I want to add weight to the Lionel General 4-4-0 engine. Who knows how this little loco comes apart? Thanks in advance.
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Check Lionel's website under "Support" and "Replacement Parts"; there is probably an exploded view which will give you an idea about the attaching methods.
Or just start picking around at it and figure it out, if you haven't already. (Though some simple things can be maddening to figure out, at times.)
The pages with the best diagram starts on page 131 of Service Supplement 1-9 on the Lionel Support website.
I have worked on these over the years and I do not enjoy having to tear into them. I have a Great Western loco that has a shorted smoke element now and I'm putting off the repair. I already had this apart to isolate the smoke unit off of the reverse unit motor output(undoing the LLC method to shut off smoke in neutral) and that was a grand pain, but it ran much better and smoked well until the element resistance went to close to zero.
I have a Lionel General, # 8005, 4-4-0 engine (bought with a set for the passenger car) which is a cheap DC version and very light. I installed a bridge rectifier to allow it to run on AC. I also included a manual switch, in the rear of the engineer cab, to allow operation in reverse by throwing the switch with a finger.
I installed a piece of old style lead tire weight to the boiler body, the only place I could fit it in. The extra weight help it hold the track on curves better and it seamed to pull better.
Charlie
I believe my 1872 has a screw on the back of the cab and under the pilot truck.
NYC Fan posted:I believe my 1872 has a screw on the back of the cab and under the pilot truck.
I'm having the same issue taking apart a General. I tried these two screws to no avail. I still could not pull the plastic shell off the frame.
Which General? As I recall, the Postwar generals do not really have room to add more weights. According to the Postwar service manual, they already have ballast weights.
C W Burfle posted:Which General? As I recall, the Postwar generals do not really have room to add more weights. According to the Postwar service manual, they already have ballast weights.
The 1862 has a weight where the 1872 has the smoke unit.
NYC Fan is correct regarding the two screws. However, the body fits very tight on the frame and requires some jiggling side to side and front to back to get it off. Also, if this a a newer General with the can motor, the boiler area is really tight with the motor and gears and the body can stick getting it off. Hard to put weight in the body. I had some luck with the magnetic self stick material that is used for business cards. You can cut it in strips and mold it to the contours of the boiler and cab.
The General is from the Rio Grande set 6-30168 from about 5 years ago. Lionel lists the loco and tender as 6-18749 if that helps anyone identify the specific loco. And, yes, it is difficult to remove the cab.
This is one of those steam locomotives that Lionel decided to make out of plastic in the postwar era to reduce the costs, and it is still in affordable starter sets of today. But I wish Lionel would re-issue it as a diecast model, which would alleviate the weight problem. I know that's not likely to happen since Civil War-era steamers are not in high demand and that MTH has its own diecast version of the General.
