Repairing a 10 Electric

The cab comes off very easily. Just unscrew the screw on each end of the cab and lift up.

Don't remove cab until you pull the "T" connectors from the back of the headlight. The may be a bracket to prevent the "T" from pulling out of the socket. Just gently push away from the end of the "T" and pull it out of the socket.

The tabs on the frame is to prevent squeezing the cab in when handling the loco.

The electric circuit is quite simple.

Enjoy,

Ron M

Red arrow points to the screw that Ron mentioned: one on each end.  Shell should lift right off the frame.

The tabs are not normally bent over: as Ron says, they are used for alignment.  If someone has bent them over, you will have to straighten them (in addition to taking out the 2 screws) for the shell to lift off.  No need to re-bend them when re-assembling.

Lift off slowly, wires from headlights will still be attached to the motor.  Maybe a wire nut if you're lucky.

You are right about the bulbs.  14v or 18v work well, 12v burn out easily. Same bulb as used for the engine headlight.

Ron and Hojack:

Thanks very much for your reply.  I'm embarrassed that I became so fixated on the tabs on the bottom that I completely overlooked the tiny screws ... mostly because they're in the same position as many postwar and modern locos.

I did get the shell off but I still haven't found the short.  The innards are a trifle rough, both because of frayed wire insulation, but also because one or more previous owners have been poking around in there, and they weren't too tidy about it.

I still haven't given up on it, but it's going to take longer than I have considering we have to finish preparing for Christmas too.  I'll post some photos later with the shell removed and I'll ask some specific questions.

Until then, is there a place online or in a published book that has a wiring schematic for the engine?  I'm not 100% confident that the last guy who had it didn't move things around.  I don't want to take the time to replace all the wires with new ones, only to discover that I've soldered things into the wrong positions.

Thanks.

Steven J. Serenska

Steven,

The only wire that is soldered is the one that is secured to the pickup plate.

Now for connecting to the reversing switch.

          Term. 1    O           O    Term. 2

          Rev. Switch

          Term. 4    O                O      Term. 3

Terminal 1 — Pickup and headlites

Terminal 2 — Brush #1

Terminal 3 — Field winding

Terminal 4 — Brush #2

First remove all the old wiring (except for the one from the pickup) and discard.

Next using an ohm-meter:

1. Check for a short between the pickups and the frame (ground). At this point you may want to slip a piece of heat shrinkable tubing over this wire. (Then you don't have to remove the pickup insulated strip to re-solder new wiring.)

2. Without any wires going to the brushes, check for grounds (shorts) between the brushes and the motor frame.

3. Check for field grounds. (There should be approximately 1-2 ohms resistance in the field winding.)

4. Check for shorts in the lamp sockets.

Have fun,

Ron M

Ron:

Thanks so much for this fantastic info.

My only questions are:

1. Where is the wire that comes out of the center rail pickup attached?  My concern is that this is the one that is has a missing cover and it's touching ground somewhere.  I tried my best to look in there with a mini-mag flashlight, but that portion of the mechanism is well concealed.  Is it possible (or even necessary) to remove the center rail pickup assembly for a closer inspection?
2. In your diagram above, where you wrote "Rev. switch", is that the location of the physical lever that protrudes through the engine shell?  If yes, then what was wired to my Terminal 1 is different than what you show above and this may be the cause.  If I'm mistaking, please let me know.

Thanks again for your help.

SJS

To put the same thing a little differently;

On the 4-terminal reversing switch, it doesn't matter which wire is attached to which terminal AS LONG AS:

1) the two wires from the brushes are attached to two terminals which are opposite each other, not adjacent to each other; and

2) the wires from the power pickup and the field winding go to the other two terminals, which are also opposite each other, not adjacent.

If you are having trouble seeing and tracing the wires, a simple step after taking the shell off the frame, would be to take the motor out of the frame.  Usually this is just 4 screws in the motor side plates, and the motor will drop out of the frame.  Then you will be able to see into the ends of the motor more easily; also easier to work if you are going to slip some insulation over that pickup wire as Ron suggests.  Not necessary to do this, but sometimes easier in the long run.

Ron and Hojack:

Thanks for this info.  I was asking about the orientation of the reversing mechanism in case one of the posts was grounded and another not.  All that you both say makes sense.

I had already taken the motor out of its frame, but I still can't see all of the wire that's attached to the pickup assembly.  If it's touching ground somewhere, it's beyond where I can see.

My daughters just left for their next stops on the Christmas visit tour, so I'll be able to spend a quiet afternoon getting to the bottom of it.

After my nap...  

Thanks again for your help.

SJS

Ron and Hojack:

I think the best way to communicate how grateful I am for your help is with a picture, not a bunch of words:

Thanks again, guys.

SJS

Sweet! Awesome job getting her back on the track. Enjoy.

SJS,  nice job!  Looks great, and sounds like it is running strong.  Good for another 80 years or so!

david

Nice set. Glad you got it running. Many great/helpful people on this forum. 

Bob

I'm glad this thread was re-kindled today.

Today was the day that we took down the tree, removed all the decorations, and took down the 10 Electric.

Before I took it down, I lubed all the gears and oiled the axles and armatures so that, in the offseason, the metal parts are protected from rust.

After I finished lubing, I ran it for a good 15 minutes. It was even quieter and surer than the image shown in the photos.  The engine is so loose and sure, it even coasts after push-start by a human hand.

This will be a nice set around which we'll build a Christmas-only Standard Gauge empire.

Thanks again for everyone's help and interest.

SJS

beautiful set!

Unfortunately, we took down the tree and all related decorations yesterday, so the set won't be out until next year.  I'll post more pictures then after we set everything up.

This is my first Standard Gauge set.  If you're at all interested, you can come by one of these at pretty reasonable prices.  Just create a standing eBay search and wait till one arrives in nice condition at your price point. You've got almost a year until next Christmas...  

In my case, I decided that since the entire project was a bit of a flight of fancy, I'd set a hard budget of $250. I managed to score that set on eBay for $235, so I was a happy camper.

As someone else here said:

1. Light a fire
2. Light the tree
3. Pour a glass of wine
4. Turn off the room lights
5. Turn on the tinplate train
6. Listen to the sounds, feel the warth, and watch the flickering lights.

Nothing could be finer.

SJS

Thanks, now I can't get Peacock Blue out of my head.  It would be a good color for a hot rod, with the orange for racing stripes.  Somebody was ahead of their time.  Too hot!