A friend brought over their Lionel 1225 Polar Express Berkshire for a minor repair. The eccentric rods were turned around, jamming the mechanism.
No problem turning them around.
The engine still has an issue with the main rod screw occasionally striking the crosshead. It looks to me like the crosshead guides may be bent, but they are at the same angle on both sides. What do folks think?
I am attaching a photo.
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Yep really bent, it should be horizontal and run parallel to the main rod.
That sure is bent. That is a common problem with this loco and kids handling the engine. Luckily the parts will handle allot of bending and should be no problem to bend them back to the proper position.
Thank you all for the rapid replies.
I can see where bent crosshead guides would be a problem on this loco. The back is completely unsupported and the metal isn't very heavy.
I am going to straight them.
Still, it is a nice looking engine, and it runs quite nicely.
It turned out that not only were the crosshead guides bent up, they were also bent in.
I straightened the guides, and now the rods no longer bang.
The screws that hold the valve gear hangers were a bit loose. Based on the fit of a standard #0 Phillips head screwdriver, I'd say that these screws were JIS type. Not having a set on hand, I used a grinder to remove the pointed tip from one of my #0 Phillips head screwdriver. It fit nicely afterwards.
A lot of electronic equipment use these screws.
I think it's time for me to pickup a set of JIS screwdrivers.
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