Hogwarts Lion Chief RTR Quality & Durability

@AJH4 posted:

Just opened a  factory sealed Lionel 6-83972 Hogwarts Express w/ Bluetooth and wondering about quality and durability of these new LionChief sets.  Out of the box, the housing that attaches the contact rollers to the locomotive had one screw missing (actually bouncing around in the box) and could not be screwed back in.  Just turning the locomotive upside down the wheel connecting rod disconnected from its bracket closest to the piston where it moves in and out and the paint is chipped in that spot.  Using the full loop and power adaptor that came with the set and the LC remote, and app, the movement (speed steps) is no where near as smooth as the MTH RTR sets are.  Running it on a FastTrack loop using an MTH transformer, it ran in conventional mode, but very choppy.  How likely is it that this will be something that will last past the warranty period, especially the electronics?  It seems that if you got one with no out of the box problems it could be a good starter set and the LionChief controls are very easy to use, but I worry about it really lasting based on what I have seen.  Are the older conventional ones any better?

I haven't seen a lot of these Hogwarts come in for service.  Now the ET44 starter sets - lots of bad motors!

The motor in the newest version is the same as previous versions.  About the only real difference is the PCB electronics.

Jim

Ditto, I keep a spare motor on hand for the Hogwart's locomotive.  It's a heavy locomotive without the gearing to allow that tiny motor to survive any extended running.  I have all the parts to upgrade one I have here to a larger motor.

I got mine before black Friday with no running issue with Lionchief remote model 6-83972.
I did notice that it's lubed with clear grease on axles.
I also opened the gearbox and it's full of the clear grease as well.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Ditto, I keep a spare motor on hand for the Hogwart's locomotive.  It's a heavy locomotive without the gearing to allow that tiny motor to survive any extended running.  I have all the parts to upgrade one I have here to a larger motor.

I thought they upgraded the motor a while ago to a bigger one ... hmm.

Not familiar with this version. If it is LionChief (not LionChief + or 2.0) it shouldn't operate in conventional mode at all, just command using the included remote, so I'm puzzled at what you are observing. LionChief (as opposed to LionChief + and 2.0) does not have any speed control (unlike MTH PS 2.0 or 3.0 locos) so one wouldn't expect the same kind of fine speed control possible with LionChief + 2.0 or TMCC/Legacy.

Does sound like there may be physical trauma to the loco from your description that occurred somewhere during shipping perhaps.  I have an older conventional version but haven't run it enough to know how well it stands up to hundreds of hours of use. 

I had thought about one of those sets (the original) but decided no as the BR MK1s are too short.

Somewhat later I did see Annie and Clarabelle at a show for about twenty each; oh well, I should have gotten them, removed the faces, and repainted them.

@yamawho posted:

I thought they upgraded the motor a while ago to a bigger one ... hmm.

Nope, same little flat sided motor in the LC version.

@Landsteiner posted:

I have an older conventional version but haven't run it enough to know how well it stands up to hundreds of hours of use.

That's the one I converted to TMCC and fan driven smoke.  I want to finish the job and install the larger motor.

Do you have the part # for this motor ?

Hogwarts Express Locomotive Motor part # 710-1069-100

https://www.lionelsupport.com/...fb-9f9c-65087f23485e

For what it's worth I had to replace 3 bluetooth boards in these engines so far. And 2 motors. And geared drive wheels. And drawbar wires that are too short. Shame these are not designed better.

If I get the larger motor fitted, I don't have to worry about the boards, I don't use any of the originals.

John, Are you going to make the motor adapter plate yourself or were you able to source it?

@SteveH posted:

Hogwarts Express Locomotive Motor part # 710-1069-100

https://www.lionelsupport.com/...fb-9f9c-65087f23485e

Thanks for this

I've been looking at the 2123140 Hogwarts set that includes two coaches and the dementor car. Will this engine have the same small motor with the potential to fail?

David

@Trainfamily posted:

I've been looking at the 2123140 Hogwarts set that includes two coaches and the dementor car. Will this engine have the same small motor with the potential to fail?

David

This set is too new to be included on Lionel's parts site.  But the answer is likely that it's the same since the product description includes "Powerful Maintenance-free motor" and does not use the often touted "New and Improved".  Maybe someone here has opened one and confirm or deny this.

I added the extra passenger and dementor cars to my set, hopefully this won't tax the motor too much.

@SteveH posted:

John, Are you going to make the motor adapter plate yourself or were you able to source it?

I'm still trying to find a way to get those made.  I suspect my precision won't be up to the task.  I bought some 1/8" thick brass slugs for the task...

@Trainfamily posted:

I've been looking at the 2123140 Hogwarts set that includes two coaches and the dementor car. Will this engine have the same small motor with the potential to fail?

That is the motor in ALL the Hogwart's locomotives.

Just wondering ... would operating without the smoke on help the situation ?
Also, would the existing electronics support powering a larger motor ?

