A: I’ve got some bad news: Nobody is selling mechanical replacement parts for old Lionel bascule bridges – there isn’t enough demand for them because relatively few were sold.
The reissue bridges made a few years ago were re-engineered and use and entirely different lifting mechanism. While they look similar, the gear teeth on the lower end of the bridge’s counterweight is a dead giveaway that the new bridges are mechanically very different from the old ones.
So, even if you know the original part numbers, you can’t simply order them as you would a Big Mac and fries. To make matters worse, Lionel never published an exploded view of the bridge, or a list of part numbers, or at least we’ve never seen one.
So, unfortunately, you are on your own. My book, Toy Train Repair Made Easy (which is out of print but available through abebooks.com) has a section on repairing the no. 313 bridge, but it assumes all the original parts are on the accessory.
If you are a member of the Train Collector’s Association, the group’s reference library offers an information packet about the no. 313 for $7.50. That’s all there is in print right now.
You probably have only three options:
1) Try to fabricate a linkage and whatever else you might be missing by trial and error or by using a complete prewar/postwar bascule bridge as a guide.
2) Find another junker bridge with all its parts, and make a good bridge from the two junkers.
3) Try to get your money back.
I need the spring drive between the motor and the trans. I guess I will have to go to the hardware store or maybe a hobby store.
Try Ebay
Ray You can contact ttender.com he has a lot of parts for the 313 Bridge. Good Luck Tony
Ray,
Although this information is now more than 3 years old, it is in large part incorrect. There are several sources for Bascule Bridge parts, including yours truly, and there are complete parts lists available for both the prewar and postwar versions.
Dennis Waldron