C
ongratulations on your purchase of the Lionel No. 97 Electric Coal Elevator. The electric coal
elevator is made of stamped metal and phenolic construction and features two solenoids and
one powerful DC motor for years of reliable operation. The electric coal elevator can be placed
on any O or O-27 gauge layout and is designed to operate at 12-18 volts alternating current.
Operation of your Electric Coal Elevator
Operation of the electric coal elevator is simple. Using a coal dump car (sold separately),
dump your load of coal into the tray of the elevator. Place the ON/OFF switch into the ON
position and watch the coal load into the house of the elevator. When all of the coal is loaded,
pull your coal dump car to the opposite side of the elevator. Once the coal dump car is in
position under the chute, press the unload button, and the elevator will fill your coal dump
car. Now your train is ready to deliver coal to its final destination.
Installation of your Electric Coal Elevator
For optimum elevator operation, its location on your layout should be flat and level.
Lubricating oil should not be necessary and could actually hamper proper operation. Place the
elevator between two sets of parallel track as close to the train as possible without causing
interference. A hole is located at each corner of the elevator base. We recommend that you
secure the base to your layout using at least two screws.
Wiring your Electric Coal Elevator
Your electric coal elevator will operate best from 12-18 vac. It can be powered with track power
or a separate accessory power supply. You will notice that there are five thumbscrews on the base
of the electric coal elevator. Two thumbscrews are labeled CONNECTOR TO TRANSFORMER. As
this states, these two posts are to be connected to track power or an accessory power supply.
Polarity does not matter, so connect one insulated wire from either post to the U terminal of
track power or an accessory power supply. This is done by unscrewing the nut off of the post,
placing the wire through the hole in the post, and tightening the nut back on the post to secure
the wire in place. Connect another insulated wire from the other post to the A terminal of track
power or an accessory power supply. The next step is to connect the controller to the elevator.
You will notice that from the controller are three different colored wires. These wires should be
connected in the following sequence. Connect the red wire to the post labeled 1. Connect the
white wire to the post labeled 2. Finally, connect the black wire to the post labeled 3. You are
now ready to begin loading and unloading your rolling stock with coal.
Congratulations!
2
NOTE:
You will be unable to hook-up your electric coal elevator to a SC-1 due to the SC-1
power limitations.
NOTE:
Do not operate the loading & unloading feature simultaneously or you may blow
your transformer.
