1041-13 is the universal disc. Every diagram I checked uses the 1041-13.
i am confused about a reversal polarity washer listed in parts but is not in the diagram.
I found no listing for the others. It may be just the suppler Id number.

 

Lol, you must be board! Those are not common place transformers. But, if you need lights or something, not bad for 65 or so watts. I guess if you have them, and time they might as well work! And no clue of the disks, but had to add useless comments! Have fun. The bigger one with the whistle looks kinda cool. I never had eaither of those.

 

Thanks, T-Man. I'm seeing the same. I was wondering if the 1041-13R is someone's made up number for a reverse polarity version of the 1041-13, but haven't found anywhere it's spelled out.

sjm9911: I actually have a nice ZW that was my father's, and also the centerpiece of my old platform as a kid. I'd guess it probably needs new rectifiers too, but it's been decades since I turned it on. But these little 1063's were a good fit for the 4-loop platform I had built for the kids about 8 years ago. We put it around our Christmas tree each year, and populate it with a random assortment of four trains from prewar to modern LionChief. I wanted four separate whistle controls, which I get with four 1063's laid on a board, and didn't want to have to worry about anyone breaking handles off dad's old ZW.

 

Huh. I'm currently building 2 loops for under the tree on a 4' x 5' sheet of 1/2" OSB using Super O track. The OSB is painted green but may see some canned snow. Power will be my VW (150 W version of the ZW). Only two loops but both will have automated station stops among other animated accessories.

 

R may mean repro. Reverse polarity does not mean much for a disc. It has to be installed in a specific direction. Coated side inwards.

 

Exactly what I was thinking, but not having had them apart yet, I didn't know how contact was made to the conductive (non-coated) side of disc. As to what "inwards" means, I guess I'll also figure that out, once I pull one apart.

Huh. I'm currently building 2 loops for under the tree on a 4' x 5' sheet of 1/2" OSB using Super O track. The OSB is painted green but may see some canned snow. Power will be my VW (150 W version of the ZW). Only two loops but both will have automated station stops among other animated accessories.

Not much room for O-gauge accessories on a 4' x 5' sheet of plywood with 2 loops! I'm thinking of replacing my present 6' x 7' under-tree layout with another that has a 2' x 6' dog leg coming off the main 6' x 7' rectangle, for the express purpose of adding some accessories.

 

Yea , the log loader , sawmill, barrel loader need like 3 peices of straight track. The coal loader is high. I have 2 of them, lol. One is not making the layout. Too much crap as is.

 

This is a Lionel 252 electric made from 1926 to 1932. Wheels look to have been replaced as many electrics from that era had wheels deteriorate from zinc pest. A pic of the passencar cars and I can tell you what they are ...

 

Wow... thanks, Mike! I'll be pulling them out to set up in 3-4 weeks, so I'll surely post some better photos, when I do!

Speaking of using the accessories, I sure could use some advice on a new layout. I'll post a separate thread for that, to keep the index clean.

 

The new layout thread: New Christmas Tree Layout | Model Train Forum

Already got a few minutes to start importing building blocks from AutoCAD (old) to SolidWorks (current). Might skip the full 3D modeling (waste of time), and just sketch. So much easier to push blocks around on a computer screen during a break from work, rather than arranging track on the floor.

 

My "wisdom" and I use the term loosely, is to use track planning S/W for the track. After that, freeform works best for all the add-ins.

I use SCARM S/W. Free license for the 100 tracks. It's very accurate ... dimensions, track list, custom cuts length, etc. Mostly Windows mouse operation with more than a few quirks. Takes a bit to get used to. But that's easier than fitting track blind.

 

Thanks, Mike! I remember using a track layout software back in 2013, and it was about as buggy and unfriendly as you describe, I wonder if it was SCARM. My thinking with going with SolidWorks is that I already have all the track sections saved as blocks, and I'm very quick in that software, since I use it regularly for work. I guess I can play with both, and see what makes most sense. Whatever software I used previously missed a lot of things, like location of switch motors, relation of track to accessories, etc.

