I am looking for another road name tender for my 4-6-4, and came across a lionel one that is described as a "rattle tender". The shape is the same as a zillion other tenders (as well as mine) but instead of a whistle fan underneath, it has some round disk looking deal that must contact the 3rd rail.
What was the purpose of that?
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Honestly, it was a "sound system"; not sure that I have ever heard one function. Just a really creepy thing.
If you get it to function, how about a video with sound?
The disk had a bunch of "stuff" in it that rattled as it rolled against the third rail. It was a primitive sort of sound effect that was supposed to make noise in bursts that sounded vaguely like steam sounds.
---PCJ
I think it was something from MPC, early 80's, sounded like stones rolling around in a tin can.
Huh, interesting. While I applaud their creativity for attempting to recreate around 10% of the audio spectrum of a chuff, I don't think I'll be purchasing that, so won't be able to give you a video D500! 
Thanks guys!
I recall them......it wasn't the cuff-cuff they were aiming for but rather more like dried rice tumbling......didn't like them then or now.
My Nickel Plate Special set from 1991 had this "feature". Even as an 11-year-old it annoyed me to the point of removing the rattling drum from the tender.
I have one. They don't sound all that bad. Better than the white noise generators anyways.
Chet posted:I think it was something from MPC, early 80's, sounded like stones rolling around in a tin can.
Chet basically described it! It spins around and makes sound as it turn on the center rail, no periodic chuff, just sounds like stones being spun around.
Lee Fritz
Often described as "beans in a wheel." That's a pretty apt name for sure.
Jim McC
mlavender480 posted:My Nickel Plate Special set from 1991 had this "feature". Even as an 11-year-old it annoyed me to the point of removing the rattling drum from the tender.
Ha! I had that set too, and the rattle/chuff never bothered me at all. I think I actually kind of liked it! I would try to run it really slowly to hear the individual BBs falling, and then speed it up to get more of a 'chuff' sound.
It's been a long time since I heard it last. Maybe when I visit my parents' over Thanksgiving, I'll dig it out to see whether my tastes have evolved.
I suspect they haven't 
That was lionel first try at sound of steam they have came a long way ! If you get the lionel nation videos it is one of them.
My lionel mopar express steam engine has this and i like it. I was going to upgrade with sound but this train set has sentimental value to me.
I've never heard that term before, but as soon as I saw the topic title, I knew what you were talking about. I had a Toys R' Us set from 1988 that included one of those tenders, and it did sound a bit odd. Still, I wish I had never sold that set.
Think maraca , the percussion instrument. And it was called that around my neighborhood and family too. "Baby rattler" like a snake to be avoided.
I hated the one I had as a kid, but was surprised how good one sounded at a pals a few years back. I thought it was a good sounding noise generator. He laughed and said "rattler". I had to inspect it to beleive it.
Travel at just the right speed was always needed; that I remember well. To slow=rice or BBs dropped slowly into Tupperware; and too fast =white noise, or even no sound at warp speed. The wheel seemed to cause drag in curves too. The later two issues, deal breakers. Backing up, the final straw.
Chances are, there are good and bad ones, just like anything else. I was also train-spoiled and "needed" smoke and whistle to be satisfied. Not to mention even broken, a whistle tender seldom string lines with cast cars and Evans autoloaders full of cast automobiles, etc.
It was weighted somewhere in the middle of whistle & non whistle. I once had a perfect non whistle tender simply because I never used it. Must have traded with Gramps for a car or two at some point? I know that's where the rattler went.
My curiosity since seeing my pals, has been about the cleanliness of the center rail since that rail seems less prone to crud formations than the outer rails and rubber traction tires and MPC plastic wheels seem to make that worse than all steel wheels do, does the center rail suffer? Will the steel rollers crud up now?
For the price of a non whistle tender I'd accept one because they always seem to have good paint, but not a cent more.
Don - thanks for the video; now I know what it sounds like. Not sure that knowing that is a good thing - plus it made the tender really ugly. Is the fact that it was drowned out by the loco noise a good or a bad thing?
