Did a 392W twelve wheel tender come with a whistle?

If it has a "W" after the number it should be a whistling tender. The prewar tenders had cast impellers for the whistle fan, they would often suffer from zinc pest and crumble like the wheels and cast frames.

Roland

That makes perfect sense.  Can they be made operable with relative ease, or better put, can they be fixed to operate?  I need to open mine up.  It may be just a wire, but I thought I would ask first.  W after the tender means whistle.  Got it.  It is a big beautiful tender.  Choo Choo!

The first thing to do is open it up carefully. The tenders were not immune to zinc pest and can be somewhat fragile. With the tender on the track activate the whistle and watch it to see if the relay closes and if the motor spins. The motor may need cleaning and lubrication. If the motor spins but there is no sound then the impeller is very likely broken. you may have to remove the whistle to inspect it. The whistle should be a self contained unit held to the tender floor with a couple of screws. If you have access to soldering equipment you can unsolder the wires from the roller pickups and move the whistle clear of the tender to work on/ examine it. First look through the curved slots on the fan cover. You are looking to see if the 4 arms are still intact on the impeller. Another problem the whistles suffer from is warping of the air chamber. If the impeller is broken it may be hard to find a direct replacement, i have never tried to replace the diecast impeller with the plastic postwar one, but it may be possible. In the worst case you could replace the whole whistle unit with an operating one.

Roland

Sweet nectar.  Great advice.  Thanks a million.  Not sure if I'm handy enough to fix it myself, but if it's fixable, it will get done.

Talk about a rhetorical question.  If it has a W at the end it is a Whistling tender.  I won't ever forget that lesson.  Thanks a million.  I like whistling tenders.  I have an 1835W and a 385W with matching engines of course.  The 1835W is especially strong.  Need to get this 392W awhistlin' agin.

The whistle in most of these units were a 'pedestal' type attached to the frame. The units were mounted to a bracket with an insulating piece where the steel bracket meets the die cast whistle body. In a lot of cases the die cast 'tits' have grown and broken off. If this has happened, it can be repaired w/ 2 part epoxy and a ground wire run from frame of tender to whistle body ground.  Harry

This question is directed to Harry mostly, but others may know.  The whistle that would be in the 392W is listed as a type W-38, from looking at Olsen's Library.  Is this particular whistle the type referred to as a "banana" whistle, as the W-37?  Just curiosity mainly as parts are not common and would be hard to find.

Well, time to open her up and see.  I really kind of wish I had a resource to learn how to fix these awesome trains.  I always hear how easy they are to work on and repair.  Problem is, I don't know where to start.  I have a nice 318 that I need to get running.  I think it is a basic wiring problem.  I looked around then closed her back up not having a clue.  How can a guy learn how to work on these guys?  Even for yearly maintenance  it would be handy to know the basics.  I'll take a look at my tender.  Thanks a million for sharing your wisdom.  I bet a lot of you guys saw the post and were like - uh... now that's a stupid question.  The W means whistle you knucklehead.  Cheers !

William, If you don't know, then it's time to ask what you don't understand.  Not everyone is 100% knowledgable about all aspects of the many gauges, older trains (prewar), up to the newest generation with remote controls.  You just need to ask, and you should get an honest answer.

As far as whistling tenders, some are marked with the number on the bottom, others aren't.  For one not marked with a number, just look for a contact roller on one of the trucks, possibly on both trucks, or in some cases a central mounted roller pickup with wire going inside the shell.  If you see that, it is a whistling tender, and the weight of the tender is obvious when holding both types.  

I suspect you like Prewar, and you may want to try and get your hands on  Greenberg Guide on Prewar Operating & Repair.  That would be a good start.  Good luck.

Awesome!  Thanks a million.  I'm on the hunt for that Greenberg book.  Prewar standard gauge is my thing.  Keep it simple, keep it small...  Yeah right.  Think BIG!

THERE IS NO STUPID QUESTION William 1,  except the unasked one!  On the 318... They are pretty simple once you get the lay of the land....might I suggest that you PM me and i can assist... or open her up, snap pics, post here and we can try that way.

He's definitely a whistler, and darn handsome to boot.  It's got tabs holding the tender body to the frame.  Better go easy.

