Lionel Whistle Tenders


S

Seminole89

New Member
Greetings​


I have two Lionel whistle tenders I am trying to restore. One is a prewar 2869W that I got through E-Bay with a 1666E locomotive, the other is a 2671W that I am sort of “Frankenstein-ing” together from some old and some replacement parts. I seem to be having difficulty in wiring them correctly.​


Both of them whistle, quite loudly in fact. The only problem is, they whistle constantly as soon as I open the throttle on the transformer. ​


As I understand it, the whistles are supposed to work on a DC current that the transformer sends out when you press the whistle button. But for whatever reason – possibly an error on my part – they both whistle as soon as I open the throttle.​


For the 2869W, I didn’t do any wiring for it, all I did was free up the whistle motor with some WD-40, change the brushes, and oil the impeller, so if that one is wired incorrectly it wasn’t me. The configuration of the whistle and relay for this one is slightly different than the 2671W tender, but essentially the wiring appears to be the same.​


For the 2671W, I did all the re-wiring on it, following the less-than-helpful Lionel manual for it and using the 2869W as a reference – which obviously could have been my downfall.


Attached is a picture from the Lionel manual for the 2671W. It is sort of difficult to see where each wire connects to the relay, but using the 2869W for a reference, I was able to get it to work as it is currently.


The other photo is of my actual whistle relay. On it the wire titled “To Relay Coil” (from the drawing) is attached to the top, left solder point shown on this photo, and the wire titled “To Fixed Relay Contact” is connected to the top right solder point. This is consistent with the 2869W.


Any advice anyone can provide is greatly appreciated!


Best Regards,


Eric Davis
Cheyenne, Wyoming
 
Last edited by a moderator:
If you have another transformer or know of someone that does have one, try the loco whistle on that transformer. That will tell you if it is the tender whistle or your transformer. I imagine that you have already thought of this, but I thought I would mention it anyway. Good luck
 
I'd also check to make sure the relays aren't locked up. These are analog relays meaning they are mechanical relays, and have a solenoid in them. The iron core in the solenoid could have rusted, locking the relay in one position.
 
Gentlemen,

Many thanks for the advice! I was chatting about it with a friend today and we think it's the relays as well.

Thanks again!

Eric
 
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