"Mighty Sound of Gravel"
ADCX Rob posted:"Mighty Sound of Gravel"
Good one! 
I don't think it sounds much worse than the chuff on my Williams Scale Hudson. It would be equally annoying after a few minutes. Good thing is if it ever breaks, just add more BB's or beans, not a new sound board.
Gee..different animal than I know as a "rattle tender"...ln the Marx world l was thinking of the metal "wedge" 3/16 tender that has a weight in it that rattles when you shake it.
I just fixed one tonight! The was fine but truck snapped off. I fixed it for a penny, more specifically with a penny!
The pictures should give a better idea of what the "rattle" looks like, and also my repair . The plastic head from the original rivet popped a hole in the bottom of the car. I needed something 3/4" and round to fit down into the recess of the car floor. After scrounging for a while in the garage, a penny turned out to be the needed component. Everything was stuff laying around and a little glue .
douger posted:That was lionel first try at sound of steam they have came a long way ! If you get the lionel nation videos it is one of them.
Fairly certain the electronic Sound of Steam (1971) predates this mechanical system.
Wow, so much discussion over a product that most folks wouldn't even consider owning. Well, I like these tenders, so if anyone has one you want to dispose of, shoot me an email.
These tenders are decidedly low-tech, but are also easily improved and have a simplistic charm. No worries here about blown speakers, faulty circuit boards, pinched wires, broken tether wires, etc.
1) I replace the snap rivet on the trucks with a stop nut and truss screw to eliminate wobble. 2) I replace worn traction tire on the sound wheel with a couple of large, wide rubber bands. 3) Using a Dremel, I enlarge and lower the mounting holes in the tender for the sound wheel, which improves the rotation of the sound wheel, even on tight 027 curves. 4) I add some weight to the tender frame, to enhance contact of the sound wheel to the center rail. Not to mention repainting of the shell and adding details to enhance the appearance.
Yes, compared to the electronic options today for realism, this cannot begin to compare save for one small thing missing today from the train world... a little thing called "imagination." There was a time not so long ago when air whistles and bicycle buzzers were the paramount realism in toy trains.
I like this sound wheel way more than I like the crew chatter. I've stood along side many real trains and have never once heard train crew chatting over the overwhelming sounds of a real train. And yet the crew chat is a standard feature today (even though you can turn it off). Maybe it's a little thing called "play value," even though most prototypical operators assuredly wouldn't use that term.
Which is, I'm certain why Lionel MPC developed this and put into starter train sets - not higher end separate sale steam engines aimed at the then-growing collector market.
Quite a bit of discussion indeed! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading these replies. This place is the best!
I remember back in my early HO days in the mid/late 70's Tyco came out with a similar Wheel-O-Beans in a boxcar. Never bought one as all I had were diesels.
I've seen the Lionel "rattle" tenders at train shows and rolled one along a piece of track to hear what it sounded like. Not too bad, but like most sound effects I bet it would get annoying after awhile. And no on/off switch either!
Marx used a similar mechanism.
I had a Lionel Cannon Ball express as a kid. It was my first Lionel set. It was DC and had a rattle tender. I actually remember being like 5 and I actually wore out the sliders on it, and until we could get some new ones from our hobby shop my dad soldered the gaps back shut for a temporary fix to keep me occupied. Eventually I got a Coastal Limited set and had an actual AC engine. After I quit using the DC engine and when I was about 8 or 9 I rediscovered the rattle tender I realized it was an oil tender that said PENNSYLVANIA, and I said no way was I having a "fake PRR Oil tender", so off came the front truck and on went an MPC non operating knuckle and 2 pieces of electrical tape to hide the name thus my C&O Atlantic now had a "water Bottle" for "longer excursions".
Surely there is no harm in discussing the information.
I think I had one of these in a set I sold. I thought it sounded pretty good for the caliber of the set. I guess Railsounds version 22.7 has raised the OGR minimum expectations of sound these days. I will probably pick one up if I see it. I had forgotten all about it, but quite a novelty.
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