Lionel rotary coal tipple

Roger: I had one and eventually sold it because my new layout did not provide enough room to set it up realistically. While I had mine in operation, I never had any issues with it.

My impression was, and still is, that this was one of the more trouble-free accessories LTI/Lionel Inc. issued. I say give it a go if you want one. It is a neat operating accessory; just be sure to remove all the shipping locks before operating it.

I really enjoy using mine as it is very realistic  

I really like mine.i did something not correct,i cut a whole in layout and lowered it.So mine is level with layout.its just the way i like it,other might not.works really good this way.

oh just a reminder.when buying the cars some of the older mth cars don't have rotary coupleres.If this helps 

Roger

This is a great accessory.  I had one in my permanent layout and had it installed flush with the layout like many are in real life.  It ran for 3 years without issue, but it stopped running and I sold it as is as I could not find anybody that had parts for it. I regret selling it and I totally recommend this accessory  even though mine stopped functioning.  Like D&H 65 says "Remember to Remove the shipping locks from it" before operating. If you dont you will cause the gears to fight a locked rotary dumper which is really bad for the gears.  Also, take note that the Atlas O Coalveyor bathtub gondola, although it comes equipped with rotary couplers, the rotary dumper car holder arms will not grasp it correctly, so do not plan to use as is. You could modify the car holder arms to work with the Atlas O Coalveyor gondolas if you have a full fleet of these beauties.  Also keep in mind that this comes with its own "coal" which are more like M&Ms in size.  Keeping this specific Lionel  Rotary Dumper coal  as the main "coal" may be a good idea.  I never tried to go with the scale stuff as there is a distinct possibility that the fine coal could get into the gears of the rotary dump and jam it. Maybe somebody else has actually tried using scale coal and can tell us more about it and their experiences.  

Rory  

This is very encouraging that most have experienced trouble free operation over the long haul using this. Since lionel no longer sells parts and only a few were made I was hesitant to buy it untested, but it is to good of a deal to pass up. I too am going to mount it in my table as one poster did and perhaps make a hole in the shelf below that it sits on so a funnel can be added to the bottom of the whole to collect the coal into a plastic container. 

This will be the second out of production accessory I have taken a chance on for my layout. The first one being the enormous LTI gray 213 lift bridge. I like accessories and have almost all that I wanted as a kid and more. These two are hard to find in like new condition and fully fuctional. Maybe some day lionel will reissue this coal tipple and those of us that have them can stock up on parts. 

Thanks for the replys I am talking to the seller and he will let me know more tommorow. Thanks to all who have posted I feel I am making the right choice in getting this. Happy new year to you all btw. 

Lionelzwl2012 posted:

...  Maybe some day lionel will reissue this coal tipple and those of us that have them can stock up on parts.   ...

Whether it's 100% accurate or not, the word on the street was Lionel couldn't find a Chinese factory willing to build this accessory after it was most recently catalog'd a few years back.  So production was cancelled. 

I have one and it still works perfectly. Visitors love watching it.

1. I have it on my layout and love it.  Just a note that you must remember when it was built the engines weren't as big in scale.  So some of the newer scale engines won't clear it.  You must test your engine at a slow crawl and watch if anything will hit.  Even some of my scale diesels won't clear.  Also the instructions recommend no die cast steam locos because of the weight (but I have run some steam through it).  

To add to what Sean has mentioned, having previously owned one of these beauties. I would definitely recommend that you operate your equipment at a scale walking pace through there, just like they would on the real ones.  A derailment at high speed in this accessory could damage the rotary dumper arms and as you know, you may not get any replacement parts for it as well as the damage that it will cause to your locomotive or rolling stock.  Its a great fun accessory, but definitely has to have a dedicated siding / through track.  Don't plan to run your local freight through there regularly or you may find yourself in a bind eventually, no pun intended.

Rory   

Plan on having it on a deticated siding and back up the rotary coal porters on it. Thanks for the tips sanjam I watch the video on your channel on how to hook this up to an sc2. This is probably they way I will hook it up. Seems you have had yours for a few years now with no issues. That is comforting to know. I got the bug to find one of these at a reasonable price after watching yours a year or so ago via your channel. Thanks again guys for the tips and positive reviews on this. Not sure how many were produced but I may be in small company with this one when I get it. 

Does anyone know where I can a board for a lionel rotary coal tipple

I'd love to install his terrific action accessory by Lionel on my layout, but unfortunately there's not enough platform space for it and its dedicated siding.  Although other Lionel coal-related operating accessories tend to be "coal slingers" of coal bits on the layout, the Rotary Dump coal pieces are larger, better "behaved," and more containable in a coal unloading zone.  When (rather, if) Lionel re-issues it, maybe they'll also make a companion piece -- a "CoalPorter Loader" that uses the same-size coal pieces to FILL rotary hoppers. This would enable a complete cycle of coal handling: i.e., loading rotary hoppers at a mine site coal tipple and unloading the coal via the Rotary Dumper adjacent to a coal-fired Power Generating facilty on the other side of a layout. That 1:48 coal operation would rival Mr. Peabody's empire!

Mike Mottler    LCCA 12394

MJutrains,

You have NO EMAIL ADDRESS in your profile...  I have a fully working Coal Tipple, but then another one that had a movement issue (not the board) that I would be willing to sell separately or with the working Tipple.

Jim