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hi everyone, i am new to the forum, i have been collecting some post war and a couple of pre war lionel steam locomotives and whistle tenders. some of these will need to be rewired, as the wire insulation is cracking and coming off. my question is what gauge wire should i use to replace it with, and do i use stranded or solid wire? i will be replacing wires on the locomotives and tender whistles. also any other pointers or suggestions on what else i should do or look at would be very much appreciated? i have bought a copy of greenburg's repair and operating manual for lionel trains to help me with my repairs. i have also bought a o gauge test stand called chucks blocks to make working on these easier.  thanks in advance for the help.

    gary     

Last edited by gary dann jr
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Welcome to the forum, and the world of toy train service and repair. Train Tender is one of the internet parts dealers. Scroll down on the left to 'Lionel Alpha Parts', and check the link for 'wire'. There is any and every kind of wire you may need there for repairs. Generally you would use the 22 gauge super flex or single conductor wire, depending on the application.

  For overhauling the engines, take the motors apart, and clean everything with naptha, available at your hardware store. Clean the wheels, pickup rollers, gears, motor armature commutator (the copper on top of the armature), brushes, springs, brush holder-clean everything you see with the naptha. Replace worn brushes and springs. Reassemble the motor and oil the armature bearings at the bottom, and the top where it comes through the brushplate. Oil the axle bearings, and grease the gears. Do the same for the whistle tenders.

  The e-units need to be serviced, and need to be cleaned with naptha also. The copper fingers need to be clean and have proper tension on the drum. Overhauling e-units is another topic.

  After the overhaul, your trains should run like new.

 

Larry

also a welcome to this forum.  My recommendation is to use wire similar to what was on the engine in the first place.  On the really early pre-war trains, the manufacturers used solid wire of 18 to 22 gauge, where the wire was not meant to flex regularly.  Modern day insulations are far better than the stuff used 80 years ago and will not dry out and become brittle.

 

Wire that must flex as part of it's operation, such as wiring to pick up rollers or to pivoting power trucks,  connections to accessories,  even to tracks, are generally better if stranded wire is used.   In the really old days, they used a lot of cloth or thread bound insulation.  You will have some trouble buying this type of wire, although some manufacturers offer it specifically for accurate restoratons of older products.  Expensive, though, but might be worth while depencing on what you're working on.

 

Paul Fischer

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