if a Dallee board will fit. You can just put a rectifier in and run it forward only.

Photos of internals

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you have another issue getting ready to bite. The smoke unit in your Plymouth has zinc pest. All those crazy cracks are zinc pest hard at work. May as well start looking for a replacement for that as well.

Chris

P&O

@lehighline posted:

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you have another issue getting ready to bite. The smoke unit in your Plymouth has zinc pest. All those crazy cracks are zinc pest hard at work. May as well start looking for a replacement for that as well.

Chris

P&O

Since the smoke unit isn't visible, would it be possible to delay the day of reckoning by spreading a coat of epoxy on the zinc pest?

I doubt that @VHubbard wants to think about it, but Trainz has several complete engines available.  Could buy one, test it, swap shells if it functions properly, then sell the bad unit as a project.

To be clear, the photos that I added are not the inside of VHubbard's Plymouth Switcher.  They were for reference only, and to illustrate the limited space available inside the locomotive.  After replacing a bunch of poor factory wiring, the motor, and repairing a bad solder joint on the board, the owner of the pictured loco wasn't interested in also replacing the smoke chamber.  The zinc rot actually wasn't as bad as it looks, and the smoke unit was functional.  At this point, the cracking was only superficial.  I have seen entire smoke units and individual parts available online.  At the time, I did wonder if a thin coat of JB Weld might reinforce the cracked area.  I'm sure the owner is still happily running it.

It will work until it doesn't. The likely scenario is the cracks will eventually get deep enough to penetrate into the reservoir. Then any smoke fluid inside will be outside with all the attendent problems, primairly smoke fluid being exactly where it should not be. The JB Weld trick will hold the unit together for a quite a while. But it will not stop the chemical deterioration.

Chris

P&O