Lionel 71-2938-250 User manual

71-2938-250
Rev. 2/97
CAUTION—ELECTRICALLY OPERATED PRODUCT
NOT RECOMMENDED FOR CHILDREN UNDER EIGHT YEARS OF AGE. AS WITH ALL ELECTRIC PRODUCTS, PRE-
CAUTIONS SHOULD BE OBSERVED DURING HANDLING AND USE TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK.
TRANSFORMER RATINGS - INPUT : 120 VAC 60 HZ ONLY.
AC OUTPUT : 21 V, 135 VA
PowerStation™-PowerHouse™
power and control system
Owners Manual

2
2
C
ongratulations on your purchase of
the Lionel PowerStation-PowerHouse
power and control system. Your
PowerStation high-output control unit
and PowerHouse power supply will give
your single-track Lionel railroad the ener-
gy it deserves—1 5 watts and 7 amps of
alternating current. (For multi-track
operation, a separate PowerStation-
PowerHouse control system is
required for each additional track.)
Read this manual thoroughly before
using the system. It has important infor-
mation on setup and operation. If you
have any questions after reading this
booklet, contact your nearest authorized
Lionel Service Center or call Lionel
Service at 810-949-4100. And have fun!
Table of contents
The PowerStation-PowerHouse system—the basics
PowerStation high-output control unit 3
PowerHouse power supply 4
Installing your PowerStation-PowerHouse system 5
PowerStation-PowerHouse operation
Operating your PowerStation control unit 6
PowerStation control features 7
PowerStation functions 8
PowerStation and short circuits 8
Mounting PowerStation on your layout or control panel 9
Replacing your PowerStation’s lamps 9
Troubleshooting guide 9
Accessory connections
445 Switch tower 10
138 Water tower 10
164 Log loader 11
352 Animated ice depot 11
Oil drum loader 11
Product specifications 12
Lionel Service 12
Congratulations!

3
3
PowerStation high-output control unit
P
owerStation is a power control unit
with a power output of 1 5-watts
and an amperage limit of 7 amps. It’s
perfect as your first “big” transformer
or as a brawny replacement for aging
or underpowered transformers. With
its track and accessory terminals,
PowerStation provides the latest tech-
nology for reliable conventional model
railroad operation.
PowerStation is compatible with com-
mon ground layout wiring (see page 5).
•Read this manual thoroughly before
using this device.
•PowerStation is designed for indoor
use only. Outdoor use is not recom-
mended. Extremes in temperatures can
result in reduced performance.
•Never insert objects into the ventila-
tion holes on the underside of
PowerStation. Damage to sensitive elec-
tronic components can result.
The PowerStation-PowerHouse system—the basics

The PowerStation-PowerHouse system—the basics
4
4
PowerHouse power supply
Power ON-OFF switch
Turns PowerHouse
on and off.
Circuit breaker
Protects PowerHouse
from overloads and
short circuits.
Plug-in connector
Provides power to
PowerStation and is
keyed to plug in one
way only.
Y
our Lionel PowerHouse power sup-
ply is listed by Underwriters
Laboratories Inc. and has been carefully
designed and tested to ensure peak per-
formance.
WARNING: When using electrical
products, basic safety precautions
should be maintained including the fol-
lowing:
•Read this manual thoroughly before
using this device.
•This device is not recommended for
children under eight years of age.
•Parents should periodically inspect
the PowerHouse unit for potential haz-
ards and have unit repaired if necessary
by an authorized Lionel Service Center.
•PowerHouse is intended to be used
indoors. Do not use if water is present.
Serious or fatal injury may result.
•Do not use PowerHouse for other
than its intended purpose. The unit was
designed to operate with PowerStation,
PowerMaster™, and select Lionel con-
trollers only.
•PowerHouse is designed to operate
on 120-volt, 60-Hertz power. Do not
connect to any other source of power.
•Do not operate PowerHouse with a
damaged cord, plug, or case.
•To avoid the risk of electrical shock,
do not disassemble the unit. There are
no user-serviceable parts inside. If dam-
aged, take PowerHouse to your autho-
rized Lionel Service Center. A list of
Service Centers is packed with this unit.
•CAUTION: Do not operate your lay-
out unattended. Obstructed accessories
or stalled trains may overheat, resulting
in damage to your layout.
•If the circuit breaker trips, turn
PowerHouse OFF. Reset the circuit
breaker, then turn the power ONand
resume operation.
•Always unplug PowerHouse from
the power source when not in use.

