Lionchief 6-81304 smoke fan

If it is the fan motor...cheap and easy to replace.

Use needle nose pliers and pull up on one of the fan blades.  Get a good grip....it will come off.

You must do this in order to get at the 2 small screws under the fan.

Also check the two wires going to the fan motor to make sure they are on well.

Classic fan motor failure, should be all you need.  I usually replace these with the MTH motor, they seem to have a better track record than the motors Lionel uses.

Fairly new to hobby and even newer in the DIY repairs (but eager to learn). Where is a good place to get such parts?

@Piedmont Central RR posted:

Fairly new to hobby and even newer in the DIY repairs (but eager to learn). Where is a good place to get such parts?

MTH Parts & Sales, just enter the BE0000041 number in the SHOP dropdown.

Hey John. Thank you for being very specific on the part. Ordered them yesterday from the new MTH parts website and it was a breeze with the item # you gave me. Ordered two just in case. Ordered at 2 pm and by 5 pm they already had sent it out. Will update how things go, and certainly will ask more questions if needed. Really appreciate the help.

So the new fan motor arrived. The MTH motor is longer and at first didn't think it would fit in place but figured that out. I'm not the best at soldering and really only used it a couple times on my table. Was able to get the wires off old motor and back on the new one. This is where it got tough. The other end of those wires became detached from the board (right term?). Those were hard to solder back on, but after some trial and error, some cussing, and a little patience I was able to connect those, too. Put it all back together and voila...it worked! It wasn't pretty or remotely professional, but it was my first electrical repair and I'm kinda proud. Thanks again for all the help and advice.

Nice quick turnaround from MTH, I'm glad the surgery was a success.  Part of the key to soldering is the right iron and solder, hang in there, you'll get it.

I will accept any advice you have on tools you prefer.

I use the Hakko FX-888D soldering station, but for occasional use it's a bit pricey.  Here's a decent soldering station that won't break the bank.  Temperature control is important for any PCB work, and with 75 watts, it has enough power to do most soldering tasks: Eastvolt Digital Soldering Station, $35 from Amazon.