A while back while cleaning out my in-laws storage building, we ran across a box of old Lionel stuff. My father-in-law said it was the train he had when he was a boy. He thinks he got it around '41 or so. Anyway, we brought it home and put it on my son's track. The light comes on and it hums. That's as far as I've gotten so far. What does this sound like? What should I check at this point.
I don't mind spending a little money, but don't want to spend too much. The train and cars are not in the greatest shape. Its just that it will mean something to my son just because it was his grandpa's when he was a child.
The Lionel #204 was an uncataloged locomotive made in 1940 and 41 and only offered in promotional sets. It has the standard Lionel "E-Unit" stepping relay type sequence reverser. The hum can be coming from either the E-unit or the motor.
Check the E-unit first. This is energized whenever power is applied to the loco. The power causes the relay coil pulls up a pawl which moves the reversing switch to the next position in a fwd-stop-rev-stop-fwd... sequence. The E-unit can be deactivated by moving the little silver tab in the slot on the top of the boiler, which locks the motor into the last mode in the reversing sequence.
Remove the chassis from the boiler by removing the two long transverse screws ahead and behind the drivers and just under the running boards. With the chassis on the track and power on, cycle the E-unit tab and watch whether the E-unit pawl causes the plastic contact drum at the bottom of the E-unit to rotate. One frequent problem on older Lionel is the ratchet teeth break off the E-unit drum. Another problem is the E-unit drum or wiper contacts get dirty or broken and don't make good electrical contact. Check that these parts are clean.
The other potential problem area is the motor. Make sure all the bearings are lightly lubricated and turn freely. This loco, like all prewar Lionel, uses a spur gear drive so you should be able to cause the armature to rotate by pushing the chassis down onto the track and moving it forward and backward. Clean and free-up the drive train as needed. The other common problem is worn of stuck brushes. Remove the brush plate and make sure the brushes are clean, free of oil, and move freely in the brush holders with mild spring pressure. Also check that there are no broken wires that don't connect to something.
These actions will usually fix a stalled Lionel loco. My descriptions are brief. If you need more detail, contact me off-group, or go to the
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web site and order one of the Greenberg Lionel maintenance guides. In my own experience of servicing several hundred Lionel trains, almost all Lionel locos from that era can be repaired without too much effort or expense. Good luck. Gary Q
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