# Smoke is really faint on new Lionel train set



## theace18 (Dec 30, 2012)

Hey Everyone,

I just purchased a Lionel Penn Flyer train set for my son for Xmas. The first thing that my son wanted to see was the train smoke. So of course I put 4-6 drops in the smoke stack of the locomotive. Well it took it a good 5 minutes to start smoking, and it when it did, it was so faint that we'd have to look at it at a certain angle just to see the smoke!

I have read on some other sites that the Lionel Smoke Juice is practically garbage, and there are some others to try. Someone recommended Mega Steam. Has anyone heard of that company? Are they any good? Will they work with my son's locomotive?

I'm TOTALLY new to this hobby, so please bear with my ignorance. 

Thanks!

- Philippe


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## Don Trinko (Oct 23, 2012)

All imo, I was told that all smoke oil produces similar results. 
Several of my newer locomotives take as long as yours but one (dockside switcher) smokes almost emediatly.
The voltage that the unit regulates the smoke resitance will have an effect. 
2things will help. 1.running the train faster will start it sooner. You can cheat by putting the train in nutral and running up the track voltage for a while.
2.only put 2 or 3drops of fluid in at a time.it will heat up and smoke faster. Don


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## sanepilot (Mar 11, 2012)

*new train*



theace18 said:


> Hey Everyone,
> 
> I just purchased a Lionel Penn Flyer train set for my son for Xmas. The first thing that my son wanted to see was the train smoke. So of course I put 4-6 drops in the smoke stack of the locomotive. Well it took it a good 5 minutes to start smoking, and it when it did, it was so faint that we'd have to look at it at a certain angle just to see the smoke!
> 
> ...


Hi,Philippe. I had the same problem with a new lionel Nyc Engine. I run it about a 1/4 speed for awhile,then half speed to break in the motor. I never like to run anything full speed. I thought about sending it back but decided to just use it that way[virtually no smoke]. One evening I thought I`d test the track and opened it up full throttle, after about 30 seconds it really started to smoke. I normally use 10 or more drops of fluid. Keep it with plenty oil.After running full throttle for about a minute,I run about half now with plenty of smoke.

Hope this helps,just my experence. These fellas will be able to help,I`m sure.
I have no idea which would be the best smoke fluid.


Have fun whatever you do,sanepilot


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Yes, what he said, but some will tell you 10 or more drops is no good.

You do need to make the engine work to get the smoke blowing. How big is the table? Or do you have a loop on the floor?

Hook a bunch of cars to it to make it work harder, the longer run you have the better.
I did read that on the initial running of the engine you should put in at least ten drops, then after that add 4 to 6 when needed. But some told me that was no good and your unit will spew oil out all over the place. I never had any do that.

And remember to turn the switch off when you are running it without smoke fluid or you will burn the smoke unit up.


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## BigAl56 (Dec 14, 2011)

Mega steam = mega smoke.


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## KarenORichmond (Nov 14, 2011)

Yep, I had issues with the smoke that came with them. I use ProtoSmoke or MegaSmoke and have had great results.


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## theace18 (Dec 30, 2012)

You have to break in the motor? Ooops. I guess 9 year olds don't understand that. HAHAH. He doesn't run it full blast though. Probably 30-40% at all times. 

Right now we have the track on the floor. No table setup yet. I'll have to see how seriously about this my son is. 

I'll try running it at full blast (or near) for a minute or so and see if it starts smoking or not. I may try some other smoke products as well.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll let you know how it goes.

- Philippe


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## captaincog (Oct 7, 2012)

I bought the Hershey set for the wife for Christmas and ran it tonight and I experienced the same issue. She is happy that it runs so good enough for now. Might be a TMCC conversion candidate in the future. The rear coupler on hers opens up when pulling more that 7 Polar Express passenger cars and gives wheel slip.


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## mtoney (Oct 6, 2012)

There really isnt much break in, the engine might be stiff if it has sat on the shelf for awhile prior to being sold and run for the first time. After a couple of laps it will be pretty happy. If the side rods start to squeak, a very small drop of oil on each side rod bolt will clear that up. The smokers on the postwar engines are the same way, they need a decent train to pull to make them smoke good. The fan driven smokers in the higher doller engines are a different beast and will fog the room just sitting still! The Mega smoke stuff does work better from what I have been seen. You can also experiment with how much fluid you add each time. Each engine tends to have a sweet spot where it will smoke good and even 1 more drop can dilute the smoke for a bit till it gets hot. Mike


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## theace18 (Dec 30, 2012)

Great news everyone. The train is FINALLY smoking. Although the smoking is a lot lighter than it shows in the video, its better than it was. 

Nevertheless, I just purchased some root beer scented JT's Megasmoke. Hopefully the difference will be noticeable.

Thanks for all your advice everyone. I appreciate it.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

The starter set smoke units aren't always the greatest to begin with. The megasteam should help a bit.


