Lionel Standard Gauge 400E

30 volts is wrong information. I have about 5 STG original electrics and they fly around the track at 13 v and a low amperage.

What is happening. Is the motor running hot? Are the wheels spinning?

How many cars are you trying to pull? Is everything rolling easily. Do the drive wheels on the engine turn freely?

how does the locomotive operate on its own?  poorly maintained cars can exert many times the drag of regularly serviced cars with clean and lightly lubricated wheelsets and axles.  if a light push does not send a car a few feet or more down a level, straight track, you're probably overtaxing the locomotive.

My experience is the same as Jim C states. 12 to 15 volts runs all major brands of engines, even with four or five cars. 30 volts is absolutely uncalled for.

Either the engine servicing is suspect or the trailing load too great. Servicing the cars as described by overlandflyer should make a huge difference.

30 volts???    

Sorry,for,all,the,comas,my,key,board,is,not,working,no,sace,bar.and,some,

letters,not,working.

Many,years,ago,I,had,a,Blue,Comet,standard,gauge,set,and,using,a,ZW,the,

set,hardly,moved,I,switched,to,a,LionelZ,transformer,and,it,ran,great,at,15,

volts,the,Z,had,25,volts,ZW,had,20,volts.

Fred

Outside of running too many cars, did you have new drivers installed? If so I would suspect they are binding or the bearings are binding on the knurles on the axles. The bearings on these drive axles are not installed the same distance on both ends. If the service tech installed the geared wheel on the shirt end the bearing will bind.

Gandy

Put the keyboard in the dishwasher. Works great just let it dry for a day.

What difference does it make if the max voltage is 20 or 25 when the thing runs at 15 volts. Both transformers have plenty of amperage.

There are two different types of Build-A-Loco motors (two that I know of-there may be more).

I have one with a tubular commutator in a 392E (similar to the commutator in Super Motor).  That locomotive will barely run from a TW.

With the higher voltage Type K, it runs fine.

The Build-A-Loco Motors I have with flat commutators, seem to run well at lower voltage.

First thing to do is make sure that everything is properly lubricated. Without getting into a debate on lubrication, make sure things are cleaned properly, meaning wheel bearing points, motor armature, gears, everything. Get rid of any hardened gunk.

Do the same for any rolling stock.

Now, please, lets not get into a debate on lubrication here guys, I'm only stating what works for me in the next paragraph.

Put a little grease (I use lithium paste), on the gears. At every rotating point, put a drop or two of oil (I use Mobil 1 synthetic). This is every axle on every car as well, armature, rollers, linkage points, etc. Just do not use a ton because it will then get splattered about.

Now use your ZW, and let the engine run by itself for a couple minutes, then latch up your cars and see how it works. I believe you will see a noticeable difference.

As for a power supply, well, I don't like using postwar transformers on prewar standard gauge. This is because a ZW puts out a nominal 20 volts, so does an LW. These postwar transformers will be minimally acceptable for use with standard gauge. A KW, however, puts out 18V and fail miserably at powering prewar standard gauge.

The prewar V and Z transformers put out a nominal 25 volts, and that extra headroom makes a big difference when running a standard gauge train. Some of those trains weigh about 35 pounds or more.

I don't know what the guys running at 15 volts are powering, but I'm thinking it may be smaller standard gauge electrics, or maybe modern tinplate.

Anyway, hope this helps. The lubrication is cheap and easy and makes a huge difference (Use synthetic. Wink, Wink, Nod, Nod). The transformers can be found on ebay or at train shows for a nominal cost. I always wanted a ZW, but after owning one, I never use it, except for auxiliary power for switches, if used, and lighting. I always use a V or Z. The only downside is there is no whistle control on them, but you can buy one for like ten bucks...

I want to thank everyone for the quick reply and all your suggestions and helpful ideas for this problem. This is great information and again thanks.

380 large gear Super Motor

42 Dual Super Motors

#8 Small Gear Super Motor

385E

AF

 Pocahontas Electric

 Hamiltonian Electric  

Not the biggest but not all that small.

Track is clean and well wired.