I took my Premier Blue Comet (PS1, 20-3028-1) to find a part on the smoke unit has come off. What is this part, and can it be re-attached? 
Many thanks,
John
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John, I am out of town for a few days. I can do that upgrade shortly when I get back if you want. We will get you done.
It is a capacitor and yes it can be replaced with a new one. Simple repair.
Thanks Marty & GGG.
Does upgrading to PS3 involve replacing the smoke unit as well? Looks like the kit doesn't include a smoke unit, but I want to be sure I get what's needed.
John
no you don't have to replace the smoke unit a new capacitor and install the ps3 kit and your back on the road. you can replace the smoke unit but don't need to its probably a minor repair. I have ps 3 kits and capacitors as well if you need it done!
Alan
p.s. send me n email if interested!
I,m in new jersey
Your PS1 smoke unit gets used with certain traces on the board cut. Only two wires to the smoke fan motor and two to the heaters. On your unit, I would put in new heaters for you and use the good MTH rope wicking. The heaters are tied together to produce 8 ohms. If you want to go forward with the upgrade, you do not need to fix the cap. It does not get used.
Alan, John is a friend from Maine and we agreed on the job a while back. John is a big post and pre war guy. He is very tuned into tinplate also.
Alan, thanks for the help here. This one is going to Marty. I can tell I'm headed down a slippery slope here by breaking my "nothing more sophisticated than an E-Unit" rule, but this is cool stuff!
John
John, time to enjoy. Your upgrade will be number 168 for me. I see more and more E unit guys making the move. For those who advertise on the forum, I am not stealing or chasing any work as John is a friend and we made this a tentative to do at my house over a year ago. I have enough work from Charlie and do not want to chase any more. I get contacted by email often by forum guys asking me to do jobs and I always direct them to a forum sponsor.
For anyone who is looking to get work done, you have a number of people who are qualified to help you that advertise on the forum. It is always a smart idea to let anyone who is going to do work for you be aware of your operating system and transformer uses. One example---earlier this year a VLBB came to me with a nasty note about the Lionel engine and how none of the features worked. I checked it out first and confirmed everything worked perfect. On the intake sheet he listed an American Flyer transformer that was made in 1950. You know that went back to him. No disrespect to the Flyer transformed from the middle of the last century, I run and test modern trains with a Z4000 and ZW-L. Unless you protect those old transformers, not a smart move to use them on modern trains.
People who do not know think working on trains is fun. It is not. It is work and staying current on the product is very important. I am both an MTH and Lionel certified repair tech and have the tech only site available to me by both MTH and Lionel. Whenever I get a new locomotive, I read the book. I have had people tell me they throw the books away. Good luck with that.
Marty has you covered! He will modify the smoke unit to work. G