Wow, fantastic looking tender!!  As far as the tabs go, if you are very careful, you can use a very thin bladed screw driver to start to pry the tab up.  If you take your time, and slowly bend the tabs SLOWLY, they will stay intact, and not break.  Once you can get the tabs in position to remove the upper shell, take needlenose pliers and squeeze them flat, for later re-assembly.  When you put the shell back onto the frame, you don't have to re-do all the tabs, but instead of flattening them back down, just give it a very slight twist, so that it is off center enough to hold the shell onto the frame.  The tabs are known to be brittle, if messed with too much.  I hope you understand what I am describing about the twist.

Interesting development.  It appears this tender has 200 series wheels.  They look new and shiny.  Problem is, they rub on the frame bar holding them and actually with each other.  I can see the outer part bent a little where they were forced in.  I'm thinking this tender should have 500 series wheels.  Can anyone verify the wheel size on this beauty? (beast, now my burden)

Wait!  You will want to remove the coal pile and the whistle screws, and the wire to pickup screws, instead of bending tabs if not necessary!

Thanks again.  I'm not ready to tear into this guy.  Even if I open it up I won't know what to do next.  I'll have to think about it.  I just ordered that Greenberg book.  I'm not in a rush. I refuse to get stressed out about toy trains.  I am interested in learning how to tinker with these beautiful old trains.  There is a lot to learn, and a lot more fun to come.

That is the perfect attitude.  Learn it right, slowly, thoroughly.

Yes, that would be called the 'banana' style.  My 1st train was a Stephen Gerard set w/ the 392 and 3 Gerard cars that a local shop had running in their display window. The Co. was "Swartley Bros. Electric Co". My dad worked out a deal w/ Bud Swartley, who was a customer of the local Dodge dealer where my dad was the service manager. Pop picked up the set when the shop closed on Christmas Eve.  I know the tender had a banana whistle, because I broke the tabs off taking apart for oiling.  Later in life, I finally drilled holes in the side of the tender where it meets the floor and used optical screws to hold the body on snuggly.  Harry

Hi Harry - I need some misc pieces.  A bell for an 1835, a couple lights for a #8., maybe another piece or five.  Are you the man to go to?  I will make a list.  

William 1,

   Yes, there is not much that we do not have, or will be making.  Harry

Thanks Harry - making a list.  Checking it twice.  Not going to say if I've been naughty or nice.  Let's just say it's a work in progress.  Cheers!

Harry, Thank you for answering the question about the "Banana" style whistle.  Do you know of any source that would show the correct parts by available number in today's market, and the actual assembly itself.  Specifically there is a ball bearing listed on Olsen's Library site, but where does it actually go.  I have a friend who has this style whistle, and is having fits, getting it to work correctly.  He didn't see or find a ball bearing, when he took it apart, and I can't seem to help him.  Any one have guidance on this type of whistle?

Curious that Lionel managed to use screws to attach the shell on the 384 tender and also screws to attach the tender body to the frame on the 400 tenders, but then chose to use those infernal tabs for the 392 body!   This is also an aggravating issue with MTH Proto sound 392 tenders with batteries inside! MTH could, and should, have made that modification with their repro tenders!   

When you remove the plate with the bronze bearing at the impeller end of the whistle , there is a ball inside the bronze. This is probably what LaSalle is referring to.  Harry

Any chance someone can tell me the correct wheel size on the 392W tender.  This guy has 1 3/8" outside diameter wheels and they not only rub on the frame, but with each other.  Trying to pull it is basically dragging it.  I'm thinking it was rewheeled with the wrong size wheels.  Maybe a 400E tender?  I measured 500 series wheels are 1 1/4" and 200 series are 1 5/8" outside diameter.  It also I appears these wheels in the tender may have forced into place,  judging by some bending on the side frames.  Thanks for sharing your wisdom.  I need to get this figured out.

I have just measured the wheels on my original 392W tender and they are 1 1/4" and it appears that using 500 series wheels would solve your problem.

Eric Hofberg

TCA, LCCA 

They are definitely supposed to be 500 series wheels on 392 tenders.

That's what I thought.  Thanks a million.  I brought the engine in to get serviced, it wasn't running when I put it on the track, and the service tech called yesterday and said the engine has a pendulum reverse unit and runs fine.  Huh?  It is a dark gunmetal gray and should have an e unit from what I read.  This was obviously hashed together.  The bodies are beautiful.  The reverse unit doesn't bug that me that much as I only run in forward, but it does a little bit.  I've got four 500 wheels.  I guess I'll get two more when I make my list for Henning.