Erie Triplex shipping date?

@ntn-pa posted:

Does anyone has information on the ship date?

Charles Ro website said 7/10, but is there a new date?

Well, we know that date is probably wrong.

This question was asked of Mike during Lionel's seminar at the LCCA Convention.  He said they are on the water and to expect them late September/ early October.

Supposedly in stock at Lionel and shipping as I type

Creep around the Lionel Store if you're local and you will get your answer. I snooped out a Base3 almost a week before I got mine from my 'dealer'

Hopefully not for a minute. I dug into my train budget for an unexpected impulse buy gotta get a paycheck or three under my belt haha

I do have some high hopes for these though. I think they're going to be outstanding!

Muffin is receiving his next week.  

I've been following Lionel's website on these...a Legacy Triplex has been a long time coming. The Halloween version was the first to sell out on their site, though some dealers still have them for pre-order. I haven't been this excited for a new train since the 10th Anniversary Polar Express Berkshire . That was quite an adventure getting one of those. Hopefully, this time things will go smoother.

I hope folks like Paul get their Halloween versions in time for the season. He does horror right.

I saw some “good looking” zombies to go with a Halloween Triplex on the For Sale or Trade Forum. Looks like Linda Blair might be in the lineup:

https://ogrforum.com/topic/185705974553909434

I feel like I am in the same boat as BillYo and my cashflow will not be upset if my Virginian Triplex arrives later rather than sooner.

Got my notice today that my Army version of the triplex from Mr Muffins is shipping this week.

Lionel posted pics of the Halloween Triplex and I’m beyond excited. It looks great, I believe Muffin should be getting these out by next week? Hang in there wallet 😭

Anxiously awaiting my Pennsylvania version from Brady's.

@Xavi_SF3600 posted:

Lionel posted pics of the Halloween Triplex and I’m beyond excited. It looks great, I believe Muffin should be getting these out by next week? Hang in there wallet 😭

Yes, a beautiful sight to the eye, a terror to the wallet!     

@Xavi_SF3600 posted:

Lionel posted pics of the Halloween Triplex and I’m beyond excited. It looks great, I believe Muffin should be getting these out by next week? Hang in there wallet 😭

Got an invoice from Muffin's for the Triplex, so I suspect they're there.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Got an invoice from Muffin's for the Triplex, so I suspect they're there.

Did you order a Muffin custom? I heard the customs would ship first.

@Xavi_SF3600 posted:

Did you order a Muffin custom? I heard the customs would ship first.

Yep, I wanted the one without all the white splash.

Just got an invoice from Charles Ro also.  Fedex shipping; probably going out today or tomorrow!

Awesome can’t wait to see pictures of these as they trickle out there. I’m sure the Muffin army and the one without the white splash will look fantastic.

Got confirmation yesterday.  I will have mine on Tuesday! 

Just received an email from Nicholas Smith. They have them in stock. The Halloween looks interesting. Dave

I just spoke to Charles Ro to confirm payment for my pre-order and that shipment is in work. They said they just got 18 skids in. A whole pile of stuff. Sounds like they are wicked busy.

THE LCCA RECEIVED OUR SPECIAL RUN. MEMBERS BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR YOURS.

SAL GAMBINO

I had just enough time to unpack it and snap a few pics before heading back to work to pay for this beast.  Overall looks pretty good.
No time to run it yet  i did notice that all the switches are under the tender coal bed and it’s a wired tender that is semi-permanently connected to the engine  it was a bit tricky removing the engine+tender combo from the styrofoam container.  No pull ribbons were included.  

Neato! I can envision that US Army Triplex on a clandestine mission - pulling a twenty-flatcar load of 40 M4 A3 Sherman Firefly tanks east from the Lima Tank Factory to Port Jersey in Jersey City with final destination being Antwerp, Belgium. Little does anyone know, that a week prior, German agents managed to facilitate a shipment and delivery -- through the St. Lawrence River Seaway of an old freighter to an abandoned port on Lake Erie -- a company of heavy Panzers including two platoons of Tiger 1s. The German agents subsequently hijacked a Lehigh Valley freight train, loaded the Panzers on-board, and shipped them south to Ithaca, where they were unloaded, tank crews briefed, and sent to intercept and take control of Starrucca Viaduct. Will the Triplex and M4 A3 Shermans cross the viaduct before the Germans arrive, or will the Americans need to disembark and prepare their tanks for battle? Will there be a great tank battle for control of Starrucca Viaduct? You bet!

