# Whistle in Tender



## fireman00 (Dec 8, 2011)

I bought a Pennsylvania Flyer set to go under the tree this year and will be expanding slowly over the next couple of years. 

The set was very easy to put together and get going with 2 exceptions: 1.) the 565 locomotive wasn't smoking. I found out via a "how to" video on Lionel's site that newer engines won't smoke unless the transformer is running at 50% of capacity or higher. 2.) The whistle for the engine, located in the tender, was so low I thought it was broken. As per Lionel, systems for ages 8 and above have a resister which greatly reduces the volume of the whistle. Systems for ages 14 and above do not have that resister. 

Lionel has a great "how to" on their site showing how to remove the resister and get full whistle volume. 

Kudos to my local hobby shop, Trains and Lanes in Easton, PA, who did the work (took about 10 minutes) for no cost. 

I was sure the whistle was broken and had them test it before the resister was removed... after the removal we were stunned at how much louder the whistle was.


----------



## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

fireman00 said:


> I bought a Pennsylvania Flyer set to go under the tree this year and will be expanding slowly over the next couple of years.
> 
> The set was very easy to put together and get going with 2 exceptions: 1.) the 565 locomotive wasn't smoking. I found out via a "how to" video on Lionel's site that newer engines won't smoke unless the transformer is running at 50% of capacity or higher. 2.) The whistle for the engine, located in the tender, was so low I thought it was broken. As per Lionel, systems for ages 8 and above have a resister which greatly reduces the volume of the whistle. Systems for ages 14 and above do not have that resister.
> 
> ...


That is good to know, an easy fix just remove the resistor?:thumbsup:
Does it have a volume control too?
I think they should put one in so you can adjust the whistle volume to your liking.

Add a link to the video for us lazy folks.:thumbsup:


----------



## fireman00 (Dec 8, 2011)

here's an explanation why some whistles are low! 

Here's a link to the PDF on how to remove the resister. 

There is no volume control or on/ off switch. 

I thought the whistle was defective when I first used it. The folks at the hobby shop were surprised at how much louder the whistle was after the resister was removed.


----------



## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

fireman00 said:


> As per Lionel, systems for ages 8 and above have a resister which greatly reduces the volume of the whistle. Systems for ages 14 and above do not have that resister.


The video says that the limit on volume is mandated by the Fed's Consumer Product Safety Commision.

Clearly, the CPSC isn't spending time at my house with my kids. If they did (for even just a few minutes), they'd see that the kids thrive on things with a volume of 165 Decibles, and poor old Dad yearns for the old days when a soft 20 DB whisper was a gift from Heaven.



TJ


----------

