Okay Boys Help The New Guy

If you don't mind the girls trying to help.....

For Q1. Normally you would buy a powered unit and a dummy unit. Either an A or a B.

For Q2.  The horn should be in the powered unit in most cases.

For Q3.  I believe that the battery goes in with the + terminal uppermost. But I'm not certain of this. Perhaps someone else will able to offer better advice here.

For Q4. You can run 2 powered units together, but it can be a bit problematic until you get used to it. What you need to do is to synchronise the E-Units. First of all make sure that both are operating in the forward direction. Then shut off power and then remove the 'front' unit from the track. Now turn power back on, and cycle the power until the rear unit is operating in the reverse direction. Turn off the power again. Replace the front unit, and couple them together. Now they should be synchronised and will both move in the same direction when you operate the transformer.  You will need to repeat this process any time that they become out of synchronisation again.

If you want them to always go in the same direction, you can 'lock' the e-units in the desired direction by using the lever on both locomotives.

I hope that this is of help. Welcome to the forum, and I wish you much pleasure with your new trains. 

Well, thank you ma'am....

Hi Bruiser, welcome aboard. Nicole just about covered it but the negative, or flat side of your battery should go against the spring end in the holder. The end of the battery with the tip on it is your positive and that normaly goes up aganst a flat contact of some sort. All battery holders have a spring end and flat end to mate with the cell.

Oh yea, don't store your engine with the batteries in it. The cell can leak acid in time and damage the holder and this is a very ugly thing to happen. The new batteries are much better then what we had back in the fifties, but I would not bet my engines on it.

The big problem with running two powered Post-War engines together is the fact that e-units can be a little unpredictable. Even after you get them sequenced as Nicole points out they may not come up in the same mode when cycled. In other words you have both engines working together then you interrupt power to change direction and now they are fighting each other.

Post war e-units can drop out rolling over a dirty track section. I would do what JDA suggest, it's better to have a weak but dependable worker then a weight lifter that acts like he's on drugs.

Once one A is locked in Foreward, one locked into Reverse, then placed together should work as if they were MU'ed.

And draw some amps!

Welcome aboard and enjoy the ride.

You definitely started outin a great way.

Welcome Bruiser to the hobby and to the forum. Your going to have a blast. Reading as much as you can here sure helps answer questions. The search feature is great for specific questions. If you don't find answers you need during search, ask away. You have the top train Guys and gals knowledge right at your finger tips...most of all have fun, relax and move slowly into it. I still get a kick out of running a train in a circle. 

Welcome and have fun!

You didn't say what number is on the locomotives or in this case on the lighted numberboards in front. If it says 2344, then the horn is in the powered unit on the bottom of the fuel tank with the battery door and thumbscrew. If its 2354, then these slightly later engines have the horn in the unpowered "A" unit, so you may need to find one of these if you want a horn. Also, keep in mind that these horns can be quirky and may need some adjustment and or contact cleaning to work properly.

Peter

Hi Dominic, what you said about locking the e-units is very true. But, now Bruiser has to live with a one way train. Sort of like kids at Christmas time, fun to watch but don't expect anything coming the other way.

A good idea if you don't like a head on collison

OK guys, it's crazy Mario time, so here goes. Forget about all that post war e-unit nonsense and build a six motor monster that can pull your walls down.

One, get your hands on three fully powered A units.

Two, remove the shells from all three of them.

Three, disconnect the electricals from the old e-units.

Four, run the pick up wires and motor drive wires to a four pin connector that mounts on the rear of each A unit and on each end of the B unit. Make sure that the harness coming out of the A units are male and the ones at each end of the B units are female. This paralles all your track and wheel pick-ups as well as your motor drive wires.

Five, order a Z-Stuff, 10 amp e unit to mount in the B-unit.

Six, wait about a month for it to show up, be patient it will.

Seven, remove old e-unit from B unit and install Z-Stuff ten amper.

Eight,  replace A unit shells on the two end units and the B unit shell on the center unit. 

Nine, place on track with a large, metered transformer and watch that thing walk away with every car you have.

Oh yea, number Ten, make sure you have a full fire extenguisher nearby.