Just Curious: Are the VL Hudsons Still Performing Well?

Have both and Yes they are!!!

Mine is great, best loco I have. Fred

Love mine!! 

My "two-cents":

Mine is a steller performer - first and only Legacy loco. Superb sound, smoke and speed control. Best Lionel engine I have ever owned! 

Here is a quick video of a VL Hudson from last nights operating session.

I was very impressed with this engine. I had a blast running it around the layout. It is owned by forum member ( 2101 & 614)

yes!!

I purchased mine last August. Closing in on one year and it is still a fantastic running engine with no problems to report. -Len

Great thread, mine is running perfect I think it's getting even

better as time goes on. Totally awesome engine.

Thanks, Alex

One of my favorite engines on the layout.

Paul S

mines a beast i have about 4 hours on mine .....

Excellent locomotive.

No complaints.

Scrappy

I love mine! It's pulling a string of NYC 18" heavyweights and it just runs so well. The cool thing is I've discovered new features that are not advertised but are in Mike Reagans video... Vision Line rules!!

Mine is running perfectly.  Love it!! 

Mine is running perfect (as I Knock on wood). Best engine I have received from lionel in my last 7 engines. Oh yeah: that swinging bell is awesome.

jojofry:

GOOD "beast" or BAD "beast"? 

Please clarify! 

Good beast  of course

THANKS - definitely GOOD news! 

Mine runs every day.  Perfect in every way.   It has about 60 hours on it now.  

In fact . . . its running right now.

This is the kind of stuff I wanna read on OGR!!!

Can't say enough about it - 5 star performer. Everything works like a charm, no defects or downsides. Thank you Lionel for doing such a good job.

Something to be said for the loooong delay on delivery of those.

I  just got one. It runs great. RD  can you tell me where I can find that video.Thanks

Jim D.

Got mine back in early spring - no complaints whatsoever.  Pulls my NYC Madison heavyweights effortlessly.

Have one number board light out. Anyone know if this can be easily fixed or does it need to go back to Lionel ?

I was always under the impression that the number boards on the headlamp sides were illuminated by ambiant light from the headlamp bulb.It looks like the entire assembly gets replaced. I recall some mention of the VL hudsons being difficult to take apart because some of the detail parts are attached to the frame or something to that effect.

ed h:

CAUTION: Opening up the VL Hudson will void the warranty. Hopefully, you can wire the replacement headlamp through the smokebox door without taking the shell off.

Otherwise, it will have to be sent to Lionel for service.

Been running our VL Hudson since last fall and have had no problems thus far. It's definitely one of our favorite engines to run on our layout! Really enjoy the sequence control feature as it makes running the engine for my 6 y.o. son even more fun!

Not an owner, and I may have posted this before, but here's a fellow club member's VL Hudson last December in a pacing shot....

B&OBill

Just saw this thread, how many cars was this 5344 pulling? Mine pulls 6 18" Pullman Cars real easy but this looked a lot longer.

There have been smoke problems but Lionel fixed them. I will not sell my VL Hudson, it will follow me to the grave.

Brent

I don't run mine more than maybe ten hours a month, but since new (out of the box, one week after release) it's been and still is perfect.  

This is a Really Great Performer, Crowd Pleaser with the bell and Smoke out the Whistle.

Also, really runs great in Legacy Control. No problems ever with this engine..great.

Mine also is still performing "as advertised"! 

GREAT model of an iconic prototype - a GREAT shame not one was preserved! 

Brent asks: "Just saw this thread, how many cars was this 5344 pulling?"

On this run, I think about 40 cars of mixed freight.

Mine was able to pull 13 18" cars with wheel slip but I had to pull two cars off due to coupler problems on the cars. 11 cars, no problem.

Pete

Mine has pulled 28 scale reefers plus a scale caboose up a 2.5% grade with no sign of traction or power problems.  I normally run about half of that - makes for a good size train on my layout.  

Interesting thread. Sounds like winner in terms of performance.I still regret not buying this engine.