How well did this accessory operate?
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It's all mechanical. Pulleys a string. Set-up is probably a pain. Looks simple enough to work good. Manual attached.
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It's also very loud.
-Dave
I'm currently having problems with my Lionel Hot Air Balloon. It does not reverse direction correctly. I think it is a bad micro switch. Very few parts available per the Lionel website-- no motors or switches.
Setup was not difficult, however. It is very loud, the supplied string on mine has broken twice, and the internal mechanism is very difficult to access when it fails to properly reverse, which it inevitably will do. In my opinion it is poorly designed with too many plastic parts internally, difficult to access the inner working for maintenance and not worth the money. I have the same opinion of the Lionel Train Orders Building accessory. You need a PHD in engineering to get inside the thing! I think Lionel designs it's operating accessories to be throw away items.
After looking for one for a while, I located one just before last Christmas.
It takes a little work to set up but it is not terribly difficult. (Don't start at 3AM Dec. 25... Wife looked like this 
)
The balloons are suspended from hooks in your ceiling and the base needs to be screwed to the floor.
My worked flawlessly for 2 days, then one of the micro switches failed. A little bit of CRC spray fixed the problem but it was a little work to take it apart. Since then it works fine and is my favorite accessory.
Hope you locate one!
~Bill
I used one in a public display for 2 years, each year it ran for over a month with no problems at all. I know that I read the directions a few times to make sure that I knew what needed to be done in the setup the first time that I used it.
What I cannot believe is they fetch over 200 dollars! The quality of the motors and noise reminds me of the haunted house.
This is my grand kids favorite item on the layout. I used fishing line instead of the string that is provided, my balloons are about 25 feet apart. I have had mine for about 2 years with no problems. But I did hear someone here on the forum say that you should not stop this accessory when either balloon was at the very top or very bottom.
Great item and I too wish that it was not as noisy as it is. My guess is that it has straight cut gears inside that make all of the noise.
I'd love to see a little video of one working. Don
I've had one for two years. It did not work correctly out of the box. I discovered that it was missing a sleeve for one of the gear axles, causing gears to jump and bind. I made a sleeve out of plastic and that corrected it. However, as another poster mentioned.....not a good idea to stop it at the very bottom on the platform. I stop mine about an inch or two above and that seems to work for me. I also don't leave it running. Seeing all that plastic in there is not confidence inspiring. It's one of my coolest accessories and I want it to last.
As for the train orders building....I have one of those as well, but do not like it. The first time I ran it, the flagman smashed into the back of the door causing the flagpole to snap and the mechanism to jam. Made a new flag and pole and it kept happening. I finally discovered that the flagpole was a touch too long, making it hit the door. My MTH ITAD is not a good way to run it either. I want to replace it with a 153IR. The ITAD turns on and off too much, therefore activating the device too many times.
Roger
I looked for one for several years,very difficult to find.My baloons are spaced at nine feet and have worked flawlessly for five years,when the trains are running you dont hear the noise that much,good luck.
Mikey
There's one on the Bay right now