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## Big Mike (Dec 2, 2011)

to each his own, but for me megasteam is mega garbage, I found protosmoke works the best,also,sense I watched the tutoral from Lionel on the proper way to add the smoke fluid,my trains smoke alot better,smoke last longer between re-fills,go to the Lionel site and see for your self. ....Mike


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## Don Trinko (Oct 23, 2012)

I have some megasmoke. It works but I'm not sure it's any better than any other. A dealer told me there was none that worked better than others. Don


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I have noticed very little difference between brands of smoke fluid. I tend to use MegaSteam, but the Lionel and MTH smoke fluids seem to be pretty similar in smoke output.


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## Big Mike (Dec 2, 2011)

I know the MTH locos. smoke way better than Lionel. ..........Mike


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## theace18 (Dec 30, 2012)

Perhaps an MTH locomotive will be in my son's future. Lets see how long he sticks with this first. 



Big Mike said:


> I know the MTH locos. smoke way better than Lionel. ..........Mike


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

All of the MTH locomotives I've ever seen have fan driven smoke and will smoke FAR better than the Lionel puffer units. Lionel has fan driven smoke units as well in many models, those smoke fine.


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## plandis (Oct 5, 2011)

my sons pen flyer smokes like a chimney - lots of it. I was very impressed by the output. I have noticed no difference in fluid brands/types from several sources. I have high end loco's fan driven loco's puffer locos- all seem to work well regardless of fluid brands Ive tried. 

that little pen flyer was even run several hours without fluid- I thought the wick would be gone. to my surprise the little thing took off like new once re-wetted. its been through a few bottles of fluid over the last few years and still smokes like new. -amazing.


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## plandis (Oct 5, 2011)

I wish my high-end fan units would hold up half as good as that little pen flyer.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Well, the fan driven units have that little cheap motor, that's usually the item that needs work. If you overfill the unit, it soaks the bearings of the motor. I can usually rescue these by cleaning up the motor and using some very light Teflon oil on them.


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## Big Mike (Dec 2, 2011)

plandis said:


> my sons pen flyer smokes like a chimney - lots of it. I was very impressed by the output. I have noticed no difference in fluid brands/types from several sources. I have high end loco's fan driven loco's puffer locos- all seem to work well regardless of fluid brands Ive tried.
> 
> that little pen flyer was even run several hours without fluid- I thought the wick would be gone. to my surprise the little thing took off like new once re-wetted. its been through a few bottles of fluid over the last few years and still smokes like new. -amazing.


you have one in a several hundred thousand then,cause every one I have seen are not very good smokers,I mean,really,those are just kids toys anyway.
but all this talk about smoke is all good,but when I get a new Loco,I check it for smoke,if it works I switch the smoke unit off and thats it ,cause all those trains running,smoking at once gets to a bit much after a while .JMO..........Mike


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## KarenORichmond (Nov 14, 2011)

Big Mike said:


> you have one in a several hundred thousand then,cause every one I have seen are not very good smokers,I mean,really,those are just kids toys anyway.
> but all this talk about smoke is all good,but when I get a new Loco,I check it for smoke,if it works I switch the smoke unit off and thats it ,cause all those trains running,smoking at once gets to a bit much after a while .JMO..........Mike


You don't like the smoke??? I LOVe it... in fact, I have been known to have all 3 smoking and fill the room...then again I also love all the noise they make, too...

...guess you can blame it on me being female


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## Big Mike (Dec 2, 2011)

its just that I have been known to run as many as eight power units at one time,pulling four different trains lashed up,all smoking really good,and in a little 40'by40' building it fills pretty quick,and in the winter time with no a/c going,people start gaging from all the smoke.so I turn them off.......Mike


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## njrailer93 (Nov 28, 2011)

I just picked one up from the show today and having the same issues


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## theace18 (Dec 30, 2012)

So my root beer scented smoke from Mega Steam just came in, and I tell you what: it made a big difference.

With the Lionel smoke, you could barely see it, and it took a while to smoke. Now it smokes within 2-3 times around the track and much thicker. Of course it doesn't smoke like a chimney, like perhaps the fan driven ones do, but its much much better.

My 9 year old is much happier with his train set now that it smokes more like a real one. He's told me he's going to start saving for a better locomotive that smokes more. 

Thank you all for the help and the advice!


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

The puffers never smoked like a fan driven unit, and it's likely they never will.


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## Big Mike (Dec 2, 2011)

sure,fan driven units are great for diesels,but for the steamers,it just doesen't look right at prototypical speeds,are at slower speeds,they need to puff in synk with the drive wheels to look right.
The MTH locos,weather its diesel or steam, seem to smoke much better than any other brand,don't know,or care why,they just do.
...............Mike


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## Dbarberic (Dec 31, 2012)

I have the NYC Flyer engine and have similar smoke issues.

Unless I'm running full power, I get no smoke. At full power, the smoke I get is not very dramatic. Nothing like the Youtube videos I see of the high end Lionel engines.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Big Mike said:


> sure,fan driven units are great for diesels,but for the steamers,it just doesen't look right at prototypical speeds,are at slower speeds,they need to puff in synk with the drive wheels to look right.
> The MTH locos,weather its diesel or steam, seem to smoke much better than any other brand,don't know,or care why,they just do.
> ...............Mike


Nothing to say that your steamers with fan driven smoke units can't have synchronized smoke, most of mine do, and the few that don't are slated to get an upgrade.


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