I hope this thread will not be hijacked as my last one on this topic was!

Last week I reported that the doors on my Acela would not work until I warmed it up by running it. Today that would not work. I had one door that only opened part way in spite of oiling the threads on the opening mechanism and putting slick on the door frame. After some frustration I got my wife's hair dryer, opened the door on the opposite side, put the hair dryer back about 10", and blew hot air in for about 5 minutes. The stuck door was warm to the touch! OLA, the door worked perfectly and continued to work even 7 hours later when the car had cooled down( train room is about 55-60 degrees!!

I am continueing to work on finding a source for the tiny screws for Acela couplers and will report when I find one.

stan

Hello Shane,

I might be able to assist you on a few things as I am a former owner of the set. Some of the things I immediately discovered about the Acela might be part of your problem. But without seeing the car in question, I honestly can't say yes, or no.

First, always, and I mean always keep checking those little stupid screws from the couplers. They do have a nasty tendency to back out of the screwhole. Reason unknown, but the fix is simple. Invest in a small bottle of clear nail polish. Put a very tiny amount on the threads of the screw and tighten down the screw. Be careful not to overtighten the screw as you will strip it easily if not careful. This might sound weird, but trust me, the nail polish dries hard and will help keep the screw in place. (The screw will be able to be removed later if a repair is needed.)

Second, with the doors open on the car, check internally to see if there might be a stupid little piece of excess "flashing" on the door. I remember this was one of my issues with the door keeping it from moving smoothly.. Use an exacto knife to "gently" smooth the door. After two years I honestly cannot remember if I had to take the car apart or not to do this. But that did solve one or two issues. The problem is the flashing sometimes sticks on a small area and keeps the darn door from operating correctly. Heating up the door as you say may have just allowed the door just enough room to slide on the track without the flash catching? Possible, but not entirely sure.

Thirdly, Invest in a container of "White Lithium" grease, available at NAPA autoparts. Comes in very handy for all trains and lots of other uses around the house. Take a very small amount on a toothpick or Q-Tip, and sparingly lubricate those little white plastic wormgears that drive the door mechanisms. Have the doors open and close several times to help spread the grease. Don't use much here, seriously, just like the old Brill-Cream commercial, "A little dab will do ya."

Next, and this is important, Lubricate those darn couplers. Those couplers have been the nightmare of a few operators. And after using my advice on this, they have had much better luck with these things. (sometimes they have a nasty habbit of sticking) Hopefully Winrose46 can step in here and tell you the process of where he had an issue and how this piece of advice worked for him. (for future reference) You never know, you might need it sometime.

Lastly, this will help some with the Acela. But keep in mind that you're miliage may vary on other issues as mine did. I don't have all the answers obviously, or my problems wouldn't have been as bad as they were. But after all was said and done, these simple things did help a whole lot.

I hope at least some of this can help you. It has helped a few others that have reported back to me on it. But obviously there will always be something else that can be the problem as well. So, nothing is carved in stone when it comes to a repair.

When all is said and done, when this train is running the way it should, it is a wonderful train. It truly is a beautiful train to run. While I have never seen the real Acela in person, I have seen numerous pictures of it on the internet, and comparing the pics to the model, I think Lionel did a great job with the model at making it look just like the real thing. A stunning work of art in my honest opinion.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Bagheera,

bagheera
I found your suggestions very usefull. I have used oil on the wormgears and this may dryup over time. I was worried grease might offer too much resistance but it appears to work for you.
thanks
stan

Hi Shane,

Glad to help out any way I can. The greasing of those wormgears will help you greatly. But just a very tiny dab. Let the opening/closing of the doors do the work for you. This will give a great spread of the grease after you gently wipe a small amount on the gear. It will also last far longer than any liquid lube you can use. While using a Q-tip can be great for this, I should also tell you to be very careful when using one. You really don't want the little fibers of the q-tip to get stuck or wrapped around the gear. This could be a major problem if this happens. So, always be careful and never do the lubrication while power is applied to the car. They really don't give you much room to do anything in those cars. Very small opening. However, this is very understandable given the cars size.

If I can help out with anything else, don't hesitate to ask. That's what the forum is all about. While I don't own the set any longer, I still remember a few things about it. If you have ANY issues at all, don't hesitate to contact me. I don't care if its 4am. If I'm awake, (most of the time I am) I'll be there to help you in anyway I can.