Smoke has nothing to do with the load on the motor.  I can't really say what capability the existing electronics has, though many other LC products do have a larger motor.  The real issue is the weight of the Hogwart's locomotive, it's much heavier than most of the small LC steamers.

I agree that the smoke unit does not have anything to do with draw on the motor.
I'm talking about total draw ... AC current going in and being converted to DC to operate the engine.

@yamawho posted:

I agree that the smoke unit does not have anything to do with draw on the motor.
I'm talking about total draw ... AC current going in and being converted to DC to operate the engine.

Again, nothing to do with the longevity of the motor.  As for powering a different motor, the board probably could, but I really don't know.  I don't own any plain LC stuff, the only LC stuff I own is a couple of the LC+ 2.0 0-6-0T Dockside switchers.

Hi,

If I'm not mistaken, an earlier inquiry on this subject mentioned a company that does offer re-motoring of that engine. Am I correct?

Joe

Well I sure hope there is a solution for a larger motor for the Hogwarts Express since for this Xmas I converted that engine into a "Thomas & Friends Henry" for my grandsons. While I was at it, I repainted a "Thomas & Friends Diesel" into Paxton. Henry still needs some touch-up and details & Paxton needs a little more work on his face.

@ironman1 posted:

Hi,

If I'm not mistaken, an earlier inquiry on this subject mentioned a company that does offer re-motoring of that engine. Am I correct?

Joe

Frank Timco did one for @gunrunnerjohn.  Here's a link to where it was mentioned:

Replacing Hogwart's Locomotive motor with large motor

BTW Ironman1, that's a great looking Henry conversion.

Hi Steve,

thanks for the information & compliment. I’ll check out Frank Timko’s conversion.

Joe

Hello John, it sounds as if you are satisfied with the Frank Timko upgrade. I was wondering the cost. It looks like a fairly simple drop in replacement, is it?

Thanks, Joe

How big of a job is it to swap out the stock motor with another ?

@yamawho posted:

How big of a job is it to swap out the stock motor with another ?

Here is a link to a earlier Topic discussing the process.

Replacing Hogwart's Locomotive motor with large motor

@ironman1 posted:

Well I sure hope there is a solution for a larger motor for the Hogwarts Express since for this Xmas I converted that engine into a "Thomas & Friends Henry" for my grandsons. While I was at it, I repainted a "Thomas & Friends Diesel" into Paxton. Henry still needs some touch-up and details & Paxton needs a little more work on his face.

Sorry for going off topic, but....

Ironman, your Henry conversion is AMAZING! How did you do the cab and tender?

Hi SeptaTony,

Thanks for the compliment. Actually, you’re about as much off topic as I am. I remembered seeing a reference to the Hogwarts motor upgrade & wish I had done it before starting Henry.

As for the conversion, the new cab & tender are all different thicknesses of laminated sheet styrene. I really wanted to do a more accurate boiler for Henry but I compromised. I waited too long before Xmas to get started & was forced to take a few short cuts.  I found profile photos of the HO Bachmann & Hornby Henry’s on line. I scaled them up in photoshop, using the drivers of the Lionel Hogwarts engine as the target for scale. The Bachmann engine is very accurate, Hornby didn’t even create a new tender shape, although it still is an attractive engine. That is of course, you are a Thomas the Tank engine fan :-) The faces of Henry & Paxton are heavily altered resin castings I made from Lionel’s James & Diesel engines. I went to the internet for face shots, scaled in photoshop & made decals with my inkjet printer. It was very difficult to get the decals to conform. A lot of slicing & decal softener on Paxton along with touching up with paint brush & airbrush. I only used the eyes & eyebrow decals on

Henry.

I’ve attached in progress photos.

All I can say is WOW, that is a great job!  I sure hope the kid that is running this appreciates how much work you put into it.

Count me in as impressed also!

Thanks guys. My grandsons, only 6 & 4, may not know the effort it took, but they do love running them!

It be great if Lionel would add a few more characters in the future.

I think that age is a little soon for them to realize the hours and hours that went into these creations.

Since my grandsons aren't around when I'm working on their "surprise" projects, there's no way they could understand the effort. At the ages of 6 & 4, they only have a vague understanding of time & effort. All I care about is that they are excited about the end result. They clearly appreciate the effort especially when they have a before and after to compare to. The day will come when they'll understand what it takes, but I really don't care if they never do. What I do care about is that they remember their initial excitement & how much that meant to me.

@ironman1 posted:

The day will come when they'll understand what it takes, but I really don't care if they never do. What I do care about is that they remember their initial excitement & how much that meant to me.

You have the right attitude!

Those are all awesome upgrades and mods and I will keep in mind the recommendation about Timko repair.  There are so many contributors on OGR that have pretty awesome mod skills.  The set was a gift and was ultimately returned, but if we catch it on sale maybe we will give it another try.  Could have been shipping.  Could be luck of the draw on bad QC for that one.

LionChief with Voice Hogwarts Express… $299 at Costco online for the holidays.  May have to give it another try.  Who knows how long Lionel will have the IP.