David Johnston posted:Jagrick posted:In the process of repairing a 228 . Like many of these the weak link is often the front coupler wiring but not bad just slowly disassemble only problem would be if coil is damaged. Other delicate feature is the e-unit on these I have been considering making new brass wipers for these (photoetch process) but don’t think enough call for the piece. Neat thing is look at these loco s and they will have 3-4 electromagnetic/mechanical devices in each loco/tender combination and then add the bell option !! Quite an engineering feat
I posted some questions on the 227 front box couplers some time back. I have repaired several of them and was in need of parts.
https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...-prewar-box-couplers
I ended up finding sources for everything I needed, but I failed to update the post with this information. For parts Jeff Kane, the Train Tender, has most of the parts. Following photo is from his web site.
I also found that Dennis Waldron, Just Trains, has original complete front couplers for several of the 227 family locos, including the 227 and 230.
One interesting thing I have learned was about the spears without hooks and the lack of any spear at all. I was a post war guy, but found that the 227 family was a very easy locomotive work on, being built between the bent sheet metal tab era and the tubular rivet era. Almost everything on the 227 family is assembled with threaded fasteners. As I learned more about this era I learned how the box coupler works. To uncouple the box coupler, the hoods on both adjacent couplers have to be lifted. This is not a problem on the RCS track, but the 227 family equipped with the teledyne uncoupling system uncoupled only the front coupler on the locomotive and the rear coupler on the tender, not the adjacent car. This releases the hook on the adjacent car, but it would not release the hook on the loco and tender couplers. To make the teledyne system work the engine and tender couplers were either equipped with spears that had no hook or no spear at all. Both variations exist on various models, years and locations.
As for the e-unit, I find it much easier to work on that the standard 259 e-unit. One thing I alway do is to remove the contacts and ratchet wheel prior to soldering wires into the contact board. This is to protect the ratchet and contacts from the soldering heat. The contacts are attached to the ratchet wheel with small drive pins. Lionel drilled this hole all the way through making it possible to use a very small punch to drive the pins out to repair or change the contacts. Over the years I have only seen a few of the contacts available as a separate items. Fortunately I have had very good luck with these e-unit and have never needed to replace the contacts, but it sure would be nice to have a source of them. I do not think they are brass, they are probably phos. bronze, maybe C-510, spring temper.
Thanks for posting-didn't know the rebuild kit existed and definitely a step up, as I have had to partially unwind the fields in the past or write them off. These are some of the best engineered locos Lionel made. !! The wipers are a phosphor bronze so I need to see if chemical will act same way on the metal as on brass (I think it will).
