Hello everyone. I am a newbie here. I have a set of Lionel trains that my mother purchased for me about 6 years ago. When I put the set up yesterday for my Christmas Village the locomotive does not move. It is powered up by seeing the light on but does not react when I pull the lever to make it move. It did for the briefest second maybe moved 2 inches but now does not move. I have two transformers and neither one makes the train move. I connected the red wire to the A and the black to the U one.
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Let me go grab it. I put in back in the box. Give me two minutes.
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Is this the set?
STRASBURG RAIL ROAD STEAM PASSENGER SET (0-8-0 STEAM LOCO #475)
SKU: 6-30133 (The most important number when asking for help)
Take a look and make sure a traction tire didn't come off and is jammed in the mechanism. Check for anything else that might be physically jamming the mechanism.
How do I know where to look for the traction wheel?
I see a rubber banding around one wheel. The wheels do not turn at all.
@Grammy212! posted:How do I know where to look for the traction wheel?
It will be on one of the front or rear wheels. Like a rubber band around the wheel. If its in place that's probably not the issue unless its rubbing against a brake shoe. Looking at your picture maybe the rear right wheel.
Also on page 14 it mentions a switch to lock it into a single operating position. Make sure it's on "RUN".
The band looks like it is in place properly
Should the wheels be able to turn manually or just with power? I have two switches on the locomotive one says reverse with option for on or off and on the other side it says smoke on or off.
Are there any noises when you throttle up and give it some power? Does it seem like it wants to go?
@Grammy212! posted:Should the wheels be able to turn manually or just with power? I have two switches on the locomotive one says reverse with option for on or off and on the other side it says smoke on or off.
The reverse switch should be "on". This will give you Forward, Neutral, Reverse, Neutral, Forward, etc operation. Smoke is your choice. The wheels only move with power.
I believe your locomotive has what is called a worm gear drive, so no, you will not be able to manually turn the wheels, unlike some of the other starter set steamers like the 4-4-2. It will need power to make the wheels turn.
It does not make any sort of sound when trying to move. The transformer hums but no stress on the engine that I can hear. I turned on the reverse setting should I try to hook it up again?
Do I need a complete circle to use the tracks or is one track enough to test on?
You do not need a complete circle.
Looks like we are dealing with a 6-38688 from the 6-30133 set. I have this set in my collection and enjoy it. It is a pretty straight forward locomotive. When you say the light is on, do you mean the headlight of the locomotive or the green light on the transformer?
If the headlight of the locomotive is on when the transformer lever is activated and it doesn't move, that means it is getting power and so probabilistic chances are the electronic e-unit board and/or motor is toast and requires replacement. This requires advanced servicing that you may feel more comfortable having an experienced technician perform if you are not up for disassembling your locomotive and performing some soldering work.
If the headlight is off, then it is likely a track/wiring problem. Make sure that both wires are securely connected to the underside of the FasTrack like in this picture:
Now that we know that specific piece of track has a good connection to the transformer, I would place the locomotive on it. It should then move when powered up. If it moves and then stops, then we can start looking at track joints that are loose preventing good power flow. Lionel has a video on it:
Let us know what you find or if you have any more questions!
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Hi, lay the engine on its side and connect wire clips or alligator clips outer track or black wire to metal ground and the red wire from the center rail to the roller under the engine let supply power and watch and listen see if you can hear any motor trying to run and if transformer is showing short light lit!
if you have a manual E unit you can try to move the lever back and forth and then see while you move the lever if train tries to run ts is then an E unit problem or not!
Alan