Lionel 783 Hudson Teardown, Cleaning, Lubricating, Upgrading, and Repair

A slow moving 783 Hudson on full throttle needed some serious maintenance, so I decided to do a visual tear down video. Whatever grease Lionel used, it breaks down into an oil leaving behind a tacky grease. During the teardown I thought I upgrade the smoke resistor and add an LED for the head lamp. However the teardown led me to find a bad rear motor bushing that had to get replaced. During the later part of the project, I came across the Greenbergs Modern Era Parts and Lists Diagram book. This book does have the 783 Hudson and also aided me with the bushing part number and assembly.
Additional Lionel 783 Hudson cleaning / servicing videos:
Video by KZbin User: dagryffynhobby Lionel 783 Scale Hudson 6-8406 (1985) Service: Clean and Lube
Link to Video: • Lionel 783 Scale Hudso...
Any and all servicing for any type of locomotive shall be followed by manufacturers specifications for oil lubricating points, greasing applications and not limited to motor cleaning (if applicable) for top performance and longevity of your train. Labelle Lubricants or similar lubricants with the same specifications can be used as long as there is no additional additives that may cause damage to and not limited to rubber and plastics. Any referred video above, including the presentation of this video, is for additional reference of servicing and / or repair. If you have a servicing / repair video that relates to this topic and was uploaded before this presentation date, please forward the link to me and I will post in this description above this statement, however I can not say “inspired by” because I did not see your video. I do search KZbin for other similar videos, if available, and I will mention your handle name and video link here before posting.
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DC Circuit Diagram for LED Headlamp
www.mediafire.com/view/fa3rvc...
Amazon Purchases:
Smoke Wick-- The Indian Arts Cotton Long Batti Puja Cotton Wicks (Uncolored / Set of 3 Packets)
LED -- Chanzon 100pcs 5mm Warm White (3VDC 20ma)
5VDC Voltage Regulator -- Bojack IC L7805 Voltage Regulator 5V 1.5A
100 Ohm Resistor 1/4 Watt
10 Micro Farad Capacitor 25 Volt Rated
22AWG Wire
Rectifier -- ASEMI W06/W06G Through Hole Rectifier 1A600V (20pcs)
Heat Shrink Tube Kit
Anti Static foam or padding that won’t harm electronics
eBay Purchases:
Bushing -- Lionel 622-155 Motor Bushing
Resistor -- Ohmite 93J18R 18 Ohm 3-1/4 Watt Wire Wound Power Resistor
Lionel V-31 Terminal Lug
Hardware Store Purchases:
Blaster Engine Heavy Duty Degreaser
WD-40

[@TheCreativeMind]

Check out Dave's 783 Hudson servicing here @ dagryffynhobby for more tips that I may not have covered. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aaa6Y3R5bryLl6s ------ 11/6/22 -- UPDATE ------- I found a 2200 microfarad capacitor with a 25 volt rating will fit inside the boiler for non flickering LED Headlamp operation. Just replace the 10 microfarad capacitor with this and strap on the wire tube along with the custom DC circuit. Here are some pictures for reference. www.mediafire.com/folder/gegmhse7jkohadq,h29q1uovetaty9g,8643qcijvo2u5zk

[@dennis2494]

excellent video that I can use as a reference tool when I service my engine, thank you.

[@lawerencestimpson2280]

This one is very clean.

[@genemanno1533]

Extremely well presented. Nice job covering the small details😊😊😊 I don’t have a 783 but exposure to the mechanics of it is well worth the time.😊 The 783 is radically different from the typical Lionel locomotive that use all spur gear drives.

[@TheCreativeMind]

Thank you Gene.

[@jth877]

I did a can motor conversion and a dallee electronic eunit. Much more quiet and smooth. The other problems I had were the magnets rubbing on the drivers and an incorrect worm gear alignment, which was a factory defect common on the 783.

[@TheCreativeMind]

That's a conversion I like to try. Besides smoother operation you can probably pull more with a DC motor. Sucks about the mechanical issue hope you got it worked out.

[@willslowik7264]

We are ready for the Reading T-1 video ;-)

[@jamesclose7293]

Great video! I have the same locomotive. You gave some great ideas and I liked the LED head light. Many years ago Classic Toy Trains did a complete article on repairing and tuning up this locomotive it was the May 2000 edition. Thanks for sharing and I look forward to the T1 video.

[@TheCreativeMind]

Thank you James, I got to find the book now to see what Lionel did.

[@joehall7869]

Amazingly detailed video. I just subscribed to

[@TheCreativeMind]

Thank you Joe, welcome to the channel.

[@metalheadrailfan]

Good thing you posted this because I just got a 784 B&A Hudson and when I put it on the track, power would go to it, but it wouldn't budge. Thankfully your video showed me how to disassemble it and was able to find the problem: a stuck driveshaft with lots of old grease.

[@TheCreativeMind]

You're welcome, glad the video was able to help you.

[@willslowik7264]

You knocked it of the park getting that loco running the way it should, probably better than new!

[@TheCreativeMind]

Thank you. That hudson flew around the layout way faster than I anticipated.

