Help with 497 coal loader

I believe it was reissued around 1996. A lot of them were wired internally incorrect. There is an addendum on Lionel's website under manuals and how to rewire it. I had the same issue with mine and had to do some rewiring. Be warned, if it is the same issue the wires are very short and it's hard to work with. 

Thanks for the warning on wiring in the controller. I was concerned about that and springs or something flying out.

Hi, it looks to my like you have the post war version of the 497 coal loader.  It was made from 1953 to 1958.   The only car it works with is the 3469 side dump car. It will load most coal cars, but only the 3469 side dump car will work with it.  I have no idea what modern Lionel cars might work with it.  

On the controls, the motor has a double wound field.  Direction is changed by changing which field lead is connected to power.  If up is down and down is up, run the string always off the pulleys and wind it back on the other way.  That will reverse the direction on the controller. Load should energize the solenoid that opens the door that dumps the coal into the car.  Dump energizes the short control rail that causes the side dump car to dump.  There are two terminal boards with three terminals on each side of the motor under the roof.  You can test the functions by touching an energized wire to the two outboard wires on each side. The farthest out terminals are the dump and load functions.  The two center terminals on each side are the two field connection and should make the motor run up on one side and down on the other. The 4 conductor cord can deteriorate over time and may need replacement.  Getting a good connection with the insert that goes in the socket between the rails can be a problem.  

The problem you are having with the track ties hitting is because the old black tie 0-27 track had straight side ties.  That lip on the side of the tie has been added in later years.  You need to find the older 0-27 track.

There is nothing wrong with your controller. The up and down will reverse if you continue to hold the control down after it is all the way up or down. The spool then rewinds itself. This is a failsafe feature to keep ou from breaking it. I know this because I have one from my youth. Back then, I was playing with my trains and noticed that the controls were opposite of what they had been. I realized my dad had been playing with my trains and had simply held the controller continuously causing it to go up and down--not realizing that this reverses the controller function. To fix it simply hold one direction down until it reverses itself.

Thank you David for your answers! Very helpful. I'll get to working on it.

Hello Dennis, my strings must be threaded wrong because it binds at the top.

Hello Dennis, any idea where I can find instructions on how to wind the strings. It binds at the top like its going to break.

@Rick Somerville posted:

Hello Dennis, any idea where I can find instructions on how to wind the strings. It binds at the top like its going to break.

There is nothing wrong with your controller.

The up and down will reverse if you continue to hold the control up after the bin goes all the way down.

Dump(the car) is down, load(the car) is up.

Hello Rob, thanks for your help. Could you clarify one point for me? When lowering the tray it automatically starts going back up if I hold the lever over but it doesn't do that at the top. At the top I have to release the lever or it will keep winding tighter and tighter. If I switch to the other lever it will go back down. Does that sound correct?

There is a clutch mechanism that lets the take up drums slip if you hold the switch on at the top.  Use the up and down functions on the controller to raise and lower the coal bin. If you just let the motor run when the bin is at the bottom, the string goes slack and will come off the pulleys. It will eventually reverse, but that is not how it is intended to work.  Do the up and down positions on the controller both work?

The down lever works as it intended. The up lever I discovered is putting power to the dump mechanism.  The dump lever raises the basket. I tested it again and definitely completely binds at the top.

I still say the situation you described is due to the wiring issue i described above....

@Rick Somerville posted:

Hello Rob, thanks for your help. Could you clarify one point for me? When lowering the tray it automatically starts going back up if I hold the lever over but it doesn't do that at the top. At the top I have to release the lever or it will keep winding tighter and tighter. If I switch to the other lever it will go back down. Does that sound correct?

OK, it's wired wrong. Simple fix.

Yes, the binding at the top is normal, the reversing at the bottom is normal.