Lionel 3356 Horse Car - Problem

Do you have an operating track on your layout? If so place the horse car on the operating track and see if the car works when you press the unload button. If it does the car is fine. If the car doors open and vibrate and the horses do not go through then you have the reverse side door in the wrong position.

One more question, where exactly do I apply the t.v. tuner cleaner on the solenoid?

Thanks.

Do you have the Lionel service instructions for the 3356?  If not I will be happy to send you a copy.  Please note, the horses travel in the opposite direction of the cows.

I lubricated the solenoid with Radio Shack t.v. tuner cleaner and the horses still do not move through the 3356. 

Thanks, Susan.  I do have the operating instructions and have followed them to the letter. 

My last resort is to take the 3356 to my local train guru and see if he can figure out what is wrong.  I see him tomorrow night.  I'll post a reply after I see him.

Does this car have the sliding metal piece that stops the horses when the sliding door is opened on the back of the car?  Sometimes this gets bent or out of whack.

You don't say if the car is vibrating at all.

Have you tried the car on an operating track to see if the doors open for the horses.

Paul,

I think Susan is offering to send the Maintenance Manual pages, not the operating instructions. The Maintenance Manual pages for the 3356 do a good job of explaining how everything should work. I think you should take up on her offer.  It will go a long way toward getting the car working properly.  

Dear Kunde,

There is no sliding metal piece that I can see.  The car does vibrate. 

Dear Balto,

I tried the car on an operating track and the horses do not go through the car.

Dear Susan,

Yes, please send me as a .doc or .pdf file the service instructions.  My email is 19suomi48@gmail.com

Thanks.

Paul

Susan,

If you could, please send me a copy also.

My email is in my profile.

Thank you in advance!

Okay the car vibrates. Now do the horses themselves have little nubs on their bottoms?

Yes, they have nubs.

Are you using original horses or reproductions? If repo's they preform poorly. They will bounce around instead of going forward. The rubber they are made of is too hard and not soft like the originals. These are fairly trouble free cars.

The horses are original, they don't bounce, but move fine through the corral.

There is either grime or wax/oil on the car channel. Be sure it is clean but not slick. Spraying the coil is useless, either it works or it does not. Yours seems to work so the issue is elsewhere. The horses nibs could be excessively worn, or if they are reproductions, not of good quality. Adjustments are best read on the Service Manual sheet. I've uploaded a copy of the page I obtained from Olsen's, which are all available on his web site, and pasted a link below.

Gandy

Hmmm, I thought the problem might be with the car channel.  I am going to see my train guru tonight and we will check that out.

Maybe the horses ate too many oats and now their girth will not allow them to smoothly pass thru the channel?

Remove the end screws and carefully take off the car body. It is not needed for operation. Now try it on the operating track. Any problems with movement thru the car will be visible.

Do you have the middle car doors open?

These pdf file pages are from from my Greenberg's Repair & Operating Manual
For Lionel Trains.

Thanks Susan!

Thanks to Susan for the .pdf.  Last night, I went over to my train guru's house and we took the shell off the horse car and found that the runway stop had come loose and was wobbling in the runway assembly.  No wonder the horses didn't move.  We put the runway stop in the right position, closed the rear door, and voila!  The horses now go into, through, and out of the horse car. 

Thanks to everyone here for their help and suggestions.

Great Job on following thru to the end and letting us know what was found!

Hmmm--just as I thought.