[@dominicdelaurentis1574]

That's what I am saying

[@scottyrocktrains5649]

You gave it a very good cleaning. The old grease turned to jell made it hard for the engine to function. I do the same to older models when I buy them . Well done friend!

[@stever.5092]

Very impressive locomotive. I have the 1950 773 & it’s my absolute favorite.

[@TheCreativeMind]

Thank you. I hope to own a 773 someday, it's a very nice engine.

[@dennis2494]

My Hudson was bad right out of the box, it ran slower than it should, since it sat in the box for ten years, I had to send it out for repair where they replaced the motor and now it runs fine. I think that the Hudson was among the trains that Lionel produced in Mexico where they had some quality control issues.

[@TheCreativeMind]

I don't know if the same applied to the Crescent Limited but that had a bad motor too. The winding was wrapped and shorted to the armature segment. Once I rewound the motor, ran great. Glad to see yours is running great too.

[@TexasTedS]

Great video, great work making that 783 run like it was designed to!

[@TheCreativeMind]

Thank you.

[@armyveteran1000]

Nice job. You always find a way to make things work better with or without schematics and instructions. Great work

[@TheCreativeMind]

Thank you. Did my best until I got the book.

[@A169KL]

Great video man. I bought one of these about five years ago as NOS. Beautiful loco. I did all the shimming and misalignment fixes that they are known for, packed it with labelle and it runs well. One problem it has is the whistle continuously sounds, so I run it turned off. Looks like the whistle and SOS get their operating signal from under the e unit. Any idea of what the issue could be? Thanks.

[@azslotracer]

So just how much did your 783 cost you. I bought mine at auction 8 years ago for $225. It runs well and I have serviced it. I am not crazy of the sound of scream or the whistle so I turned the sound down and don't use the whistle. I picked up a spare 683 tender for $40 last year at a shop closing in AZ. I plan to put a ERR board in it so I can run it by tmcc and conventionally. Great video. Nee subscriber here. I did have to replace the foam inside the tender under the circuit boards and they both work fine.

[@TheCreativeMind]

Thank you. I myself plan to upgrade this to TMCC as well after I do my Crescent. I picked this up for $250 after talking to the guy who was selling his dad's stuff. No one wanted it due to the speed and motor issue.

[@johnlong5899]

Fabulous! I got a 783 off ebay I want to tear down and service. Also have a Reading T-1 that I haven't ran since 1992!....LOL!!! Does the Greenburg book include the Reading T-1, Mohawk, and B-6 switcher?

[@TheCreativeMind]

Thank you John, yes the Greenberg book has the Reading T-1. If the Mohawn and B-6 are made between 1977 and 1992 they should be in there

[@johnlong5899]

@@TheCreativeMind Thanks. I bit the bullet and ordered a used one in decent condition. Pricey but worth it I think. 600 pages tells me it's far more comprehensive than the readers digest version I own. I am not a fan of the feely meely method of servicing trains.

[@robertedward1988]

new to your channel, learned about you from R’s Trains! great video, me and Corey want to learn the basics for engine and car repairs, this was fun to watch and we will continue to learn from your channel! where do you buy parts from, we’re new to this so we could use a few good part sources? thanks

[@TheCreativeMind]

Hi Robert, welcome to the channel. My top sites for parts is Ebay, Hennings Trains, Trainz, The Train Tender, Rudy's Toys and The Model Train Store (a.k.a. TheLionelTrainStoreNJ). Other sites I keep on hand but haven't been to in a while are Trains and Toy Soldiers, Train Repair Parts, JLM Trains, Toy Train Mall and Toy Train Factory Outlet. If there's any other sites, I'll let you know. R's Trains mentioned me? Was it in a video or as a reference video in his channel?

[@robertedward1988]

@@TheCreativeMind, Hi, thank you for the list, very helpful, I'll be sure to bookmark those sites. Corey (R's Trains!) is my son, he mentioned you (your channel) via a conversation I had with him. You both have great channels!!

[@TheCreativeMind]

@robertedward1988 thanks Robert. Cory had a great livestream. His Crescent made a similar noise like mine. I mentioned that the gears are to close and do require frequent Lubrication. Replacing those metal gears with nylon gears might fix the noise. But mine had a shorted armature which made a growl sound. If you're looking to replace the armature Timko's Repair Depot makes a nice wheel puller. You will need that to remove the Crescents wheel to get to the armature. I made a video "Lionel Crescent Ltd 8702 Rebuild Part 1" where I dissected the entire locomotive.

[@robertedward1988]

@@TheCreativeMind thanks for that insight TCM, that will be helpful and we will look into that tool as Corey starts to build a tool set "chest" for working on these locos etc. We will be sure to watch the video this weekend as we hope to get back to the fixit shop. Have a great day and upcoming weekend. Rob

[@benzacct1]

What are you using to clean? WD40?

[@TheCreativeMind]

Yes, it cleaned that old grease off with ease.

[@Berkshire736]

Well done dude! Very informative and detailed and will definitely use this to service some of my big Hudsons.

[@TheCreativeMind]

Thank you.

[@dominicdelaurentis1574]

Do u have Facebook to is the same as you tube channel

[@TheCreativeMind]

I am on Facebook but I belong to several groups. I don't have a group created by me.