JP, not sure but you might have two of the wires wrongly identified. Black is most likely the common(and you are probably correct, red could be track power and correct again) however the other two wires, blue & yellow, go to the motors for speed control. The lights get their power from the black & red wires.
To be 100 percent correct trace the wire from the pick-up point and see where it goes. Whatever wire attaches directly to the metal frame is considered negative or common. The wire that goes from the center rail pick-up is the hot wire and should go to two locations; first is the light socket, second is to the motor control unit. The wires from the motor control unit go to the motor. There can be 3 wires that go to the motor area; one is a common and goes to the frame(not always there on all models) the other two wires go the motor area from the circuit board and control the motor speed & direction because most Williams engines have DC can motors(sealed motors) in them. Before I forget there can be another set of wires that go to a horn unit and come out of the motor control unit area.

If the Williams engine has what looks like an open frame construction or post war Lionel look of the 1960's it is an early Williams engine and has an AC motor. FYI: not many left of that model so chances of finding one are very slim.

Lee F.

Quote from: GovB on February 27, 2017, 07:59:01 PM
The answers to all our questions lie with Kader Holdings Co. (which owns Bachmann & others). Their goals and objectives in the model train industry will dictate what we'll eventually see or not see. Maybe they'll make Neil Young and his Partners an offer they can't refuse.

Johnb

That's interesting that Kader Holdings Co. would dictate such strict policies.
The only thing I can say about my future buying is that I am looking for a company who makes model trains that I am interested in purchasing. Currently I am not enthused with anything in the Williams by Bachmann line-up.
Even H.O. gets more stuff made for Plasticville then O & S scale.

Lee F.

I will have to look closer at my Peter Witt trolley and see if it too has the problem.

Zinc pest as it is called is caused because of 2 main things; impurities in the metal or incorrect temperature in the casting when metal is hot, might cool too fast, or the metal was not hot enough.
FYI: my dad was a metallurgist with Carpenter Steel, a major steel firm in Pennsylvania, so I learned a few things about metal work.

Lee F.

Quote from: SJC on February 26, 2017, 04:49:09 PM

Quote from: phillyreading on February 26, 2017, 03:12:15 PM
I just bought a Peter Witt street car, hopefully there will be no issues.
So far it seems like "SJC" is the only one to have a problem with his Peter Witt car.

Question for "SJC"; did you buy the Peter Witt new or used?

Lee F.

I bought it brand new, less than a year ago.

If you also read the OGR thread, that you commented on, you'll see that there are at least three people reporting the same issues with their trolley.

I just looked into the thread on OGR and there are 2 others with the same issue. There seems to be an issue with some of the Peter Witt trolley's if I am reading correctly.

Lee F.

Quote from: NSthoroughbred on February 27, 2017, 01:24:58 AM
Bachmann,   here is the conversation about your Williams line on OGR Forum.  You need to listen!
http://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/topic/2017-bachmann-williams-catalog-released?reply=71397234074300979#71397234074300979

I completely agree!! Bachmann has done very little with the Williams line, so why not sell it off? WBB has only one style caboose for Williams while the H.O. side of Bachmann has at least 3 different caboose designs.

Also why is more items being made for the H.O. side on Plasticville then the O gauge side?

Lee F.

I just bought a Peter Witt street car, hopefully there will be no issues.
So far it seems like "SJC" is the only one to have a problem with his Peter Witt car.

Question for "SJC"; did you buy the Peter Witt new or used?

Lee F.

Quote from: GovB on February 24, 2017, 12:42:41 PM
No Semi GG-1?
No Passenger cars?
No RTR sets?
No...... Oh my! 

It took only 3-4 years for Lionel to drop K-line.

Is Williams slowly disappearing too?

Hope you didn't forget that Lionel had a legal battle with K-Line and then Sanda Kan got the rights for K-Line after so long. So Lionel was legally forced to drop K-Line, it was not due to low sales!

Lee F.

I wish that Bachmann would make some more items in O or S scale for their Plasticville lineup. There are new items for H.O. so why not the same items for O or S scales? Especially the old saloon building.
I think more people would buy Plasticville if their were more O or S scale buildings.

Lee F.

Have you run your finger over the area where you are having a derailment? The track may have a small piece of metal sticking up. Don't know if you can use a dremel tool to file the track in H.O. scale or not but I use a dremel tool to file down some rough spots in O scale or O gauge tracks. The inside area of the rail is very important as that is where the engine and cars grip the track surface, also the top of the rails is important, the outside area of the rail is not as important.
Also found that sometimes the track pins or clips don't seat 100% and there is a track pin or clip sticking up.

Lee Fritz

Another thing about running 2 engines together, this happens in O scale, is you need to match the engine speed of the 2 engines being used. Like you can run 2 SD-45's from the same company together if they are from the same time frame. Don't use a GP-30 and an SD-45 together as they may have different gear ratios.
Mixing 2 different companies engines together, same model engine, can be tricky sometimes.

Lee F.

Not 100% sure but the older Williams diesel engines have a circuit board rated for 6 amps and around 50 volts AC. Most Williams engines don't use that much power, closer to 4.5 amps but Williams likes to play it safe.
What are you trying to do with your Williams engine?

Lee F.

Try an internet vendor. Sometimes the Bachmann website don't list all the products for sale by Williams/Bachmann trains.

Lee F.

I'd like to see a different caboose design Williams for O scale trains, you do it in H.O. so why not O? Something like bay window or work caboose.
How about a GP-30 or GP-35 for Reading Lines? Or a GP-35 for Reading & Northern?

Lee F.

Glad to help you Joe.
Installing the bridge rectifier has not hurt any of my Williams F-7 Crown Edition engines.

Lee F.

Joe,
I know of a modification that you do to the Williams engine and it will lock in one direction. Take out the circuit board and replace it with a bridge rectifier, rated at 6 amps 50 volts. The bridge rectifier modifies the AC voltage to DC and will allow you to run your engine without any worries of shifting in neutral or reverse. Solder the motor wires(first check to see which way your engine runs then solder the wires) to the + and - leads on the bridge rectifier and the track voltage goes in to the 2 ~ leads.
I have done this to 2 Crown Edition diesel engines and they work great. You may gain about 5% power increase using the bridge rectifier.
FYI; the bridge rectifier, 6 amp 50 volt, costs about $4.00 at most electronic parts stores.
Williams has used many different circuit boards over the years so the bridge rectifier is 100% sure to work.

Lee F.