Smoking Caboose: 6557 vs 6-29714 Repro...?

I'd never heard of the 6-29714, and in fact a google search yields a paltry 8 hits. Weird.

There's a dusty one up to over $100 US on the bay right now with 44 watchers so there must be something nice about it. I'm out because I don't like the bar end trucks on my PWC stuff.

I believe it was included in the 6-31740 - #2519W Virginian Diesel Freight (TMCC FM Train Master #2331) set

The manual shows a different lighting circuit than the original. In the original, the lamp was a #55 and in series with the heating element.

https://www.lionelsupport.com/...ents/73-1740-250.pdf

Thank you for your responses.

I have had a 6557 caboose for a very long time, and another that I bought & resold; both had the #55 bulb that would sort of flicker between semi-bright and not-so-bright. In the neutral position with the transformer ramped up, both were very bright. I always assumed it was a connection issue, but is that the way they are intended to work, i.e., a flickering wood-burning stove? Even in neutral, there simply is not very much smoke with these.

Will a bulb other than a #55 in the 6557 not yield any smoke at all?

Only the #55 bulb is electronically balanced with the smoke unit to produce smoke. It is a common error to find a 6557 with a #51 bulb that has no smoke output due the incorrect bulb being used. As for the flickering, that is due to the single pickup roller coupled with dirty track. For best performance, ensure the track is absolutely clean. Same for the roller assembly. Even when working correctly, the smoke output is very anemic compared to a steam locomotive. In the real world, this holds true too.

While I haven't opened a 29714, a logical guess the smoke unit would be the type of that era. A 62 ohm heater resistor standing upright in a bowl with a wick. Same type as a wide vision or bay window and K-line caboose. Works OK.

I have rewired several 6557 cabooses to by-pass the lamp to direct connection with the track, with no overheating problems. Just don't leave the caboose sitting at 18 volts. Change the lamp from 55 to 57. Under normal operating conditions (not TMCC). Keep a few drops of smoke fluid in the unit so it doesn't run dry. Makes more visible smoke, but uses more fluid also. If the pick-up and pick-up spring are good, it should flicker very little.

I have 2 postwar versions and the one that came in the pwc Virginian freight set...the new one produced no visible smoke but one of the postwar ones smokes a little....