Lionel 494 Rotary Beacon

Just wire to transformer.

Do I wire to the power on my Z Transformer or my accessory Transformer

As long as it's AC power to the accessory, you're good to go.

I just restored an old 494.  Stripped down to the bare bones.  Fresh paint on the tower and ladder.  Cleaned/buffed the beacon.  But the most important part was removing/replacing the old finger washer and cleaning the mating surface against which it moves.

I followed the precedent of the former owner (factory?)...finger washer attached to the beacon, clean/smooth top surface of the solenoid.  I added a final step to the latter...I gave that solenoid surface a coat of Bruce's wax, warmed (hair dryer on low setting), and a final buffing.  I know some feel that attaching the finger washer to the solenoid and keeping the mating surface of the beacon top clean is a better alternative...TEHO.

Effective?  I had to crank the power down to about 5 volts to achieve a satisfying (ABSOLUTELY QUIET!) rotational speed of the beacon.  When jacked up to about 12 volts, it looked like it was revving for lift-off like a M*A*S*H chopper!!

Infinitely better than its precedent...the quirky 394...dimple bulb with 'magic heat waves'...vaned beacon top..(yeah, right.)

The 494...Always a great accessory for that back, unreachable corner of the layout!

IMHO, of course.

KD

I use a ZW-L for track power.  For accessories I use a ZW (I have also used a Z for powering accessories)... as in, 1) all switch machines  2) lighted buildings  3) flood/yard lights... and, 4) other operating accessories.  I use variable voltage so they can be tweaked to the desired voltage.  Nothing wrong with using fixed voltages if the desired voltage is available on your transformer.

@dkdkrd posted:

..... But the most important part was removing/replacing the old finger washer and cleaning the mating surface against which it moves.....

Thanks for that information on how to "reform" a rotary beacon. I've never had much luck getting these to run right. Tried three of them, two Lionel and one MTH, had problems with the beacon rotation on all of them! I'm going to give your method a shot. Always liked this accessory.