I have a shelf layouot (17' x 25'), usually pulling 9-11 passenger cars. Backing up around 72" curves is possible, but slow and I usually just lock my Lionel locos in forward only (especially the post war stuff). I don't think any of my older Williams locos can do that. The manual says that after a power loss, you have to wait 7+ seconds, then it will return to forward-neutral-reverse operation. Any sooner than that, and it will interpret that as a marker to switch to neutral then reverse, etc.
So, is there a wiring way to bypass the electronic e-unit and just run the motors forward only? Anybody done this? And if so, anybody have a wiring diagram to share? My email is
[email protected] if someone has a wiring diagram for this.
Thanks!
Scott W.
Allen, TX
There are basically two options:
1. Replace the reverse board with the new style that has a direction lock switch:
https://estore.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=77_222&products_id=10587
Instructions: https://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/dwg/dwgs/WilliamsReverseBoardInst(later).pdf
2. Replace the reverse board with a 50V, or higher, full wave rectifier:
Connect the pickup roller to one unmarked terminal, connect the chassis to the other. The motors connect to the +/- terminals whichever way gives you forward travel.
There used to be instructins around on how to modify the original reverse boards to add a direction lock switch, but they have pretty much disappeared. Which is probably a good thing, because the risk of damaging the board while soldering was fairly high.
Len