I bought this loco 2nd hand. While everything works as it should, operation is "sticky". It will not accelerate smoothly, but will hesitate to move until power is increased to the point where the loco will move to the point where its speed is too much. Under load this is not so annoying, but becomes tricky when the loco is uncoupled. I have lubricated as indicated in the manual. Is this normal for this product?
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Yes, 18 series (6-18xxxx) typically does not have cruise (Odyssey) speed control, so yeah, absolutely normal.
It only has the standard DCDR motor driver.
https://www.lionelsupport.com/...-4-6-0-Camelback-821
and the manual https://www.lionelsupport.com/...ents/71-8089-250.pdf
If you want better control, you would have to upgrade to ERR Cruise Modular and try to shoehorn that in (I did it once but was extremely tight in that series of camelback and required me to relocate one connector on the cruise M).
Keeping it stock, you can try setting STALL page 12 of the manual linked in the previous reply.
Hi Joe. Although it's true that newer Camelbacks with speed control will run continuously at slower speeds, the way you describe your hesitation doesn't sound normal to me. Even a conventional loco should be able to start and run smoothly at 10-12 scale miles per hour (about 10 seconds to travel 4 actual feet.)
Before you contemplate any electronic upgrades, check the loco thoroughly for mechanical binds. I'm not sure how comfortable you are with taking your trains apart. At a minimum, I would take the boiler shell off and turn the brass flywheel with your fingers for one complete rotation of the driving wheels. Pay careful attention if it "sticks" or at any point becomes hard to turn. Check the side rods to make sure they aren't tangling up with each other, or snagging the hex bolts that hold the rods to the wheels. A poorly designed or maladjusted smoke mechanism could also cause binding. If you don't need that feature, a radical smoke-ectomy will improve performance!
While you're in there, check that the wedge-shaped motor mount is securely fastened to the chassis, and that the motor isn't loose on its mount.
If you still haven't found the cause, you could be looking at a gear mesh issue, or driving wheels that are "out of quarter." These problems require a lot of skill to fix. Adding cruise control electronics may mask the symptoms, but it won't fix these problems, which could be why the previous owner sold the loco. Good luck, and post back if you find the problem.
A video might help us determine if you have normal operation or a mechanical problem. I've put cruise in a number of these Camelback locomotives, it's somewhat of a PITA due to the way the internal components are arranged.
Joed, are you running your loco in conventional mode? I have two Lionel and one K- line loco equipped with TMCC that start abruptly in conventional (I haven’t run them in TMCC). Two of them have Odyssey; they start OK in that mode, but run erratically thereafter, so I shut Odyssey off.
The experts will probably refute me, but I suspect the abrupt start is normal when running Lionel engines conventionally.
John
I removed the body shell today and by slowly turning the motor flywheel, I found that the Johnson Bar linkage has possible interference with the main crank. This does not happen all of the time, but under certain positions of the crank, there is interference. I bent the link as much as I dared. I hope this solves the issue.
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