Operating Accessories

The ones that I have which have the new, can motor design are:

icing station

switch tower

culvert loader

culvert unloader

Forklift platform

they all operate smoothly, quietly and reliably.

I'd second The Great Graz and his comment. I use the modern versions as they are so smooth and quiet. Plus I don't hesitate to weather and paint the remakes into something more realistic looking. 

So, with the 456R coal ramp, which hopper do I need to look for that will operate with it ?

I would look at the new 282 style Gantry Crane the is self propelled,lots of play value.

Mikey

The coal loader is fun.  Lots of memories of spraying coal all over.  This is an old photo, but notice the coal all over the place.  This is something to consider.  A gantry crane is fun too. One of these days I will have them up and running again.  About to start wiring

Dan Padova posted:

So, with the 456R coal ramp, which hopper do I need to look for that will operate with it ?

I can think of 3 off the top of my head, but there may be a 4th I am forgetting:

1) N&W that came out same time as the ramp (6-19885)

2) Burlington (6-26779)

3) Texas and Pacific (6-26748)

These all came out in the early 00's right with or within a couple years of the 456R.

I used ebay searches to find the item #'s (can't check my own at the moment), so please make sure before you actually order something.  These should give you a good start point though.

-Dave

Long live our favorite sccessories.

IMO, operating accessories are great crowd pleasers, which got many of us enamoured to model railroading when we were kids.

I recently made a trade in which I got this pre-war Lionel #165 magnet crane:

Initially, I was hesitant to get it because I already had the post-war #282 gantry crane, and didn't think I had room for the 165 magnet crane.

I'm so glad I made the deal because now I love it and believe it fits perfectly on my layout.

Here is a short video showing the 165 in action, servicing a dock and scrap metal barge on my layout:

Arnold

As you can see, I'm not yet a very good crane operator, but I'm determined to get better. LOL, Arnold

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

As you can see, I'm not yet a very good crane operator, but I'm determined to get better. LOL, Arnold

That looked pretty good to me, Arnold.  By far the most loved accessory on my layout has always been my MTH 165 repro.  My kids loved it and now the visiting nieces and nephews have really taken to it.  That’s a really nice dock scene you’ve created with your newly acquired crane.  You can see mine working the scrapyard in the center of our layout here -

My favorite is MTH operating coal loader

not my photo.

My other favorite is the PW Lionel gantry crane

Arnold, it is quite a feat to film with one hand and operate your 165 with the other.
magical is all I can say.

”watch me pull a 165 outta my hat”

My third favorite accessory is the PW Lionel forklift accessory.

FM, I no longer have modern reissue accessories. While they are certainly a lot quieter I would entertain the possibility that my 1950’s senses and memory is all about the postwar noise involved! Lol.
all of the MTH accessories were not only good operationally, they were smooth and quiet.

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

As you can see, I'm not yet a very good crane operator, but I'm determined to get better. LOL, Arnold

From the sounds of the video I think that 165 needs servicing or some oil at least. The best thing about my 282 was the growling of that pullmor motor. I would not like the modern version as much.

Beware of new-in-box reissued accessories.  It took me over 30 years to convince my wife to let me put a layout in the house.  I had new items in storage and two were DOA just from sitting in the box un-used for decades.  My reissued culvert loader was dead since the motherboard died simply sitting in the box.  The electronics are not available so I had to buy another one.  My reissued 456-R coal ramp will not release the car from the coupler since the electronics also died while in storage.  I had other reissued accessories that had o-rings in the gearbox that were under tension for years and were no longer round.  These units are not intended to be serviced, or if they are, replacement parts are seldom available.  I had to clean out old lubricant from almost every item and "monkey" with them to get them to work.  Looking back, since I generally got things to operate, the process was fun, albeit time-consuming.  My biggest gripe is about units that decayed while new and in storage - that I was not expecting.  So, just because you buy a new item, doesn't mean that it will work after sitting for so long.  Be careful.

Operating accessories are one of the key attractions of our hobby. Over the past few years I redesigned and upgraded over 30 accessories to incorporate newer technology, such as servomechanisms. A layout without operating accessories would seem a shame to me.

The only operating accessories that I like are crossing gates/flashers and trackside signals

Young visitors to my 15x19-feet L-shaped layout usually go directly to the "Culvert Pair" of Lionel accessories: the Culvert Unloader and the Culvert Loader. Lots of fun. Next in line as a favorite:  the Lionel Sawmill.

Mike M.   LCCA 12394

@Leroof posted:

My other favorite is the PW Lionel gantry crane

Arnold, it is quite a feat to film with one hand and operate your 165 with the other.
magical is all I can say.

”watch me pull a 165 outta my hat”

Leroof, the pre-war 165 has a better, more user friendly, controller than the postwar 282 gantry crane. It's much easier to make a video of the 165 in action, than the 282 in action.

@iguanaman3 posted:

From the sounds of the video I think that 165 needs servicing or some oil at least. The best thing about my 282 was the growling of that pullmor motor. I would not like the modern version as much.

Agreed

This is what I have,
All Post War Lionel, picked up at Hobby Shops and Train Shows.
97 Coal Elevator - Kitbashed to give it a more realistic look,
455 Oil Derrick,
394 Rotary Beacon, doesn't rotate, but the light flashes,
364 Log Loader - added stairs, catwalk and control booth,
Plus, 153 Block Signal, 154 Highway Flasher, 252 Crossing Gate

9

Steve

Ohhh Steve! Nice but it appears you need a powerdrop after that gated crossing.

@prrhorseshoecurve posted:

Ohhh Steve! Nice but it appears you need a powerdrop after that gated crossing.

Powerdrop ?