Roundhouse Bill posted:The 81 engines are prone to E unit failure and 2 of the 3 of them had to be redone. They look like Gilbert's but are not. The E Unit was built so it used separate coils of wires in the field to change direction. No current E Unit can perform this action and Lionel hasn't had originals for years. If you go to Port Lines Hobbies website and look at his repair clinics you will find one I did for the S Gaugian and him on this repair.
Many, many moons ago (1993) I had the reversing unit circuit board fail in my L-AF B&O PA set (purchased brand new 12 years after it was built here in the USA). I was fortunate to find that my local Lionel dealer and service station, Brasseur's in Saginaw (who has always been a strong source of parts and kindly assistance), had an OEM replacement, which has been just fine ever since they performed the repair at no charge to me. This was back when USA-made Lionel parts were readily available and Lionel reimbursed their service stations under a warranty that had 'legs'. Ah, the good old days!! 
Bob