Installing your PowerStation-PowerHouse system
5
5
F
or best performance, use 18-gauge
wire to connect PowerStation to your
track. Start by attaching a lockon to
your track. Connect your layout’s track
wires to PowerStation’s track power ter-
minals labeled A and U. The A wire con-
nects to the lockon’s center-rail spring
clip (no. 1). The U wire connects to the
lockon’s outer-rail spring clip (no. 2).
PowerStation’s track U terminal and
accessory U terminal are common.
Therefore accessory ground connections
can be made to the track, if desired.
For best results, use spade lugs (U-
shaped connectors) on all PowerStation
connections, with no more than two
wires on each terminal. On larger lay-
outs where several track connections are
required, the use of separate
junctions/terminal strips is recom-
mended to prevent voltage drops.
MAKE SURE ALL CONNECTIONS ARE VERY
SECURE.A loose connection can produce
extremely high temperatures. For this
reason, DO NOT touch terminals or track
connections during use. Also DO NOT
locate scenery materials such as lichen
or ground foam near the terminals.
Next, connect PowerHouse by insert-
ing its connector into PowerStation’s
input jack. The connector is keyed to
plug in one way only. Plug
PowerHouse into a wall outlet (120
volts, 60 cycles). Turn on PowerHouse.
(Always switch off PowerHouse any
time you’re not operating your rail-
road.)
When PowerStation is receiving elec-
tricity from PowerHouse, the backlit
LIONEL illuminates.
B
ACC
TRACK
PWR
U
U
A
Insert PowerHouse connector
plug into PowerStation input
jack. It is keyed to plug in one
way only.
Accessory (fixed) voltage terminals
Track (variable) voltage terminals
Rear view of PowerStation

PowerStation-PowerHouse operation
6
6
Operating your PowerStation control unit
A
s you turn the Circle-L throttle con-
trol knob to the right, power to the
track is increased. As power increases,
the backlit powerband display progres-
sively illuminates. The farther to the
right the knob is turned, the faster your
train will go.
Remember that the greater the load
on the engine (adding more cars for the
engine to pull, for example), the farther
to the right the knob must be turned
before it will operate the locomotive.
BELL
WHISTLE/HORN
DIRECTION
BELL
WHISTLE/HORN
DIRECTION
Whistle Horn
Activates the whistle or
horn sound effect in your
Lionel locomotives. Press
WHISTLE/HORN to begin
the sound; release the
button to end it.
Bell
Starts or stops the tolling
bell in any Railsounds™-
equipped locomotive.
Press BELL to begin the
sound, again to stop it.
Direction
Press the DIRECTION but-
ton to go forward or
reverse, or to place the
locomotive in “neutral”
(no movement, headlight
is on).
Throttle
Controls your locomo-
tive’s speed. Turn the
throttle clockwise (right)
to increase locomotive
speed, counterclockwise
(left) to slow it down.
Power-on indicator
The backlit LIONEL illu-
minates when your
PowerStation is ON.
Powerband display
As your locomotive’s
speed increases, the dis-
play illuminates progres-
sively.

7
7
PowerStation control features
BELL
The BELL button will activate all
Railsounds bells. Press and hold BELL
two to three seconds to begin the sound;
press and hold again to stop it.
WHISTLE/HORN
Press the WHISTLE/HORN button to
activate Lionel sound-equipped loco-
motives, including those equipped with
Railsounds. The sound will continue
until the button is released. No external
sound activation buttons are needed.
NOTES ON SOUND ACTIVATION
In Railsounds-equipped locomotives
and tenders, a continuous horn/whistle
or bell trigger can occur if the sound
buttons are pressed before Railsounds is
“awake.” To instantly correct this condi-
tion, turn PowerHouse OFF and back
ONagain. For best results, DO NOT acti-
vate Railsounds horns, whistles, or bells
until track power has stabilized.
PowerStation may cause random
whistles in the Lionel Mighty Sound of
Steam™ tender with a three-pin connec-
tor. We recommend you a purchase a
Railsounds-equipped tender to replace
your Mighty Sound of Steam tender.
POWER-ON INDICATOR
The LIONEL logo on PowerStation
will illuminate whenever the unit is
receiving power from PowerHouse.
THROTTLE
Turn the Circle-L throttle clockwise
(right) to increase track power—as power
increases, the backlit powerband display
will progressively illuminate.
For more realism, turn the throttle
slowly to gradually increase or decrease
locomotive speed. The locomotive can
then be brought to a stop without trig-
gering the direction control; when the
throttle is turned up again, the locomo-
tive will proceed in the same direction.
When you “throttle up,” you’ll notice a
slight delay in locomotive response. This is
due to the PowerStation’s surge protection
which prevents a sudden current surge
from tripping the current-sensing circuit.
POWERBAND DISPLAY
When the throttle is turned to the right,
power to the track is increased. As power
increases, the bars on the powerband dis-
play progressively illuminate. The bars
on the powerband progressively go out
when the throttle is turned back down.
In addition, the powerband lights flash
to indicate a short circuit.
DIRECTION
The direction control button inter-
rupts track power to activate the reverse
unit in locomotives with forward-neu-
tral-reverse operation. This button has
no effect on locomotives not equipped
with reverse units or on locomotives
with the reverse unit in the OFF position.
The direction control utton also
serves as a short circuit reset utton
(see “PowerStation and short circuits”
on page 8).

