Help with finding replacement roofs for passenger set.

John

 

First, is this a recent issue Lionel-by-MTH set, or one of the older "Lionel Classics" sets from the 90's? Lionel or MTH might have replacement roofs, if not the exact same part, something from another set that would be identical except for the paint. Second, it would help if you posted a photo of one or more of the passenger cars, so we would know exactly which roof we are looking for. Most of those repro cars have the original prewar number printed on the body somewhere. Once you're sure which passenger cars you're looking for, I'd try Lionel and MTH first, then the prewar suppliers like Olsen and Train Tender. If all else fails, restorable or restored roofs for the original Lionel cars show up pretty often on eBay; you could get some of those and paint them yourself. I would guess the cost for a roof in decent condition would be $15-20 apiece. 

 

I guess whether it's worth keeping depends on how much compensation you can get out of the seller (I'm guessing it's T****z, they make a lot of mistakes but they are normally pretty accommodating on compensation) and how much trouble you are willing to go to in order to fix up the cars. It's almost certainly possible to restore the cars, but it might be a hassle if Lionel or MTH doesn't have parts. 

John,

 

I just noticed that Trainz has 3 reproduction red standard gauge Lionel passenger cars roofs listed for sale on Ebay and I wonder if that is just a coincidence?

 

Eric Hofberg

TCA, LCCA

Return it and buy the set from Trainz. That's BS to put up a stock photo. Bait and switch. Give the seller a low rating. Open a complaint to break their stones and put it on record, so when they continue the practice, it will add up and cost them later.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Of course, confirm the condition the next time before purchase.

 

Nice set! Lighted Tin plates.

 

As my nephew would say, "bummer, dude!"

 

I hate to say it but my advice would be to send them back and get the full refund and try again elsewhere.  Trainz is well known for their totally flakey ebay sales:  the descriptions often do not match what is for sale.  

 

The roofs that are for sale might be the ones off your cars, but they might not be; they could be a different color red, or they could be too short if they came off different cars.  

 

The chances unfortunately are quite good that you could get yourself into a situation which would be quite expensive to make things right and the end result could still not be acceptable.

 

To answer your question, roofs are not readily available - this is the first time I have seen them for separate sale (hence chug's and SWHi's response: it's not likely just coincidence).  Repainting would be expensive and a tremendous hassle and it is quite possible at the end you would not be happy with the result.

 

There is an outside chance the roofs for sale could be yours, you get them and everything is okay: but otherwise it's hard to see how this one ends well. 

 

The only way I would keep these is if you got a very hefty refund (50% or more) and still kept the set; if you would truly enjoy the process of researching and finding some roofs; if  you are either good at restoration painting yourself and familiar with the process, or know someone who will do this for you without charging too much; if in the end you will be flexible enough to accept a finish and a color match that are probably not going to be like factory; and if the experience and the telling of the story afterwards will be fun enough for you to outweigh the incredible hassle it will be.

 

Been there, done that.  Just my 2-1/4 cents, your mileage may vary, etc. etc.  Please keep us posted, what you decide and how it works out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would keep it. The 390E looks awesome in those colors. Give MTH parts a call they may have the roofs your looking for. I think those were 300 series cars with that set if I'm not mistaken.

I'm glad I posted this here, I probably would not have seen the roofs for auction.  I just called their customer service and they said they will look into what they can do such as end the auction etc.  The funny thing is I let them know the roofs were missing and they said they looked for them but couldn't find them.  I guess it's a case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.  Anyway, I'll let you know how this turns out.

 

 

Thanks,

John.

The roofs that I mentioned are in fact listed as maroon and I have little doubt that they are the missing roofs. I've had some "adventures" with Trainz in the past, but they have always been favorably resolved eventually.

 

Eric Hofberg

TCA, LCCA

go to the horses mouth.

I think if you discuss with them your predicament

and give them a link to the possible roofs that were misplaced they may be willing to work with you.

I would also contact Ebay, as they are buyer friendly.

also your roofs may not be the same color as the cars.

they may be two toned colored like some of the other

cars.

I have a baby state set with two tone cars

and a Blue comet set with two tone cars

where the roofs are different colors than the body

of the cars.

And these are the Passenger sets that I have with

two tone passenger cars.

 

 

I see that trick on Ebay all the time.

dealers canabalize trains and sell the parts.

I cant believe "Tranz.com" would do such a thing.

Although having surfed through their site I notice

many items without roofs or other parts, only to

find the roofs and other parts listed separately

later in the listing. easy way to make a little

extra cash I guess. We will see how long that

lasts for them.

 

I'm eager to hear what they have to say!  They have mislabeled things that I have purchased from tham, as well.  (Can you say rust!)

 

Now I stay away from their auctions, unless its super cheap.

 

Thanks,

Mario

Like was previously mentioned, there is little doubt that these are the roofs to my set.  Yes the set is two tone, red bodies, maroon roofs.  I don't believe there was any intent to get a few bucks extra out of selling the set first then the roofs later.  My set was listed as like new, with pictures of a complete set.  I spoke to their customer service today and am waiting to hear back from them.  I'm hopeful they will do the right thing. 

 

 

Thanks,
John.

John, I think you are right, "disorganized" is the word that comes to mind for this organization:  the impression I have had is that they have a clerical staff who runs the eBay sales who themselves know absolutely nothing about trains, which accounts for the inaccurate descriptions and worse.

 

Your being willing to give them the benefit of the doubt is admirable.  We're all hoping this works out, it would definitely be the best solution all around.  It's just that several of us have experienced this multiple times before from them, and we hate seeing it yet again.

 

FYI, having been on both ends of this at different times (buying and selling), it takes no effort for a seller to instantly end an auction listing, even if there are bidders.  You just click on "item no longer available", and the auction ends, the listing disappears, and no questions asked.  If a bidder asks eBay what happened, they get an automated response that "item no longer available".  

 

 

They certainly look like roofs for the Fireball express and they are still on E-Bay 6 days left.

 

Keep the set it is really nice and you will never see another at that price.

 

Now to open my Shasta that came this morning from Trainz. I have had good luck with them.

Still good luck with Trainz. Opened the Shasta and looks as described. It runs great. Draws 1.2amps at 12 volts.

John, can't stand the suspense, did you ever get your roofs?

 

 

 

Sorry I left everybody in suspense. They did end the auction and sent me the roofs. I was going to let everybody know and post some pictures but haven't had time to take pictures just yet.  I'll try to get some up soon.

Thanks again for all the help, especially with finding the auction for the roofs in the first place. There's a good chance I would not have seen them.

John.

John

 

Glad to hear it worked out. Sounds like just another Trainz screwup, the left hand dropped something on the floor, the right hand picked it up and didn't know where it came from. I'm happy for you that you got your roofs and your train is back together again. Enjoy!

 

SWH

Excellent!  All's well that ends well!

 

Here they are.

 

I have found another slight problem.  One of the pickup rollers on the observation car is no longer attached to the truck.  The pickup rollers seem to be held to the trucks with small rivets.  Any idea how to fix this?

 

John,

 

If you don't have a rivet tool you can use a small nut and bolt with a lock washer and some locktite or just use some 5 minute epoxy.