yes they came with LIONEL on the plug....be on the safe side....replace the cord...not a hard job..cheers...joe

I’d listen to Joe, …..if it’s the original cord, it’s ancient natural rubber,…to be sure it’ll develop cracks if it hasn’t already,……best to replace it with a modern vinyl coated cord,…

Pat

The whistle mechanism on it is probably original, and it will fail.  There's a way to change it to diodes.  I'm pretty sure it's been documented on OGR, so do a search.

You guys that told him to replace the cord, have you ever replaced one?

@eddie g posted:

You guys that told him to replace the cord, have you ever replaced one?

Many.

@eddie g posted:

You guys that told him to replace the cord, have you ever replaced one?

More than I care to remember,….

Pat

A few. I use the male end of a decent quality, 2-wire, 6' extension cord.  $0.99 at the dollar store.

TonyH

If you replace the power cord with a modern cord you may want to file off the wide prong of the cord and also not use a three wire cord with a ground prong.  The reason is so you can phase this transformer to other transformers that run trains so you can run trains without sparking issues when crossing over from one block to another.  I found it good to phase all train layout ac transformers, including lighting and switching operating transformers, to reduce the amount of common wire on the layout.

Charlie

Jeff at the Train Tender has repo cords.  I ordered 10 of them to get the bulk pricing, about $3 bucks per cord. 

:

Here is the link to Jeff's site:  Parts List (ttender.com)

you can see from the picture that the prongs are the same size. 

Tony,

All good advice above not to use a polarized plug nor a 3-wire. I had my ZW stored in a Chicago basement for 40 years and then a Virginia basement for 30 years and never needed to change the ZW cord. Same for a TW. But the RW cord crinkled into a million pieces, was dangerous, and needed to be replaced. Lionel must have gotten the RW cord from the low-bidder!

@eddie g posted:

You guys that told him to replace the cord, have you ever replaced one?

Several... it's not difficult, and is well worth the peace of mind.

Mark in Oregon

@eddie g posted:

You guys that told him to replace the cord, have you ever replaced one?

Yes....many

Tony,

On the good advice of others, you have been advised to check and or replace the line cord and replace the rectifier disk with diodes for the whistle.  You might as well go the full 10 yards and cover it all.  Before you open it up test the breaker to make sure it functions, and I am really surprised no one mentioned for you to take a look at the rollers to see if they are worn or have a flat spot.  While open clean the coils where the rollers ride to insure a solid connection.  One last thing is to check the terminal studs for your field wiring connections that they are solid and not loose.  Now would be the time to replace any loose or broken ones.  If all this adds up to you not being comfortable doing any of this, drop it off at your local train store.   JP

@Choo Choo Charlie posted:

..found it good to phase all train layout ac transformers, including lighting and switching operating transformers, to reduce the amount of common wire on the layout...

You can reduce the size of common wire on large layouts by having transformers out-of-phase, actually.

@ADCX Rob posted:

You can reduce the size of common wire on large layouts by having transformers out-of-phase, actually.

Truthfully, having one common for everything is not the optimum configuration anyway, especially for MTH DCS.

Put me in the camp of if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I am not sure all power cords were the same. Natural rubber will degrade and will need replacing. Neoprene can last a long time. I have some made for train items made of neoprene that are as good as new after 70 years.

For replacement cords I use ones that have been cut off old broken appliances.

If its a two wire but polarized plug it can be advantage to leave it polarized as you can phase the ZW to match your modern transformer by checking phase before you solder it in place.

Of course remove the cover to check the rollers and make sure the circuit breaker works but no need to replace unless you see wear or the breaker no longer works.

Pete

Have any of you posted a video or instructions on how to replace the cord?  I was going to replace one several months ago and wasn't comfortable doing much once I removed the cover, and as I recall the cord was was not exposed.  Obviously I didn't go far enough.  Chuck

Look here.

@Chuck242 posted:

Have any of you posted a video or instructions on how to replace the cord?  I was going to replace one several months ago and wasn't comfortable doing much once I removed the cover, and as I recall the cord was was not exposed.

Digital Subscribers can watch the late OGR Backshop Foreman Jim Barrett overhaul a ZW here.

Jim Barrett's two part article on ZW overhaul is in OGR December 2003 and January 2004 issues. I keep those as a good reference for ZW repairs.

@texgeekboy posted:

Look here.

That's a hopeless overkill for most repairs on the ZW!

@Rich Melvin posted:

Digital Subscribers can watch the late OGR Backshop Foreman Jim Barrett overhaul a ZW here.

Rich I just tried to watch it and got an error message. I am using a MAC Mini by the way.

Gents, thank you, the Jim Barrett overhaul video was perfect, and now I will also check out the rollers, something I never thought about.  I can also jump back a decade or so and pull out the digital OGR December 2003 and January 2004 issues too.  v/r Chuck

Rollers should be high on your list, when they wear down, the arms score the windings and the transformer is toast!

@RJT posted:

Rich I just tried to watch it and got an error message. I am using a MAC Mini by the way.

Plays fine for me, and the server stats show it has been watched 9 times since I posted the link.

@Rich Melvin posted:

Plays fine for me, and the server stats show it has been watched 9 times since I posted the link.

Just tried again and the error message reads:

Sorry

Because of its privacy settings, this video cannot be played here.

Watch on Vimeo

With no option to close the message. Is Vimeo something Need to download?

Pops right up for me Rick, I'm guessing it's a Mac thing.  This is what I see when I click the link, when I click Play, it does indeed play.

@RJT posted:

Just tried again and the error message reads:

Sorry

Because of its privacy settings, this video cannot be played here.

Watch on Vimeo

With no option to close the message. Is Vimeo something Need to download?

Something in your privacy settings is preventing you from watching the embedded video. So click the link and watch it on Vimeo, which is just a video hosting site like YouTube.