I have always wanted the Lionel Culvert Unloader/Loader combo 345/342. I got the newer Lionel 6-37951 Culvert Loader #342 that works just fine. Having some vibromotor issues from my early years I then opted to also get the newer 6-12983 345 Culvert Unloader that gave me nothing but issues. The unloader motor/trolley kept stalling and/or not deploying the magnet lift or not dropping the Culvert reliably. I was somewhat able to get it to work better by hanging a 100g weight off the end of the motor as a counterweight. It worked but was very slow and I've read Alot of other issues with the circuit board/micro switches. I have now overcome my vibromotor issues and acquired an original Lionel 345 Culvert unloader that works like a charm. There is no issue in correctly positioning the Culvert car to get the lights to flash before the unloader will work. I don't have to worry about hooking it up wrong and blowing the circuit board and it unloads about 4x faster. Yes, I will eventually have to replace the vibromotor spring, and possible the string but the lot of it is pretty bulletproof. Sometimes progress does not always seem like progress. I have to applaud the ingenuity and soundness of the original Lionel Engineers.
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