Accessories and going cheap on the critical parts. WHY?

The engineers (not the kind the drive the trains) have to factor in reliability, cost and operator error into the design.  Now everything could be made with brass gearing but it does not typically allow for a failure point.  While I'm sure none of "us" would do anything to interfere with the operation of an accessory but I'm sure some of "them" could.  For instance blocking a gantry crane from spinning, not align a flat car with a forklift, or run a train into smoke fluid dispenser.  Lionel may be trying to make sure the failure point is a cheap repair piece (rubber band,  plastic gear, etc.).  The key is to make the repair easy, affordable, with parts available. 

Some parts are breaking due to failure (lack of robust design) while other break due to operator error.  Let's be glad they build these machines to be repairable.   

Very disappointing isn't it. Someone once told me, if you are not going to do it correctly, don't do it.

The original "Vibrator" type motors seem to keep going and going.  They are simple to repair also.  Granted, not all accessories can use a vibrator motor, but even the post-war AC motors are hard to kill.  Most newer accessories seem to use can motors.  These are not as abuse proof as the original AC motors.  

Well stated by all here.  Case in point if I may. I got the new plug n play culvert loaders. They are fun too use and will wow visitors when they see them. I chose new ones because of the parts availability and they would be under warrenty. They operate flawlessly now, but out of the box not not so much. After 2 hours of bench testing to get them to work 100% accurately and fixing things that were wrong with one of  them myself there were issuse. The unloader is going back to lionel I did not touch it at all because I did not want to void the warranty. Although I may keep it as is I havent decided yet. After operating the loader for a total of 2 hours a main issue with the loader arose.  The loader's main rubber wheel that moves the loader mechanism across the gantery beam broke. The rubber wheel seperated from the plastic gear so to speak that attaches to the main drive motor. Luckly a little CA glue got in back on and all is well at least gor now. Went on lionels parts web sight and  most every part for these accessories is avilable. The only one and may I add the key critical one. The rubber drive wheel is not avalible. Since this part failed already 2 hours after operation I thought it best to order some for down the road long term. Guess that wont be happening. I sure hope mine never needs replacing again and the glue holds. Do I regret getting these. Absolutely not I love them and are glad I got them. Once the problems with them were overcome they operate flawlessly. Just wish that a key part that is one that over time could fail would be in stock. I realize there needs to be faliure points that dont damage the whole accessory, but it parts like this that realy frustrate me.  why are key parts like this designed the way they are and if designed that way knowing they have a high failure rate are they not  kept in stock. My part in particular is one you would think they would produce  the most extras of when duing a production run at the factory over seas. This type of stuff has always baffled me.

  We often buy what's cheapest in this country today, not what's best. They are made cheaper for the extra buck involved because we as consumers fail to vote with our dollars well enough. It is a vicious circular ditch we've been digging as we built our throwaway palace, and there is no drawbridge started.

  These patterns of quality and expections are a ying and yang trade off just like any other market aspect, it ebs and flows. But imo, we are at a point of accepting "whatever" far too easily; and when branding trumps quality, the consumer looses bad. ...and why else would folks regularly put up with the kind of quality that leaves a buyer struggling for hours to get a new product to perform?... and still considers buying more? Because the branding is strong enough to get away with it. Voting with your dollar is all you can do, and that's futile if enough folks buy anyhow.

  To shift some blame, the model companies have less imediate control over the mfg. quality than you might imagine. They might not even own the tooling, so switching suppliers for a part might be impossible, etc.  The concern has been an ongoing topic here for years, the fault lies on both sides of the coin.

  When offered an American built model RR car, which costs a bit more to make overall; or an Asian made exact clone slightly cheaper, "we all" bought the Asian version. So, they tried that experiment, but not enough folks put their money where their mouths where. It won't change until America is once again a little more willing to feed it's own neighborhoods vs saving a buck, or votes by not buying, etc., and we are so far from there as a whole it's rather pathetic; don't expect radical change real soon

I got the culvert loader and unloader in 1958. Sounds like the new ones work just like the old ones.

