Lionel #50 Gang Car

They can be noisy, but nothing I would describe as a ratchet like sound.

There is a metal spring contact under the reversing slide. Maybe it is hitting the gear teeth (I have serviced a large number of gang cars and have never seen this, but it could happen).

If you disassemble the gang car, be careful not to loose the ball bearing that is inside the armature shaft hole in the brush plate.

Also the field wires are easily broken. I usually unsolder them from the brush plate before disassembly.

I guess the armature could be hitting on something too.

No, they're not.  They need to be kept properly lubricated.  Many people neglect to lube the lower armature bearing, which is very important.  And the gears need greasing, too.

As CW mentioned the ball bearing. This could well be missing. I rescued one from UK eBay (other auction sites are available) and restored it. It ran as you describe before I got a new ball bearing installed.

Nick

Thanks for your replies. Do any of you guys provide restoration services for this? It only cost me $20 and they don't usually go for much more than that on the auction site, but I'd like to get this running right nonetheless. Aside from the ratcheting noise, I notice that it tends to sort of "slip" while it's running.

Just follow the advise listed above and it should help. I have noticed that the old grease in the gearing can muck up and can be removed using a toothpick and re-oiled. Clean the armature top where the brushes contact with a pencil eraser. You might want to install new brushes and maybe the center pickup roller if it is grooved. You might be close to me and I can show you how. Good fun little project. I have about 7 of these now with different brush holder shells to make different types.

Sorry I do not do mail order repairs.

A twenty dollar gang car is a great place to get your feet wet repairing trains.

They are simply built and very rugged.

Best of all, if you mess up, the most you can be out is $20.

By the way, I have seen a lot of gang cars that could really use new axle bearings. They generally will run with worn bearings, but they run smoother and quieter with new ones.

All good suggestions listed above.  This would be a great little project for you.  It's fairly easy and you can same the money from someone else doing it.

In any repair job, you remove parts, clean parts, lubricate and re-assemble in the reverse order they were removed.  I have done many repairs/services of the 50 gang car and complete service for a first time attempt can be done in 2 hours, counting for being careful the first time. 

You can find a parts diagram for the gang car on-line.  I attempted to get PDF image on here but I failed........computer challenged.

TEX

Steve

I should have stuck to my guns and known my limitations, and I hope I haven't opened a can of worms by diving into this. The two springs sprung out and the little ball bearing was rolling around my table before I could identify what goes where. I don't know any of the terminology--armature, brushes, etc--but it looks like the springs get installed into the two holes in the orange plastic piece, with the solid brass sections on the bottom. No idea about the ball bearing...yikes.

I see that there is some grease around the rear gear. Where else should I oil/grease?

Thanks!

This Manual should help

Thanks RJJB--

Those files confirm that I re-assembled it correctly, though even after erasing the brushes/top of the armature and putting a few drops of oil into what I believe is called the worm gear, it still runs equally crappy. There's a screeching/ratcheting noise, and the car sputters and lurches along in a hurky-jerky way...same in both directions. The roller appears to be scored pretty badly, and there is no shortage of sparks flying out from the roller as it passes along the center rail. If you can imagine a car being towed along with no wheels, or trying to comb one's knotted hair with a rock, that's what this looks & sounds like.

I appreciate everyone's help with this. As curious as I am about it, any attempts by me to investigate the inner workings of this  #50 any further will very likely lead to damage. If anyone has a suggestion for a postwar repair guy, please send the info along. Otherwise I guess I'll turn this one over to my 2-year-old daughter and I'll try my luck again on the popular auction site.

DO NOT GIVE UP!!

I am not a repair guy, screw drivers give me trouble.

I did clean/oil/grease a Track maintenance Car [Lionel #  69] ( from the video above they are very close to the same thing) for a friend today. Took it completly apart and back together, to my surprise it worked a lot better, before it had the same problems as you mentioned, all of them.  I still have spark sparks fron Collector/Roller, it has some rough spots and I have not been able to correct that, have not given up, I will get some fine sandpaper tomorrow and give it another go.

You can fix this

Brent

Brent--

Thanks for the words of encouragement. Along with denatured alcohol & scotch brite, I've used sandpaper on the roller as you've mentioned but all for naught. If I were to completely disassemble this, I wouldn't even know what problem I should be looking to fix in the first place. There's a guy selling these on The Bay where he's gone through them & guarantees them...for $42 shipped. I think that's the route I'll go. I just don't have the brain power for this one, and it isn't worth getting aggravated over.

  Make sure all wheels and the roller pickup are free from rust, corrosion and dirt. Clean rust with a Scotch Brite pad, then clean everything with naptha (lighter fluid). This should minimize the sparking. Make sure the track is clean also, as that can contribute to sparking.

  Take apart the motor again and pull out the armature. Roll the car on the track. It should roll freely. If not, lightly oil the axles at the bearings in the frame. Next, look at the worm gear on the one axle that the motor turns. If it is worn or chewed up, (most likely), it's time for a replacement gear. The worm on the armature, and the worm gear on the axle need a light coat of grease to minimize wear and noise.

  Need to know the condition of the worm gear before we can go any farther.

Larry

Sorry you're giving up on this.  To be in this hobby a lot of the fun is o do small repairs and equipment has to be taken apart to be serviced also.  Without routine service on engines, problems will soon arise. 

If you want to send the gang car with ALL the parts you have to me I will do a service on it and let you know if there are any major problems.  Email is in my profile.  Best I can do.

TEX

Steve

DO NOT use alcohol to clean your trains, It can attack the coating that insulates parts of the motor.

I use pure mineral spirits.

The drive wheels may need cleaning too. They can get dirty enough to affect electrical contact/operation.

If all else fails you may have to remove the crud that forms on the roller axle. 

The most complete way to clean it is to use small needle nose pliers and spread the roller arms just enough to slide off the roller.  Using a good degreaser clean the axle, then using pipe cleaners clean the roller hole.  Reassemble.

I've had to do this on many Postwar repairs.  And as has been mentioned, ensure the wheel surface is clean.  The roller assembly and wheels/axle are all you have to provide clean AC to the motor.

It occurs to me that the "ratcheting" sound could be as simple as the wire from the pickup to the brushplate being misrouted, and being struck by the rotating armature.

Just a thought.

Hi--

The wheel surface is clean, and as CW mentioned, I did notice that the narrow formvar wire was running perilously close to the coil windings. At any rate, Steve/Tex has offered to service it for me so I will mail it out to him on Monday. Whatever the problem is, it is more than just relubing/regreasing and it's beyond my capability to diagnose.

Another option along with Texas Special, is me. Can rebuilt to like new for 25-30 dollars.If interested, contact me.

Chuck

www.Only3Rail.com