Well...........NOT if the Lionel 397 coal loader has anything to say about it!! I bought an older, used one years ago, replaced the belt, then never used it. This year, I drug it out and hooked it up.
Boy, is it a "thumper!" Uncanny easy design, easy to wire....but oh so slow! I timed it: took 5 minutes to get an acceptable load into a car - and noisy the whole time. So, no, Santa will not be getting his coal from here. I think any kid running/watching it will be entertained though.
I use official "Lionel" coal....but the varying sizes seem to contribute to jams. I am going to load some cars, until the loader can't raise any more coal, and remove what is left, from future loads. After doing that several times, I should have coal that the loader is "happy" with!
I do notice that it is not as messy as some have posted. The clear shield does a good job, and bending the "ears" in on the chute helps contain stray coal. Also, if one gets the front or rear of the car to far either way, coal does not enter the car - coal hits the end and bounces all over the place.
Another thing is that, at the bottom left and right of each end of the loading bin, Lionel cut down the corners, to allow a train coming around a curve to miss hitting it. But the shaking spills coal out of each side. I had to put mine near a curve, SO to avoid the extraneous spillage, I blocked the ends....with red tape. It blends in, stops the spillage, and does no harm when the engine hits it.
Finally, there is a funny looking "bin" that comes with it, with a rectangular hole in the bottom. No idea where it goes, it does not seem to mount anywhere. Maybe it does not go with this.
And there is the report on the old 397, it does a "bang up job." (Man, is it noisy though!)
Greg image
this is a stock image