I do not want to hijack this topic, but the cheapness extends way beyond accessories. When Legacy first came out I bought the Texas Special E8 passenger set (a high end set). The tiny can motors in the engine couldn't pull the set up a 2% grade. UGH!

Gerry 

The reason.........saving five cents per accessory adds up after a while. It is all because of money. It's a real shame. The MTH operating water tower is another example. Plastic gear is used to lower the spout. These always seem to break.

Remember when "Made in China" meant JUNK?  Well maybe we are going back to that time again? Something to think about?

Adriatic posted:

  We often buy what's cheapest in this country today, not what's best. They are made cheaper for the extra buck involved because we as consumers fail to vote with our dollars well enough. It is a vicious circular ditch we've been digging as we built our throwaway palace, and there is no drawbridge started.

  These patterns of quality and expections are a ying and yang trade off just like any other market aspect, it ebs and flows. But imo, we are at a point of accepting "whatever" far too easily; and when branding trumps quality, the consumer looses bad. ...and why else would folks regularly put up with the kind of quality that leaves a buyer struggling for hours to get a new product to perform?... and still considers buying more? Because the branding is strong enough to get away with it. Voting with your dollar is all you can do, and that's futile if enough folks buy anyhow.

  To shift some blame, the model companies have less imediate control over the mfg. quality than you might imagine. They might not even own the tooling, so switching suppliers for a part might be impossible, etc.  The concern has been an ongoing topic here for years, the fault lies on both sides of the coin.

  When offered an American built model RR car, which costs a bit more to make overall; or an Asian made exact clone slightly cheaper, "we all" bought the Asian version. So, they tried that experiment, but not enough folks put their money where their mouths where. It won't change until America is once again a little more willing to feed it's own neighborhoods vs saving a buck, or votes by not buying, etc., and we are so far from there as a whole it's rather pathetic; don't expect radical change real soon

Very well said.  You've hit the nail on it's head.  We truly are our own worst enemy when it comes to a buck.  Unfortunately, as you have pointed out so well, I don't think we can make it back up the slippery slope we, in part, have created.  There are powers beyond even our own leaders who gave birth to the global phenomenon about fifty years ago.  While the rest of the world is catching up to us, we are sliding down to meet them.  

So the anomaly that happened after WWII, was just that, an anomaly.  We will never see times like that again.  At least not in our lifetimes.  

Despite reissuing the culvert loader several times in recent years the key drive wheel that mounts on the end of the motor shaft continues to be "unavailable."  Why doesn't Lionel get the message and make a surplus of this key part which also is present on the culvert unloader and is likewise "unavailable." Pretty discouraging. Sure makes you want to spend a couple of grand on a "Vision Line" engine doesn't it?

I was never impressed with accessory reliability and functionality, even as a kid in the 50's - and the noise! That has at least improved, but I always got the impression (again, early on) that the accessories were as second-rate as the trains were first-rate, back in the day. 

There are certainly exceptions, then and now. I just never found most of them desirable. Yet some, at least, had a whiff of reality about them. 

Grinding! Buzzing! Flying milk cans! Dying horses! My crazy blue barrel man! And many unreliable to boot!

I assume that AF accessories were also flaky - though I've gotten the impression that they were less so.

I assume that AF accessories were also flaky - though I've gotten the impression that they were less so.

American Flyer made some very nice accessories, and other accessories that weren't so great, just like Lionel.

The one very reliable accessory I had as a kid was the original AF barrel loader. Worked great every time! Later, I acquired the Lionel reissue and it worked well with the suplied barrels, which were the correct weight. When I tried some replacement barrels from Lionel, they were lighter and did not tip over onto the forkllift properly. I had to adjust the mechanism and then all was fine! A great and entertaining accessory!