Removing the shell of Lionel PW 1872 General

The big screw under the pilot truck and the one behind the cab and the shell is off. The only parts to watch out for is the steam pipes going to the cylinders. They connect between the body and frame. And the twin piston the operates the air plunger for the smoke.

Chuck,

What about the handrail?  When the cab comes off, how is that handrail attached to the brush plate?    Thanks for the above info as well.

Check the Lionel Service Documents out:

http://olsenstoy.com/1872.htm

Yes......I saw that page in Greenberg, but it doesn't say how it's attached to the brush plate. Seems like there's only one way to find out.....take the cab off and see what happens. I have a feeling that downward pressure due to the rail passing through the hole in the cab is what "holds" it to the place. So, we'll see.    Thanks!

That plastic whistle (?) on top of the cab must last about 2 minutes with a child playing with this engine.

The handrail will come off with the body. The General has a special brushplate that the end of the handrail rests on a extension. No physical connection.

Ah.....that's what I was hoping for. Pressure fit.  I didn't want to open this thing up and hear the dreaded "BOING" as some spring loaded part comes flying out and the basement floor swallows it whole.

Chuck,

It came off just as you described. I'll be tuning up the motor and lubing in there later, but got a chance to look around for spots to add my 1/4 inch lead wire weights to the shell. Can't hurt to have more traction on these things. I found one spot that looked very promising......directly in front of the e-unit down into and towards the pickups. And possibly in the space around the ballast weight. Tight quarters in there.

What do you have?
A Postwar Lionel 1872 should not have a ballast weight.
It should have a Smoke unit where the ballast weight is on an 1862, and Magnetraction.

Here is the service information

C.W.,

On page 129 in Greenberg, it shows the ballast weight where it attaches to the shell behind the smoke piston (different position from the 1862).  On little engines like this, I like to pack in lead pieces wherever possible over the drive wheels. Always helps

My mistake. Thanks

Chuck Sartor posted:

The big screw under the pilot truck and the one behind the cab and the shell is off. The only parts to watch out for is the steam pipes going to the cylinders. They connect between the body and frame. And the twin piston the operates the air plunger for the smoke.

I recall something by someone had a "double barrel" Or "figure 8" piston, is that what you meant? Maybe Twin-action? Maybe predictive text twisted the sentence? (It gets me anyhow)

That is what Lionel calls the assembly.

C.W. or Chuck,

I've got another question for you guys. I just about finished my work on the engine. Cleaned, tuned, lubed, polished.  I just "road tested" it on my layout and it easily pulled a 9 car consist. Very impressive. I had a modern version of this .......crap. Sold it.  Could hardly pull anything compared to this. Anemic smoke......Trainsounds was more like "The Sound of Static"  Thing is......I did not have the ballasted shell on it......running just the chassis. I'll be weighting it with lead later to finish this up. So, it will pull considerably more.

But here's my question. I opened the smoke unit to get a feel for what is in there. It does smoke and it does puff (when the the shell is on, of course). Not sure if everything is ok with the element.  It's got the insulated portion down in the well with just one strand of the ni-chrome wire coming out of it to the terminal at the top of the stack. Is that correct or should it be more substantial?   Couldn't find a part number for the element to get a look at a new one.  If anyone has that number, I may order a spare.  Thanks

This is what you may be seeking:

https://store.justtrains.com/1...moke-Unit_p_134.html

The nichrome wire is only one strand. The piece down in the well is the wick. I don't think I have seen just the heating element available separately.

Thanks, BMORAN4 for that link. That's it. Hopefully I won't need it( certainly is pricey)  And thanks, Chuck, about the wire. When I saw that skinny strand attached to the terminal, I thought that was extremely fragile. A couple of times taking that stack cover off, would definitely break the wire. 

That unit only holds a few drops of smokefluid. They aren't great smokers, just ok. And a load helps. Adding weight is a must to pull a load. 9 cars behind a General is a lot already imo., Gramps replaced these smoke wires with resistors, which I believe were in later versions.

I was trying to get a visual on the piston design or operation Chuck. I trust eyeballs more than diagrams... and following links is a pain on this browser.

Just completed my work on this engine and put it on the track (with it's ballasted shell and chassis back together). Result.......it just pulled a 15 car consist with NO wheel slip. I didn't try more, but there was room to spare, I'm sure. Very impressed with this little engine.

Roger

Gotta love magnatraction! Wish it was used today instead of rubber bands.

Magnetraction and.......pure lead.  LOL