Older lionel only go in reverse.

What are the engines numbers you have?

Did you try moving the lever for the e unit? One way this will lock out the e unit and make the engine go in only one direction and the other the e unit will function properly.

Also if these have been sitting for a long time it may be necessary to tune them up. Get all the old grease and scum out and regrease and lube them up.

After a good tune up they will run like champs!

what number engines?  do u mean the beeps?  all 61.  kinda sucks.  i have one im trying to get that is 60. 

what do u mean by the e unit?  im sorry.  im really new at this stuff.

its just weird both the steam engine and the diesel did the same thing.  only ran in reverse.

E Unit = Electromechanical reverse unit.  Assuming that your GP and steamer have them.

On older postwar-style trains, this was what was used for directional control (Fwd/Neutral/Rev on 3-position e-units or just Fwd/Rev on 2-position units).  On steamers there is typically a lever on the top of the locomotive shell that can be moved left and right.  On GP7s they're located under the engine.

Chances are the E-unit is set where it's locked to run in only one direction.  With the engine on the tracks with power on, hold the engine with your hand so it stays in place and let the wheels spin, and with your other hand try to cycle them by moving the e-unit lever back and forth to see if it changes direction.

We were talking about the GP-7 Diesel and the steam engine. They have numbers on them! What are those numbers? An e-unit is a mecanical/electrical switch that most post war engines used to reverse the direction of the engine. In most cases there is a small metal lever that sticks out the bottom of the engine in the case of the

GP-7 and out the top of the steam engine. When moved to one side the lever turns off the e-unit and when moved to the other side it turns on the e-unit. With the e-unit turned off the engine will stay in what ever direction it was last running.

Al