Disclaimer: Eisenhower was a WWII General, and during WWI was a commander of a Tank Training Unit in the states. And of course, the Triplex saw service from 1916 to 1929 or thereabouts...so perhaps they should've used John J. Pershing's name on the Triplex. Nevertheless, it's neat to see a US Army steam engine!

To add regarding Eisenhower: as a captain he commanded the tank training unit at Camp Colt, on the battlefield of Gettysburg National Military Park, on the field where Pickett made his famous charge. Soldiers were welcome in local churches where they also could have some off-base relaxation and recreation (my church was one that welcomed the soldiers). Captain Eisenhower and his family lived in a home adjacent to the Gettysburg College Campus, near the location of an office (now the admissions office) he used after his presidency. He and Mamie bought a working farm in Gettysburg in 1950 and retired there after his presidency. The farm is now part of the Gettysburg National Military Park.

I believe Paul's Triplex brought the troops to Gettysburg and also delivered the Renault FT-17 tanks used for training the soldiers.

Took it for a short run. Initial impressions:

• Paint looks flawless
• smooth runner w nice slow starts
• visible wheel slip on the tender during faster starts -cool
• i swear it’s Dave Olsen’s voice on some of the announcements

A couple things to watch out for (see the pics below):

1. The black wire in the first pic was resting on top of the front drivers. I folded it up and tucked it in as shown. It wasn’t noticeable until going around a curve.
2. The linkage in the 2nd pic is very low and just barely clears my DZ1000 switch machines. This linkage is on each of the 3 engines.

Suggest taking your first run slowly and turn the sound all the way down to listen and look for any binding, rubbing.

The Triplexes were notoriously slow but your initial evaluation and photos were anything but that!

@Crazy Train posted:

Took it for a short run. Initial impressions:

• Paint looks flawless
• smooth runner w nice slow starts
• visible wheel slip on the tender during faster starts -cool
• i swear it’s Dave Olsen’s voice on some of the announcements

A couple things to watch out for (see the pics below):

1. The black wire in the first pic was resting on top of the front drivers. I folded it up and tucked it in as shown. It wasn’t noticeable until going around a curve.
2. The linkage in the 2nd pic is very low and just barely clears my DZ1000 switch machines. This linkage is on each of the 3 engines.

Suggest taking your first run slowly and turn the sound all the way down to listen and look for any binding, rubbing.

Did you have to do anything to the linkage?

Got an email from Charles Ro that mine is out for delivery tomorrow (9/21)

Can't wait. My first Vision Line Steamer!!!!!!!

Joe,

I didn’t mess w the linkage. It’s close on the DZ1000 switch machines but does clear them. Being that I’ve only had the loco for a few hours, I’m not ready to start doing mods yet.

Got a call around 1PM (yesterday) from Nassau Hobby that my Triplex was in, so I’ll be picking it up today around 12 o’clock

Mine from Muffin's is due here Tuesday I think.

Great little Engine.   I like mine so much, I might need two.

Wow - the wheel slip feature is super cool!  Awesome engine.  Thx for sharing

Did the triplex set also ship?

That wheelslip is so cool. Looking forward to getting my PRR version.

@DaveGG posted:

Did the triplex set also ship?

I'm waiting on one of those from Ro's shop. Now that you all are getting them, I've got to call in to check CC validity as I think I forgot to change expiration date on file.

Looks like Lionel has a winner.  I must say the wheel slip is very neat.  Hopefully no issues for anyone when they get theirs.  Love to see a video of both front and rear stacks smoking to compare against MTH's output.

