Jacob237 posted:I know this is an old post, but I had a similar issue... got the triangle driver along with the fuse on Amazon for around $15. Put in a fuse holder just in case it happens again. Plenty of room under the throttle.
I only use postwar transformers, but in 2010 a coworker asked me to look at his CW80 he got with a polar express set. Like some others I ground down a crappy screwdriver into a triangle to open the case. As in other cases it was the soldered-in fuse - I was dumbfounded that Lionel would use a fuse rather than a circuit breaker, let alone a fuse that could not be changed out. Like Jacob237, I cut out the fuse and installed a fuse holder in the side of the case. It though it was fairly tricky to fit in as you have to guestimate how far the transformer coil sticks into the case. I chose to put it in the opposite side than Jacob237.
The red line is where the fuse was. It now runs from the board to the fuse holder (lower right of the case), from there to a splice where the fuse was (covered with shrink tubing) then to the transformer. If it was mine I would have looked for a miniature circuit breaker, but they were not as readily available and cost quite a bit more.
Here is the case assembled and right side up. The fuse holder is sticking out the left side.
I used it through the Christmas season then returned it and had no additional issues with it. Personally I'd use a 1033 over a CW80 any day of the week.
