Transformer operations
5
T
he rear of your Lionel locomotive’s ten-
der is equipped with an operating mag-
netic knuckle cou-
pler, a revolutionary
design first intro-
duced by Lionel in
1945.
Lionel magnetic
couplers react to the
magnetic field gener-
ated by a Lionel
remote-control track
section (available
separately).
Place your lo-
comotive’s coupler
trigger disc over the
central coil of a remote-control track section
and press Uncouple on the controller. The
magnetic field pulls the disc downward, and
the knuckle opens.
One operating
technique favored by
Lionel railroaders is
the “moving uncou-
ple.” Press the
Uncouple button as
the locomotive passes
over a remote-control
section. The magnetic
field will open the
coupler; the consist
remains behind as
the locomotive moves
on. But be careful—
the speed of a newly
uncoupled and moving locomotive can
increase dramatically.
Position your locomotive’s trigger disc over the
remote-control section, then press “uncouple.”
The coupler opens.
Using your locomotive’s magnetic coupler
Tire-Traction™
Y
our locomotive is equipped with Tire-
Traction. This means that two of the
drive wheels are fitted with rubber traction
tires to enhance tractive effort so your loco-
motive can pull many cars at once.
Lionel locomotives with Tire-Traction
grip the track, enabling them to pull heavy
loads at higher speeds.
To replace the traction tires, simply
unscrew the drive rod nut from the wheel
and slip off the old traction tire and remove
it from under the drive rod. Place the new
one on the wheel in the reverse of this step
and tighten the drive rod nut back up. You’re
ready to pull that long freight back to the
yard.
