Lionel rewire help

Stranded is fine, it's just harder to solder onto the e-unit fingerboards.

Those 200 + watts transformers are for running entire layouts, all the bulbs, switches, motors, accessories, & multiple locos.

The motor in your loco will draw about 1 or 1.5 amps at 18-20 volts, so for just the loco and its cars, it will run fine on a loop of track with a 25 to 50 watt transformer. The wire gauge in the loco is just fine.

Rob

Lionel-Ives

carefully

replacement parts,

ready when the

about nothing

inside the loco

there was any

voltage/current

particular loco hasn't

are stranded.

train? All the

seems small to

but really!

is running at

wire.

Stranded wire is fine. I normally use 20 gauge wire for these older pre-war locos when I rebuild them at my shop. Just tin the end first when you need to wrap the wire around a screw or E-unit tab.

Len Head Rust Scraper KL&B Eastern Lines RR Museum

Stranded wire is more flexible than solid wire. It is less likely to work harden and break under sustained vibration. I would use stranded exclusively inside a locomotive. When stripping the insulation from stranded wire it is important not to nick the fine strands lest some of them break off. A quality wire stripper that will not nick the wire is available from Sears Roebuck. It will pay for it self after a few wires. Craftsman Number 82544 handles wire from 26 to 16 AWG.

David Starr

53 wrote: New to the hobby, trying to restore my father's pre-WWII Lionel-Ives locomotive. I disassembled what is left of the loco and have carefully cleaned everything and placed the order for a few misc replacement parts, like drive wheels. I'm starting to put it all together to be ready when the wheels get here. I'm good at gears, axles, etc but know just about nothing of AC motors and "e-units". I am replacing all the wires inside the loco because every wire had serious breaches in the insulation, if there was any insulation left. I don't know if this is due to some over voltage/current condition or if the insulation just breaks down, this particular loco hasn't run in at least 30 years. My questions:

- Some of the wires I am replacing are single conductor, some are stranded. Can I replace all with stranded? What difference does it make?

- What is the level of current transferred around inside the train? All the wires in there when I started seem to be 22 or 24 AWG which seems small to me. I realize there are no wires more than half a foot long, but really! The transformers I read about are 200W or 300W. If the train is running at less than 20 V and 200 W, that is a lot of current for a

24 AWG wire. Any remedial electricity/electronics resources out there?

--------------------------------------------------- Two helpful books that will prove valuable:

"Greenberg's Repair and Operating Manual for Prewar Lionel Trains":

"Greenberg's Repair and Operating Manual for Lione; Trains 1945-1969":

Bill Bill's Railroad Empire N Scale Model Railroad: History of N Scale: Railroad Bookstore: 's Books and Toy Trains: to 1,000 sites:

For openers, your lokie is probably not demanding more than 25 Watts from the power supply. Even if it's gobbling twice that much you are still OK with 22 AWG stranded copper wire. The big 300/500 Watt transformers like the ZW and others will run many trains and accessories simultaneously. The individual locos do not consume anywhere near that amount of power. Use the 22 AWG, then, if you think it's getting hot, or the engine is not operating properly go to a larger wire.

...AND at many public libraries...

Rob