@Crazy Train posted:

I had just enough time to unpack it and snap a few pics before heading back to work to pay for this beast.  Overall looks pretty good.
No time to run it yet  i did notice that all the switches are under the tender coal bed and it’s a wired tender that is semi-permanently connected to the engine  it was a bit tricky removing the engine+tender combo from the styrofoam container.  No pull ribbons were included.  

Thats a cool one, who did the Army custom run?

@Sean's Train Depot posted:

Thats a cool one, who did the Army custom run?

Mr. Muffin

Sean, here ya go.  https://youtu.be/UT7OzOQJgpI?si=wN2ocab9r6NOHi9Y

My one complaint is the whistle steam is not as strong as I'd like.  I'm hoping that after the dual smoke unit allows more fluid to migrate to the whistle side that it'll get better.

The bummer is, mine has one class light out.  It's a broken wire right under the LED as I can squeeze the wire and it'll light.  Of course, if I attempt a fix and for some reason it doesn't work, then I wonder if Lionel will balk at fixing it under warranty.  I sure hate to have to ship this thing back to Lionel...

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

My one complaint is the whistle steam is not as strong as I'd like.  I'm hoping that after the dual smoke unit allows more fluid to migrate to the whistle side that it'll get better.

The bummer is, mine has one class light out.  It's a broken wire right under the LED as I can squeeze the wire and it'll light.  Of course, if I attempt a fix and for some reason it doesn't work, then I wonder if Lionel will balk at fixing it under warranty.  I sure hate to have to ship this thing back to Lionel...

My Whistle Smoke is weak also.   I tried a Challenger fix, by raising the front of the engine thinking some fluid might migrate to the Whistle.    However, no change.

Initially my whistle smoke was weak, also.

I did blow down the stack several times and that helped a great deal.

It does take a few whistle blows before it heats up enough to see the steam.

Every time I add fluid, I blow down the stacks several times.

I think now my whistle smoke is excellent.

I had the same issue with my new PRR M1 and I also now blow down the stack every time I add smoke fluid.

It now has excellent whistle steam.

Also, I always add the max smoke fluid (20 drops). It seems the newer Lionel locos can take the full amount and begin smoking right away after a filling. Maybe they have a larger fluid capacity? I don't know.

Older locos may not start smoking for a few minutes if they are overfilled.

Final comment, I use Lionel smoke fluid in my Lionel locos, as recommended to me by Dean Brasseur.

@Jeff2035 posted:

Initially my whistle smoke was weak, also.

I did blow down the stack several times and that helped a great deal.

It does take a few whistle blows before it heats up enough to see the steam.

Every time I add fluid, I blow down the stacks several times.

I think now my whistle smoke is excellent.

I had the same issue with my new PRR M1 and I also now blow down the stack every time I add smoke fluid.

It now has excellent whistle steam.

Also, I always add the max smoke fluid (20 drops). It seems the newer Lionel locos can take the full amount and begin smoking right away after a filling. Maybe they have a larger fluid capacity? I don't know.

Older locos may not start smoking for a few minutes if they are overfilled.

Final comment, I use Lionel smoke fluid in my Lionel locos, as recommended to me by Dean Brasseur.

Appreciate the info, thank you.     I’ll start my breathing exercises shortly.      

it’s been awhile since Dean .  

The suggestion from Dean on using Lionel smoke fluid in Lionel locomotives was in April of 2024.

He did say MTH fluid was also OK to use in Lionel locomotives.

@Jeff2035 posted:

The suggestion from Dean on using Lionel smoke fluid in Lionel locomotives was in April of 2024.

He did say MTH fluid was also OK to use in Lionel locomotives.

I believe Dean has been gone from Lionel since 2020.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

I believe Dean has been gone from Lionel since 2020.

I thought the same…..     maybe he came back?

@Alabama Joe posted:

I thought the same…..     maybe he came back?

I really doubt it, he sounded pretty sure of his decision when I talked to him at the time.

He is still doing some repair work.

I do not know what else he may be involved in.

An authorized Legacy repair person I know, who also knows Dean, referred me to Dean.

