lionel H12-44?

wb47, I have one of these. It is a TMCC engine with a Pulmor motor and Magne-Traction. The body is diecast therefore a good puller.

I believe the early version of the Lionel H12-44 was available with TMCC or conventional operation. The prices you are quoting are absurd, which explains why they have been on the market for months. They should sell in the $300-350 range AT MOST with TMCC, and 50-100 less if conventional. I have one in PRR that I picked up years ago for around 300, NIB. One of these days I am going to repaint it for Milwaukee Road. 

Absolutely love my Santa Fe H12-44. Not only is the body cast metal, so are the chassis, trucks, and truck side frames. The only plastic on the locomotive are the PCB boards and brushplate. As stated before, the unit is quite heavy. It has BOTH magnetraction and tire traction. My unit is very smooth in operation and I have put many many miles on it. My favorite. One brick of a locomotive. 

And here it is pulling a string of cars.

thanks for the help and the nice video.

I have the CNW version.  It has traction tires but a pullmor motor.

Hey Jimmy B.  I like you elevated section can you post a movie on same?  Did you make them your self.? Thanks Ed Powers

Ed 

 I made the trestles in my wood shop by cutting down cherry boards into quarter inch square stock.  Then cut lots of small pieces the same size and glued them together.  Used painters tape to hold the joints together.  Checkout my YouTube channel for other videos showing more of the trestle.  I can shoot another one too.

What is your u-tube site?  Also your member profile doesn't show any email address. would like to communicate directly.  Ed P.

Ed,

My you tube channel is under "jbailey969".  Also if you notice the little "i" information button in the you tube video above, when clicked allows you to go directly to my you tube channel.

Hi guys! New member here!  I'm sorry for bringing up an older thread, but I have one of these H12-44 locomotives on my son's wall mounted train (just kidding its really for me), and I have a question for others that have the same or similar engine.

I bought mine new in the box from a local HobbyTown a year or so ago, and it wasn't until I later researched it that I found out these were made around 1998-99. But when I got it home and first put it on the track I noticed that at slow speeds it Buzzes really loud like the motor is struggling or like there's a bad connection.  I thought that maybe it was a result of it being a TMCC engine on a conventional track and that the lower power was causing it.  So I recently upgraded to a TMCC set up (very fun by the way) hoping the full constant power would fix it, but no such luck.

Here is a quick youtube video of it making the noise.  I turned the trainsounds off so you can hear it better.  I'm rather new to this so I don't know if A) this is a normal sound, B) there's a defect, or C) does it just need to be cleaned or oiled?

Thank you for your time and input, it is most appreciated.

The sound is normal for a Pulmor or universal motor.  Lionel manufactured this motor as an AC/DC motor with a wound field instead of permanent magnets. This motor could be powered by an AC or DC power source hence the term "universal".  Some form of this motor has been manufactured since the early 1900's.

twhit; Erie Bob gave you the straight scoop. You're hearing the 'cogging' effect at low voltage of the three pole Pull-mor armature trying to get everything going down the track. Back in Postwar times, voltage to the track usually started at around 6 to 7 volts; this kind of masked this effect. 

The metal die-cast body on this loco will only amplify this noise.

Okay, so this is totally normal and doesn't mean anything's wrong with it?  That's a relief.  I've just been watching videos of other Lionel Diesels and hadn't noticed the noise on any of them.  I'm sure the track being standard O and it being mounted to the wall up off the floor also greatly amplifies the sound.  It's probably using the entire wall as a sounding board!  Thank you for your input!

However, if you bought this engine new and it was about 15 years old, you need to service the motor (and axles) with lubricant before operating it any more. See your instructions for that. Old grease may also have to be removed and restored.

Pullmor motors are tight when new, and smooth out over time, and they will sound less rough by a lot after being operated for awhile. After a good amount of use, they get much smoother and quieter. A Pullmor after a year can sound much different.

I saw a Pennsylvania H12-44 with command on E-Bay today. Decent opening price, I seriously thinking of getting it. I love the one I have now, and the sound is great also.

It's possible that the engines in those videos you're referencing are modern-era products with can motors which tend to run much quieter than open frame, universal "Pullmor" motors.