PowerStation-PowerHouse operation
Y
our PowerStation provides a total
output of 7 amps. The track (variable)
output will deliver 7 amps to the track
when no load is connected to the acces-
sory (fixed) terminals. The accessory ter-
minals provide a total output of amps.
For example, if your track output is 5
amps, you have 2 amps of fixed output
to run your accessories. This built-in flex-
ibility will provide power for virtually
any small-to-intermediate-sized railroad.
Available voltage varies depending on
how much load is on the two outputs.
Generally, track voltage is 0-18VAC,
with an “initial on” voltage of 4VAC.
Accessory voltage is 12-16VAC.
PowerStation will operate trains up to
and including most double-headed,
dual-motored AC engines. To operate at
this level of track power, it is necessary
to disconnect any accessory load.
Always clean and lubricate engines for
best results. It may be necessary to
power up slowly at this load to prevent
surge current from tripping
PowerStation’s protection circuit.
PowerStation will operate any single
locomotive and consist. However,
when a locomotive with Railsounds is
pulling several illuminated cars, the
current will approach the trip point at
certain times. In this case, a light touch
on the throttle may be required.
Unlike older transformers
with mechanical current
protection, PowerStation
reacts instantly to overload
conditions. Therefore,
PowerStation will react
much faster to an overload
than conventional trans-
formers, but power reset
time will decrease as well.
8
8
PowerStation functions
PowerStation and short circuits
T
o protect against overheating and
damage due to short circuits,
PowerStation is equipped with an elec-
tronic current-sensing circuit breaker.
When a short circuit occurs, the power-
band display will flash on and off and
power output will cease. This will also
occur if the 7-amp current limit is
exceeded. Reset the circuit by pressing
the DIRECTION button.
In rare instances, PowerHouse’s
mechanical circuit breaker may trip. To
reset the circuit on PowerHouse, push
the circuit breaker in (see page 4).
To prevent sudden train
starts when PowerHouse is
first switched on, or after a
circuit breaker reset,
PowerStation's throttle volt-
age will automatically start
at 0, regardless of the throttle
position. To recalibrate the
throttle, turn it counterclock-
wise all the way to the zero
position. Normal throttle
control will then resume.
Note!
Note!

9
9
Mounting PowerStation on your layout or control panel
T
o mount PowerStation on your lay-
out or control panel, choose a suitable
position and mark the center. Then mark
two points 611⁄16" (17cm) apart on either
side of the center mark. Drive a screw
into each of these two points, leaving the
screw head ⁄8" above the surface.
Position the two keyslot holes on the
bottom of PowerStation over the screw
heads. Slide the unit forward to lock it
in place. You may wish to adjust the
screw heads to assure the proper
height, but DO NOT remove Power-
Station’s rubber feet. This clearance is
required for proper ventilation.
PowerHouse can be mounted simi-
larly. It has four mounting centers in a
17⁄8" x 5 ⁄16" (48mm x 1 1mm) pattern.
Replacing your PowerStation’s lamps
Troubleshooting guide
T
he long-life lamps inside your
PowerStation control unit should
rarely require replacement. In the
event a lamp should expire, we rec-
ommend it be replaced with Lionel
part no. 610-29 8- 00 by your local
authorized Lionel Service Center or
Lionel Service only.
PROBLEM
No lights or operation
Circuit breaker trips immediate-
ly when power is applied.
Train runs but WHISTLE/HORN,
BELL, or DIRECTION will not work.
No change when DIRECTION is
pressed.
No or intermittent accessory
operation
Locomotive runs slowly or
lights dim at far end of track
Intermittent operation with con-
stant circuit breaker tripping
BELL button blows whistle
SOLUTION
• Be sure PowerHouse is plugged into working outlet.
• Check the connection between PowerStation and PowerHouse.
• Check that PowerHouse ON/OFF switch is ON.
Recheck wiring, looking for short circuits. Disconnect all wiring.
Reconnect circuits until defective circuit is found.
Check track connections to PowerStation. WHISTLE/HORN, BELL, and
DIRECTION function only on track output terminals.
Be sure locomotive reverse unit is in the ONposition.
Check for loose, shorted, or improper wiring connections.
On larger layouts, additional track resistance may cause a voltage
drop. Attach additional lockons to the remote portion of your track.
PowerStation capacity may have been exceeded. Disconnect acces-
sories one at a time until problem ceases. Check for track short cir-
cuits.
Check track wire connections. At terminal strip, center terminal strip
connections are common and should be connected to common rail.

10
10
F
or proper operation, the accessories
shown here require specific polarity
connections to prevent “feedback” in the
electronics, causing the circuit breaker to
trip prematurely.
Be sure to connect these accessories as
shown in the wiring diagrams pictured
below and on the following page.
PowerStation
accessory
terminals
BU
445 Switch tower (6-12917)
138 Water tower (6-12916)
Underside view of 445 switch tower
Underside view of 138 water tower
Spout
Underside of
staircase
AC INPUT
AC INPUT
ACTION
No. 600-0190-001 press/hold
switch (controls figures)
No. 600-0190-001 press/hold switch
No. 600-590 -001 on/off
switch (controls light)
LIGHT
U
B
Accessory connections
PowerStation
accessory
terminals