He currently has my Lionel PRR 0-8-8-0.

After looking at the insides of my smoke units he suggested I use the Lionel or MTH fluid.

Hopefully the whistle steam improves with time. My UP 9000 Class and my Atlantic always seem to have weak whistle steam on startup.

Thanks all for the pics and info, amazing model for sure. Anyone gotten one of the Virginian models yet? Leaning towards this particular paint scheme but want to see a picture of the  actual engine not just a CG image before I order. If someone could post a pic of Lionels 701 I would be very grateful.

@Byron I got the Virginian model but it hasn't come in yet. My supplier lags behind a week or two typically.

@Alabama Joe posted:

My Whistle Smoke is weak also.   I tried a Challenger fix, by raising the front of the engine thinking some fluid might migrate to the Whistle.    However, no change.

Reminder it has a 2 in 1 smoke unit at the front of the engine under the stack. So far it seems Lionel's method of just putting smoke in the stack to replenish both units works well enough. I did find on mine that the exit hole for the whistle steam was partically blocked by some black foam, but it still worked pretty good overall.

I was able to clear the partical blockage by carefully putting a thin tipped soldering iron in the hole, being careful not to go too deep and not to burn the paint around the hole, burning away some of that foam. However, I would recommend sending it back to lionel to have them fix that if yours has the exit hole partcially blocked.

I have indeed noticed the whistle steam smoke unit does take a while to warm up fully and needs to be operated multiple times to get stong output. Although my home layout uses a Z-750 and I remember hearing sine wave transformers will make the smoke units have less smoke output compared to chopped sine wave transformers (like Lionel's). I will report back on the weekend if the whistle steam smoke unit puts out more output on the Lionel transformers at my club.

Any word on the Triplex Super Set ?

Rob, seems like the Triplex super set is arriving in November of this year

Thanks!!

Definitely very weak whistle smoke.
The main smoke stack and the tender smoke are perfectly fine the moment the engine starts, but there is very little whistle smoke until about 5 to 10 minutes of run time.  Even then, it is not as strong as other engines.
Probably a design flaw in this particular engine.

I have found the main stack smoke unit needs a lot more smoke drops than Lionel states in the manual. I've been doing double what they recommend and it's been working out great for me.

If you have weak whistle smoke output, blow down the exit hole for the whistle steam 2-3 times and that should clear any fluid blockages from any condensate that can happen.

I have indeed noticed that you need to blow the whistle 2-3 times at the maximum level to get really strong smoke output from it. If you don't use it every 15 seconds or so, it will be very weak for the first whistle activation. But will fairly quickly increase in output.

I looked through the holes in the shell from the bottom and it seems they used plastic hose for fish tanks to get the smoke from the smoke unit to the whistle hole. So it creates quite a bit of restiction. So much so that if you have the main stack off and activate the whistle steam, you will also see some of the smoke from the whistle steam coming out of the stack.

@Byron here are some quick photos in no specific order:

I'm quite pleased with it. The red sets it apart compared to the rest of my roster. I like the whistle selection on this locomotive too. Couple different options. I'm digging it. I'm also pleased that it isn't exactly fast, like the real thing.

It was tricky to get it on the track, that's for sure. I was trying to be gentle but it's heavy and the tender is attached.

Taking it through a double slip switch is nerve wracking with so many wheels to keep an eye on haha

One day, I hope to stick a four wheel truck on the tender. But I'm leaving it all stock for now.

@BillYo414 posted:

@Byron here are some quick photos in no specific order:

I'm quite pleased with it. The red sets it apart compared to the rest of my roster. I like the whistle selection on this locomotive too. Couple different options. I'm digging it. I'm also pleased that it isn't exactly fast, like the real thing.

It was tricky to get it on the track, that's for sure. I was trying to be gentle but it's heavy and the tender is attached.

Taking it through a double slip switch is nerve wracking with so many wheels to keep an eye on haha

One day, I hope to stick a four wheel truck on the tender. But I'm leaving it all stock for now.

Looks amazing, thanks for posting the pics.
Byron