Lionel Pennsylvania Flyer problem?

This is difficult to diagnose without being able to see the problem first hand.  There are at least three possible sources: 1. the transformer (controller); 2. the wiring and track; and 3. the locomotive.  If you have a voltmeter or 18-volt light bulb, you could check to see if the rails are delivering the voltage.  If they are, then your transformer, wiring, and track are ok and you can concentrate on the locomotive.  If it is the locomotive, then you probably should contact the merchant from whom you bought the set.  It ought to be covered under warranty.  If the merchant is not helpful, contact Lionel directly.  I would not try to repair the locomotive myself.  You could end up voiding the warranty and a new locomotive should not be your headache. Let the merchant or Lionel repair or replace it.

The only "easy" solution I can think of is to make sure there aren't any short circuits - no derailed wheels on any of the cars, nothing metal lying across the rails, no nails through the wires, or anything like that.  You might try removing all the cars from the track and seeing if the locomotive runs OK by itself.

Try turning "off" the smoke and run it.

Mike, I would suggest posting a quick video of the issue which may help us narrow down the your problem.  The phrase, "It wants to go, but it doesn't", by that do mean that the head light is on and that's it?  Or you hear is the engine going, but the wheels aren't spinning.  Or you give it a little push, and it "wakes up" and starts going?

If it's the latter, you may want to try bending the center rollers on the locomotive just a hair (slightly) so it makes better contact with the center rail.  That worked for me for one of my starter sets where the locomotive got jerky and stalled even with clean track and wheels.  If this is the case, I think the spring on the roller assembly has weakened slightly, and is no longer making strong contact.

Take a look at my "weird fastrack issue" video where that was the solution and see if it matches your problem.

Another idea is the smoke unit itself. If I recall, Lionel has changed from the piston on the drive rod pushing the flap for the smoke unit to a slightly more refined design for the 0-8-0. Regardless, the same plunger type smoke unit is used where a mechanical part of the engine is used to push a lever to operate the smoke unit. I've seen these get jammed up before and I believe it may have happened to me at one point or another. If this is the case, the engine will have the "bind" you describe. If it is jammed in some way, the engine will bind or hesitate. 

Not sure if this is it, but can't hurt to try. Worth a look by you or your LHS. 

I always start every problem solution by cleaning the track and wheels well. Dirty track-wheels can cause all sorts of weird behavior including situations that seem like binding, poor e-board behavior, etc.  Best to rule dirty track and wheels out initially, fully, before doign anything else. 

You say you cleaned off the center rai with a clothe.  I suggest cleaned all three rails well with iso-alcohol or a brightboy track cleaning eraser.  Then, maybe clean the wheels and center pickups (Q-tip and iso-alc or erase - either will work with patience and care).

I have two of these locos (wonderful by the way).  The last time one acted up, this was all it was . . .

I agree with Lee.

I will tell you what I use, which is very similar to Lee.  I bought a can of denatured alcohol at Home Depot.  They carry it int heir paint department.  I bought some 'throw away rags.  Got the rag wet and wiped the entire track (all three rails) with a little elbow grease.  Cleaned the track very welll.

Since the table is in your child's room.  I would ensure there is some good vertilation while doing this.  Crack the window, turn on a  fan.  The odor is strong but it dissipates.  Also, may want to use caution around a child or adult that is asthmatic.

But the stuff works very well.

Stick with Lees recommendation of 91% ( or  greater) isopropyl alchohol, available at you local drug or department store, I use it on a paper towel as it leaves no lint.

IMO the denatured alchohol is nasty stuff unless you want your train room smelling like an autobody paint shop, yes it will clean the track but isopropyl alchohol has a long history of being a good, safe cleaner for electronics and you don't need gloves and a respirator to use it. Works for tape heads, cds dvds and electric trains just the same.

 On a side note I have a whole quart of denatured alchohol if anyone wants to come pick it up, can't even throw it away due to the hazardous nature.

Thank you everyone...I really appreciate the advise.  This morning we took the engine off the track and cleaned both contact wheels that ride the middle rail with rubbing alcohol and a qtip.  Didn;t get a lot of grease off them but did get some.  Next wek lightly lubed the oil points according to the Lionel manual.  After this, I went to work with rubbing alcohol and paper towels and removed an amazing amount fo grease from all three rails!  I let it air dry and placed just the locomotive on the track, and it seemed to run a lot better but quickly went back to running poorly.

Right now, when you turn the throttle lever up on the transformer the light comes on, you can hear the electric motor trying to go and then the train either starts off in a jerky manner and goes, or doesn't go at all.  I can sort of "jump it" into motion by either giving it full throttle until it starts moving and then back off to half throttle or use reverse to reverse it back a few inches and then go forward again.  I sort of liken it to be stuck in place by a magnet...if that makes sense.  It acts much better in some spots of the track than others.  I can get it going around the track, but I can not start out really slowly like a real engine, or like I see on all the youtube videos we've watched.  Once the engine is running I can back things down and watch the drive wheels of the train, and something tells me the engine is fine.  I believe my problem is with the track?  How often must you clean a track?  I'm going to try to take the entire track apart, clean all contacts and rails really well and put it back together again and see how it performs.  I may even make a simple circle from known de-greased tracks first just to see how it runs.  When I'm done I'll have more cleaning time in than run time!  No matter...as long as I can get my little guys train running for him in the end it'll be worth it.  We were supposed to be working on a foam tunnel this weekend...hopefully that'll be next weekends project (provided the loco is running well).  I'll post back my findings after we finish with out cleaning regimen!  Thanks again everyone.   

Try turning "off" the smoke and run it.  There is a reason to try this.  Report back.

I forgot to mention this.  I have been running the train with the smoker switched to off.  I even tried turning off the reverse switch just to see if there was a change but there wasn't.

OK.

It does sound like the reverse circuit board has gone bad.  Should be a warranty repair.

Well I'm happy to report that the train is fixed!  I also am slightly happy to report that I'm a big dummy haha!!  I took apart the whole track, and cleaned every bit of metal with alcohol.  Cleaned the train again with alcohol, put it all back together and the same problem remained.  I started running it the way I previously described, so I would watch closely to see what was going on and where the problem might be.  I noticed that whenever it was stuck the silver traction rod (or whatever the part is called) was always in the same spot.  So, I began taking it apart and found the problem...the silver rod was all bound up!  I straitened everything up, put it all back together, and laid a fine line of teflon grease on the metal to keep it from binding again.  Presto...the train runs like a champ, and is much quieter that it was even when my son took it out of the box.  My guess is the part was bent or perhaps the box was dropped at some point?  Glad to have it running again, and my boy thinks I'm the greatest LOL.  That's the best part.  This is a fun little hobby, it's amazing what a 5 year old can get you into.  We're having fun and boy are we glad we found this forum.  We'll be sitting back, reading and getting ideas.  Thanks again everyone for the tips on what to test first...there's a really great knowledge base here.    

That's fantastic news that you got it working.  Nothing better than seeming like a super hero to your young son and a fun hobby for both of you to bond with.