 

Before breaking it, I wanted to check with someone who's had these things apart. The speed nut does not appear to be simply pressed onto a shaft, as I had assumed from the service diagrams on this transformer. Rather, it appears to be threaded onto a very short but coarse threaded nylon fastener with a special 3-point head:

Grabbing this head with needle nose made it pretty evident pretty quickly that it would break before un-threading. So, how do we get these apart? I'm fine with just breaking it off, if I can buy new, but then I guess I'm going to be hunting for a tool to engage that head well enough to thread a new one back together without breaking.

 

Depending on how "original" you want the restoration, you can buy small nylon screws at Lowes and, IIRC, Home Depot in their hardware section's specialty "Nuts & Bolts" drawers.

 

I'll keep it original if possible. These 1063 ain't exactly heirlooms, but if I can still order the OEM part or a suitable replica, then why not?

So, you're saying just break out the old one? Anyone ever see a driver that fits these things? I guess I'll want it for installing the replacement.

On a related and amusing note, in taking apart these transformers, I finally found the use of a 1940's-vintage screwdriver I found in my father's toolbox about 40 years ago:

 

I can't help with the original disc screw. I never seen the case screw format.

 

Well, it appears replacements for that special nylon screw are not easily obtainable, and it's more than just a screw:

I can spin the nut without de-soldering the wires, and I don't want to re-solder the wires while attached to that nylon stud (it'll surely melt), which I guess means I need to find some way to turn the screw. If I break it, I can probably build a replacement with a nylon screw and standoff, but not sure how well it will fit back into the narrow slot in the base of these transformers with a typical nylon pan head or cheese head screw.

Anyone got any idea what sort of drive tool fits this screw? I tried "tri-tip", "3-point", and several other combinations in Google, without any obvious hits. Might be looking at a needle plunger tool, think the small version of the old coffee table bed of nails things you used to telegraph your hand thru.

 

It is not a screw but a pin. WIth a tiny screwdriver or xacto knife pry under each side of the fast nut. On the part that presses on the pin not the base part. Unlock the pressure fitting. Pay attention to the orientation of the disc and what side the coated side is on. Normally they mount on the side but I can see it sits on the bottom .

Instead of breaking the plastic, how about the metal piece? Is that in stock?

if the plastic breaks, go with a pin167-15, washer 66-12. spacer 66-11.
The pin is metal so insulate the head at the bottom with some electrical tape. The transformer base is metal and should be isolated from that pin.

 

Thanks, T-Man. I'd have to ask, Jeff at Train Tender to see if he still carries this nut. But I imagine I could just get a speed nut of the same size from McMaster-Carr, if I can find one with suitable plating, solder the wires to that.

Well, that thing may not be a screw, I agree it probably started life as a simple pin, but the speed nut seems to have cut a thread onto it. I decided to just jam a slotted screwdriver into one of the three holes and start turning, and it worked! With wiggling the speed nut, while backing out that nylon bit on each CCW turn, I got it apart. New disc in, threaded back together:

The new disc appears to be thinner than the old, and printed on something other than bare copy. In these photos, old one is on left, new one one on right:

 

I believe the coated side faces down.

Glad it worked out.

The picture i added was from a 1063, 75 watts. The plastic insert looks pretty Shakey.

 

Yep, coated side is down. These disks are not copper color on the uncoated side, they almost appear to be steel! That's why you don't see copper facing out, but all the same, maybe I should test this first unit, before proceeding with the rest.

The plastic pin does look iffy, like it could let go pretty easy. I like your solution with a metal pin, in fact maybe we could use a metal screw with a plastic shouldered insert for the best of both worlds, if this pin fails.

The horrendously bad soldering on that speed nut had me believing someone else had been in here before me, but everything else looks factory clean. Not sure what to make of that.

 

Used gift cards make a good washer. Use a single hole paper punch for the screw or pin. If you do not wish to go with standard parts.