Pennsylvania Keystone Special set 6-83072

You'll have to watch as it happens. If it is in the linkage a little bending should fix it.

Rod Miller

I have the same engine - there is a little "catch" when the axle hits the lever to activate the smoke. It may be the cause. If it is very, very minor, and it occurs when you see the "flap" for the smoke move in the chassis, that is likely your issue. 

Hi SJC,

IS there a fix for this?

Not really any fix for that, it's the way it's designed.  If you never used smoke, you could rip those parts out and not have the smoke piston being pushed by the lever.

Hi John,

I hope it may just be connecting rods. He also has the Silver Bells Express and Lionel Scout RTR sets - both smokers, but no clicking or hesitating. These 2 locos are 0-4-0 configuration. The Penn loco is 0-8-0 with linkages, so I'm hoping it's only the connecting rod linkage causing the problem. But I'll check both things out when I get home. Thanks all for your help and advice!

OC Patrick posted:

Hi SJC,

IS there a fix for this?

As GunrunnerJohn states, no really way to fix it. That is the way it was designed. You should not have any major binding. It should be hardly noticeable, if at all. I know my engine, if really creeping along, there may be a slight "hiccup" when the smoke activates but again, it really should not be noticeable. If it is, I'd say there is an issue. I have heard of issues of the heat from the smoke unit warping the plastic linkage causing a bind. 

If in doubt, let your local repair man take a look. It is hard to really diagnose "normal vs issue" without a video.