Today was a great day. Picked up my Lionel Halloween general and mikado. Picked up my dream train, mth 20-3048-1 Pennsylvania Q-2. So while the money was flying I saw om bottom shelf in box never ran well except just for testing a 1977 Lionel southern crescent. I got home and started running it. It doesn't respond to any controls. It goes medium and will not slow down or go faster. This my first old train. Is this how they are.
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Pennywise: Your 1977 Southern Crescent engine is NOT a "command" controlled engine-it is purely a conventional critter. You need to vary the track voltage to make it run faster or slower. Command control keeps a steady 17 to 18 volts on the track at all times and send the onboard computer signals to vary the voltage output to the motor.
be sure you have a "conventional" power source feeding the track while trying to run your new Southern Crescent.
If your running it on a command track and you have 14v or more to it, I'm surprise it's staying on the tracks around the curves. and it should be flying. What you may need to do also as sounds like you haven't, is take it apart clean and relube everything
Never took a train apart yet so still learning. I just wanted to make sure it worked. I am running on a cw80 with fast track In house before I move to main meet up. So conventual. Guess something else I gotta learn. So does that mean I need a new track for seperate running. With today's purchases I bought all I've wanted. I did backward but I wanted all my stuff first.
You need to be specific on engines too. "Halloween General" is both an old nickname for a black pw and a holiday engine both isnt it? There are pulmore and can motors and possibly a dc only can motor without a rectifier.
Listing the number on the cab usually works for post war & MPC, or in the case of the general, look in the cab for a big pulmore first off, or can motor in the frame, then the engine colors, lighted? smoke? traction tire? magnetraction?
I think TMCC command can be set up to run your conventionals from the remote with an additional "box" (wui?) and proper wiring, And I'm pretty sure DTS does it as is (with proper set up)
14v should move most along unless a heavy grease was used or dirty/ weak brushes etc., but not always.
Post war motors might even take a while to warm up first off. Add heavy grease and it can be iffy on speed for a bit. My brothers needs to warm up alone,.1033 full blast for about 3 minutes before it can handle a load. Once very warm, it pulls like a champ. It has been that way for forty years.
Old grease needs to be checked because it turns to a solid the can do more damage than good.
That above post was foreign to me. So much I don't know. Tmcc and dts. I have my main layout on a mth 4000. Are you sayjng if I run through tmcc. Sorry but I am trying to learn as fast as I can but some stuff I'm plain ignorant on.
Pennywise, you do not need to do anything special. Ignore the TMCC and run the locomotive using the Z4000 handle to vary the voltage.
Adriatic’s point is that there have been several versions of the locomotive with different motors. The cab number will tell you what you have. Google Lionel and your cab number for info. The other point is that the grease and oil may be stiff from age causing the locomotive to not perform as well as it should, in which case, you need to clean it before any damage occurs.
Thank you. So if I've read right. I can run my mth ps and the crescent at same time with 4000 on different tracks. Ok not to vary from subject is there a good tutorial on cleaning trains for beginners on site
Thanks
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