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Hello everyone,

          As always i enjoy sharing the work I'm doing on various engines, this time it's the Lionel Acela. This particular one runs very well it just was in need of new traction tires. As you will see in the pictures below changing the traction tires isn't for a novice, in my opinion it should be done by Lionel or a qualified tech. Even though it's quite a task, i enjoyed every minute of it. To change these tires there's many steps and a lot of very very small parts that must be disassembled.  Also you will see in some of the photos the inner workings of this engine.

Enjoy, and thanks for looking, Alex

 

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Last edited by Rich Melvin
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Hello everyone,

Thanks for all your great replies, it's great to talk about upgrades and repairs.

Marty, yes i only use MTH tires, i find Lionel tires to thick.

Angelo, not an easy task, but i love the challenge !!!

Doug, i totally agree with Marty about the truck design, excellent engineering.

CNJ Bob, my pleasure, and thank you for your kind words.

Bob, thank you for your kind words, i love working and repairing these engines.

Larry, beautiful words- thank you so much !!!!!

Kris, i find a nice soft towel works best, for parts and not damaging the engine.

Richard, thanks for the kind words, yes it's not a job for a novice. It's quite involved, but the more involved it is the more i like it.

Kevin, thanks buddy. I really enjoy sharing this with all of you on the forum.

Joe, it would be quite a task to change this engine to 2 rail. lol !

John, Thanks. The IR tethers are going to remain, unless the customer wants me to change them out. I will ask him.

Laz, thanks buddy, I really enjoy sharing my work with all of you on this great forum.

Some might disagree, but I think Lionel did some amazing engineering on this engine. !!!!

Thanks, Alex

Last edited by Alex M

Wow! Cool engineering, thanks Alex. For those that want (or have seen) this engine run, we (TCA Midwest Division) have been running this set at Trainfest in Milwaukee for the past several years. 

The two sets that I have been directly involved with work fine if carefully set up. It's amazing how many knob jobs say "oh, that's the Acela, I heard it does not run well" when one is operating right in front of their fat face. Must be a problem engine because the Internet said so...

Maybe learn to read the instructions, now there's a thought.

Charlie

Buzz, if these units are set up correctly they will run great. I'm glad you're thinking of making the purchase. They are a show stopper.

John, Live Steam,  I keep hearing the set will run right if the instructions are followed correctly . I don't own the set so i can only tell you what I've heard.

Steve, thanks buddy.

Charlie, i agree with you 100 percent, you're the proof that if it's set up correctly it will run fine.

Mario, If you ever need the tires changed, i can do it for you.

Thanks, Alex

 

 

I am:

  • Impressed that any Acela actually needs a traction tire change
  • Again impressed that you boldly took that sucker apart, got it back together, and it still works
  • Eternally grateful that I wasn't ever tempted to buy one of these things

Nice video. I do not recall ever seeing a video of one of these running....

Last edited by Gilly@N&W

Hi guys 

Thanks for all of your input and nice comments. 

As you noticed, one of the  pantographs  wasn't operating during the video I posted. I decieded to take a look inside, and what I found was the motor  Assembly wasn't lining up with the pantograph lift arm. So it was just a matter of taking the  Motor assembly off, and lining it up with the pantograph arm. 

 While I was at it  I figured I would show you all the inner workings of the pantograph motor assembly.  Very nice engineering here

Thanks, Alex 

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Last edited by Alex M
gunrunnerjohn posted:

Very cool.  I've always wanted one of these sets, but I keep reading about the problems and figure I'll wait for the Legacy model.

Gunrunner, it's not like you to take the easy way out.  :-). It's a great set and it will challenge your skill set...keep you sharp!  :-D

Alex nice job, this answers alot of questions I had. I posted a thread about a week ago on the acela. You just made me want one more and more. Do you have the cars. If so while you have them could you do a video of the whole set in action. Also could you show an up close picture of the cars IR couplers and how they work. You say if this set is set up properly it works flawlessly. Am I hearing you correctly. Or as marty suggested do you need to install the wired tethers between the cars for the most reliable preformance? The IR issuse between the cars comes into play when the set atomaticaly tilts going around curves. Cant this feature be turned off via a switch on the top of the engine. Would this help in preventing the IR transmition issue between the cars? Thank for any info you could share with us as you have the set in your hands. 

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