# My Lionel 6-18006 T-1 will not smoke



## lewis1585 (Mar 27, 2013)

Hello,

This is the first time that I have posted anything on this forum.

My dad has a Lionel #6-18006 Reading T-1 4-8-4 that will not smoke. Both my dad and I are mechanically inclined but have never really worked on these little trains. I am looking for ideas on where to start to try to get this thing smoking again.

Thank you

Michael


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I've attached the user's manual and the parts pictorial diagrams to this post to aid in troubleshooting.

Did you add smoke fluid?

Does everything else work properly on the locomotive? I don't see a smoke switch, but there may be one that's not mentioned in the documentation, if so make sure it's on.

If all else fails, you may have to remove the shell to see if the wiring is intact and the smoke unit is getting power from the tracks.


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## lewis1585 (Mar 27, 2013)

Thank you for your help. Yes we have added smoke, we turned it upside down and drained it out just to make sure that we didn't have it over filled. Everything else seems to work great. I have not been able to find a smoke switch.

Thank you for the attached files


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

lewis1585 said:


> Hello,
> 
> This is the first time that I have posted anything on this forum.
> 
> ...


This is your second post. 
Welcome to the site.

I will get the thread rolling some for you with a couple of questions.

Did you have this train since it was new?
There is a switch to turn it on and off right?
It is on?

If you did not get it new maybe someone ran it on the on position without fluid in it, this will burn it out.

Are you getting power to it, do you smell anything when your trying it?

Did you try running it fast as you can with a bunch of cars on to make it work hard?

I don't have this engine I will go and check out what you got on the net.


edit, Stop doing that JOHN.


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## BigAl56 (Dec 14, 2011)

I'll start by asking the simplest questions. Have you followed the instructions in the manual? You will need to add a few drops of smoke fluid into the smoke unit. If the engine has been sitting a long time a few extra drops may be needed. 

The 18006 was originally made with an old school mechanical liquid smoke unit. Once you add the fluid try parking it in neutral with the power cranked up. That should get the smoke cooking. After it sits for a minute start it up. If that does no get it smoking you will have to open her up and examine the smoke chamber. Look for clogs and other mechanical problems.


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## lewis1585 (Mar 27, 2013)

Big Ed.
LOL yeah I guess that was my second post. We have had this train since it was new. All of my dads trains sat for a few years with out being used so who knows when it stopped smoking. My guess is that it was ran without any smoke fluid in it. We have tried running it wide open and with a bunch of cars. I do not smell anything from it.

My little boy will be ecstatic if we can get this thing working.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

lewis1585 said:


> Big Ed.
> LOL yeah I guess that was my second post. We have had this train since it was new. All of my dads trains sat for a few years with out being used so who knows when it stopped smoking. My guess is that it was ran without any smoke fluid in it. We have tried running it wide open and with a bunch of cars. I do not smell anything from it.
> 
> My little boy will be ecstatic if we can get this thing working.


They say it is a good thing to always keep it wet even in storage.
It has no switch?

Try the few things that are mentioned see what happens.
Let us know what happens.

Maybe a wire came loose. 
Time to pop the shell.


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## lewis1585 (Mar 27, 2013)

I am pretty sure we have had it in neutral with the power cranked up with no luck. I will have my dad try this tonight.
Thanks for the info


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## Wowak (May 30, 2012)

The 6-18006 has an old-style piston smoke unit. The only difference between it and any postwar smoke unit is the redesigned body to include the ducts to the steam chest. (In my opinion that's why the 18006 is a poor smoker in general; the same smoke output as a postwar unit, but being sent 3 places.) 

Anyway, once you have the shell off, it's pretty obvious how to take the top of the smoke unit off. Be careful of the rubber gasket, it's fragile and will crack. (I used automotive silicone "gasket maker" to reseal mine.) It's possible the wick/sleeve around the resistor is burned, once that happens the unit won't smoke much at all. If it's burned, you'll have to snip it off. At that point, it's recommended to re-pack the unit... do a search; I use tiki-torch wick material, others have had luck with the pink fluffy insulation (find some in your attic! No charge!)

On my 6-18006 I'm going to try to replace the resistor with a hotter MTH part, and if that doesn't work I'm probably going to junk the factory unit and find a way to retrofit a modern fan-driven unit.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I recommend against the attic insulation, I used it for a couple and it chars very quickly. I also use tiki wick, works much better.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

I wonder how it is going with the OP, Lewis?


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## Wowak (May 30, 2012)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> I recommend against the attic insulation, I used it for a couple and it chars very quickly. I also use tiki wick, works much better.


I've had decent results with the tiki wick (except, annoyingly, in my 18006.)


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Time for a retrofit, fan driven smoke!


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## Lantz62 (Apr 11, 2015)

*18006 Wiring*

Hello, First time posting on this site.

Does anyone know if a wiring diagram is available for this loco? I purchased one used and whoever had it previously cut off the female (tender) end of the tether wire. I have the connector as the guy left it attached to the male end and tucked it up under the loco cab. I can take the connector apart (tedious but doable) but have difficulty figuring out which of the four (all black) wires goes where on the connector. Not sure any wiring diagram would be detailed enough, just curious if one exists. There's nothing in any Lionel supplements, just the usual pictorials and instruction manual. Any ideas would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Richard, Lantzville BC Canada


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## TrainLarry (Jan 15, 2012)

Welcome to the forum!
Take the shell off the locomotive and trace the wires to the plug with an ohmmeter if necessary. Make a diagram.
Do the same thing in the tender and make a diagram.
That should be a start in helping to rewire the tender plug properly.

Post the diagrams on this forum if you need further help.

Larry


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

It the locomotive all original? If so, it's pretty simple, track power goes to the smoke unit, this is the smoke unit in question. I have two of these, but mine have been upgraded to command and fan driven smoke.'

These were originally conventional operation with a RailSounds tender.


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## Lantz62 (Apr 11, 2015)

Thank you for the welcome and the info Larry. I was able to figure out the wires by trial and error. Most difficult however was heating the plastic, molded female plug end, removing the brass (female) contacts and re-soldering the wires to them, pressing them back into the plastic plug and so on. I opted to attempt this as trying to locate a similar plug proved impossible. So, all is good EXCEPT, as others have mentioned, the smoke unit leaves a little bit to be desired.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

My Reading T1 with an MTH fan driven smoke unit has great smoke.  The only way you're going to get good smoke out of it is by doing something similar.


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## Guz (Sep 16, 2019)

I'm working on a Reading T1 with a smoke issue for a friend. The locomotive looks new but it didn't smoke when I got it. Upon inspection the resistor for the smoke unit was broken. I was hoping somebody could give me the value of this resistor? I was also wondering if this smoke unit usually has some batting in it? It is empty right now, the resistor had the fiber cover of it. Thanks for any help.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

27 ohms for the resistor, and the stock unit just had the sleeve over the resistor. Some folks add some wick, but make sure you don't totally cover the resistor or you'll get very little smoke. There has to be airflow across the resistor from the air inlet to the stack.


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## Guz (Sep 16, 2019)

Thank you for the quick response!!!


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