Help with an old Williams E60

Nice!

...cracks me up that they're all gonna be "960" unless custom painted.

Ok, our blue Conrail engine showed up today...a light out, she's a tad jumpy at slow speeds and it was canted alittle like I saw in the auction- the powered end sits 3cm high from the tabletop{no track used} to the top of the frame{shell off} while the trailing truck sits 3.4cm.

I switched the dummy truck adaptor plate from under the frame to over it and that leveled things out, but now the darn dummy truck is hitting the screws for that.

I think I need some countersunk machine screws for better clearance.

Does williams carry those replacement push in bulbs or are there other sources for them?

FWIW, many locomotives have the countersunk screws for the shell, perhaps they were replaced when the originals got lost?  Another reason I've found is the holes get stripped out, and rather than fixing them, the owner uses longer replacement screws, sometimes of the wrong type.

The assembly instructions show the adaptor plate below the frame, as the engine was when you received it.

The instructions also show a cup washer (spacer collar) placed over the dummy truck mounting stud before it is put through the hole in the adaptor plate.
I suggest trying a thinner spacer collar (perhaps a few fender washers stacked together) to get the height you want.

If the screws are round head, and the interference isn't too great, you could also file the heads of the screws, or switch to pan head screws.

I believe the spacer collar was Lionel part # 8030-23. Lionel used the collar differently. On Lionel engines the frame was dished, so the truck went right up against the frame. The spacer collar was placed over the stud after it was inserted though the frame, just under the c-clip. Apparently Lionel was unable to get the proper length studs, and had to use the spacer collars to take up the slack.

- John, body mounts aren't the problem, the 4 machine screws that the dummy plate are.

-CW, with the frame the way it was, the dummy end sat an 1/8" higher than the powered end...while not the end of the world, I would like to have it flat...er. 

Burlington Route:    Here is a fix for you, should you accept it:  Put the dummy truck mounting plate back the way it was under the frame when you got it.  Now your  dummy end is  1/8th  taller than the power truck end; 

          Go to the power truck end and add two of the  # 600-131 cup washers  with the cup sides facing each other as a spacer under the frame on each end of the motor, but on top of the motor before you put it through the frame;

          insert motor through the frame, and then add the  a-fore-mentioned cup washer and the spring and the speed clip retainer to secure the motor to the frame.

                           This should level your frame so that both ends are the same height and will not cause you any interference with the truck and the plate mounting screws. 

          OR you could buy another motor and put it in place of the dummy set-up and have a powerful E60, without any of the current hassels.

                    Another idea would be to take the frame and install it upside down, like MPC did with their Geep frames (side edge down). I did this because I noticed a lot of "SEE THRU" between the body and the trucks. The frame inversion helps hide some of the gap that is seen.  I think it looks okay for what it is.  Hope some of this helps  Dennis M.

quote:

-CW, with the frame the way it was, the dummy end sat an 1/8" higher than the powered end...while not the end of the world, I would like to have it flat...er

The top of the truck is flat. If there is a bump around the mounting post, that is a spacer washer. If it is there, I was thinking you could remove it and use something thinner. It should lift right off. Here is an explosion diagram of the truck.

Here is the instruction sheet for the E-60, copied from "The story of Williams Electric Trains". Sorry, but for some reason I do not see the option to display the picture in the message.

There are some E-60 on the bay now. One is item #221245042270. The same dealer has a second one only this one has a Lionel type pantograph!

Those are later, ready to run models. I am fairly certain they do not have Lionel trucks.

I don't think any left the factory with Lionel style pantographs, but I could be mistaken.