PS-1 Smoke Fan motor

Yes, it does matter!  First off, don't hook a transformer to the motor as it's a DC motor!  Next, for the PS/1 smoke unit, the motor should run clockwise.  You can run it with a single 1.5V battery and just touch it briefly to see which way it runs.  In an extreme case, with the battery connected, you can stick a little screwdriver down and feel which way the fan is turning.

The motor actually turns with the convex curve going forward, it's for noise reduction.

Whoops!  I touched it with a AC transformer, about 6 volts!!  Still seems ok.  Thanks for the rotation info.  There is a white dot next to one of the terminals, is that the + side?  I will give a 1.5 V battery a try too.  Thanks 

Normally, the white dot or the red paint on the side is the positive side.

So (some-all?) of these new generation steam locos indeed have motor-driven smoke units...I mention this because on my recently acquired 2-8-0, one of the first things I noticed (tucked behind the valve gear) was the "arm" used for activating the puffing action of the smoke unit. It seemed rather primitive, yet is very effective. In some other thread a "motor" was mentioned, and I wondered about it at that time.

Jeez, just when I thought these models couldn't get any more complicated... 

Mark in Oregon

I managed to fix it, and it smokes well but it is not timed with the revolution of the wheels, no chuffing.  Is that normal on some early PS1 engines?   

Soldering those two wires to the motor is a real pain for someone without 'real' soldering skills!!  What should be done in about two minutes takes me about 20.  

John,   a 1.5 V battery would not even turn it.  So I tried a 9V and it spun fine.  This smoke unit is mounted in the top of the boiler and there are two conical springs that make electrical contact for the smoke and headlight.  I should have taken some photos. 

Thanks for the help.

Dave, that's normal for all PS/1 smoke units, there is no chuffing.

FWIW, it a 1.5V battery won't spin the motor, it's either bad or perhaps the impeller is dragging on the gasket or pressed too far down.  I've tested a lot of motors with 1.5V, and I've never seen a good one that won't run on that voltage.

It's a normal thing for some models to have the springs, saves a plug when you take it apart.

Mark, not only do they have fan driven smoke, but then I try to convince people to add my Super-Chuffer and Chuff-Generator to earlier TMCC models so you have four chuffs/rev, idle smoke, etc.   Yes, they do get complicated.  I just finished a K-Line Hudson that I added the fan driven smoke unit, and I'm about to start a K-Line K-4 and do the same thing to it.

Normally White for PS-1 smoke fan is +. G