These PAs were powered by two motors that were very like Gilberts from the 50s and 60s. This was done only this one year as after that Lionel Flyer engines all used can motors. While the motors are similar they are not exactly the same as Gilbert’s and of course the E-Units were solid state and not mechanical. The difference is that these Flyonel motors have a double wound field so that when the engine changed directions the E-Unit switched to a different field winding. The heart of using the motor style was the E-Unit and this E-Unit will only work with this motor. 

To replace the old E-Unit I ordered the Dallee #1400 that is the 10 amp model and costs about $70. Because the engine has two motors and sucks up lots of power a 4 amp unit won’t work. This E-Unit is produced by the Dallee Electronics Company of Leola, PA.

Now let me move to describing how this repair was accomplished. The first thing you need to do is carefully remove the engine shell and place it away from your work. Next, unscrew the old E-Unit cutting all the wires close to the E-Unit so you have plenty of wire length to work with when you wire the new one in. You need to also unscrew the switch that was used to lock the old E-Unit so it would not cycle. It will not be used by the new E-Unit as it takes up too much space. There is a way to install a switch so read that in the instructions that come with the E-Unit.

The new E-Unit will need to fastened to the chassis by drilling a new hole because none of the existing holes in the chassis will work. The hole needs to be 7/32 so I used 1/4 inch drill because I didn’t have one that size. The E-Unit is just about the same width as the chassis so you need to make sure the hole is drilled to center the E-Unit or you will not be able to get the engine shell on the chassis. Once that is done, fit the E-Unit onto the chassis and use the nut to tighten it down. Note that the instructions call for dielectric or silicone grease to be applied where the unit is mounted. I found a lot of this on the old Lionel E-Unit and used this. Once I had the unit fitted and screwed tight I used my Dremel to trim off the screw almost to the nut.

With the new E-Unit in place it is time to wire it up. Looking at the E-Unit you will see a green wiring board with screws on top and slots for wires on the side.  Take the black track power wires from each of the engine’s trucks and wire them into the two screws in the center of the green block, which are labeled 3 and 4 in the diagram in the the instructions. At the same time take the wires from the headlight and put them in the same slots. This connection will provide power to the motors and also your locomotive’s headlight.

Let’s next move to the brush wiring. You will need to separate the wiring so that each brush can be wired into the E-Unit. This may mean disconnecting one brush wire leading into a field connection on the motors. Each of the two brushes on each of the motors must have a length of wire to reach the E-Unit’s green block. You will use screws 1 and 2 for the brushes. 

When you look at the motors you will see that they both face inward. This is important to note as you wire the brushes into the green block. Now you must pair the wires from each of the motors using the wires on the same side of the chassis. Twist the ends of the paired wires and place them in either slot 1 or 2 and tightening them down.

The most complicated wiring process in this project is wiring the fields to the E-Unit. To do this I took the motor off the chassis so I could see what I was doing. This means taking the truck covers off and then the circle clip off the top of the motor mounting being careful so not to have the clip fly across the room. When this is done look and examine the field. You will now see what a double wound field looks like as there are both green and red enameled wires on the field. To get the engine running you are going to cut both ends of the red or green wires completely out of the process. Each color wire has two ends so clip both out of the circuit path and insulate them so choose one color or the other in this process. Complete this task with each of your two motors.

Now you will need to have a wire run from each end of the colored field wire you chose to use to the E-Unit’s green block. Again, pair the wires from each of the motor’s fields into either slot 5 or 6 of the green block and tighten them down. The wiring now done you can remount the motors to the chassis.

Since these motors are basically like Gilberts I recommend you lubricate and clean them as you would one of your older AF engines as you reassemble the motors and their chassis. 

Before you put the engine’s shell back on you need to test the project. You can lay the engine on its side and apply power from a transformer to the pickups on the trucks. If your work was done correctly the E-Unit should cycle correctly and the motors will run in the same direction. If they run in opposite directions you need to exchange the parings on the brush wiring and then test it again. It should be fine now. Once I had completed this stationary test I put the chassis on my layout and made sure it ran OK before I put on the shell.