latest Lionel S3 Northern and Berkshire locomotives

TrainWizard5972 posted:

I received my new limited edition model of Nickel Plate Road 757 from Lionel made for Mr. Muffin’s Trains. It runs flawlessly however it seems to have an identity crisis.

I don’t really mind that it’s wrong I think it only adds to the value! I was involved in a similar mixup with the MTH Premier Alco PAs. The lettering was reversed on one side due to a factory error. The simply provided us with new engine shells free of charge.

Hopefully, they can supply me with a correct number board that I can switch out. Any other 757’s out there?

Hey Adam, bummer about the number board, but also kinda fun!  The gray boiler looks much lighter than other Lionel NKP Berks, Mikados, and Consolidations.  How does it compare with the rest of your Legacy NKP fleet?

Since this thread is about the berkshire, I've got a question: I've got the 765 and was doing a test run. While putting the the foam protectors on the wheels for storage, this little black piece fell off. I can't find anything broken on the underside or on the front on the engine. Was this piece important for anything or some piece that fell into the engine at the factory that has no significance and can be tossed into the trash? I want to make sure that I didn't break anything and have to order parts or send it away for repair. (Pics are of one piece taken from both sides.)

Thats an axle bushing for either the pilot or trailing truck on the locomotive.

Its been a somewhat common issue for these to fall out or break during shipping.

I bought a Lionel scale berk many years ago and the pilot truck kept derailing until I discovered one of the bushings was actually in upside down.

Turn it over and look closely at the axle ends. It should be obvious if one is missing.

RickO posted:

Thats an axle bushing for either the pilot or trailing truck on the locomotive.

Its been a somewhat common issue for these to fall out or break during shipping.

I bought a Lionel scale berk many years ago and the pilot truck kept derailing until I discovered one of the bushings was actually in upside down.

Turn it over and look closely at the axle ends. It should be obvious if one is missing.

Found the axle. Thank you for your help.

Nathan B posted:

RickO posted:

Thats an axle bushing for either the pilot or trailing truck on the locomotive.

Its been a somewhat common issue for these to fall out or break during shipping.

I bought a Lionel scale berk many years ago and the pilot truck kept derailing until I discovered one of the bushings was actually in upside down.

Turn it over and look closely at the axle ends. It should be obvious if one is missing.

Found the axle. Thank you for your help.

I would suggest using some super glue to hold it in place.

Rider Sandman posted:

TrainWizard5972 posted:

I received my new limited edition model of Nickel Plate Road 757 from Lionel made for Mr. Muffin’s Trains. It runs flawlessly however it seems to have an identity crisis.

I don’t really mind that it’s wrong I think it only adds to the value! I was involved in a similar mixup with the MTH Premier Alco PAs. The lettering was reversed on one side due to a factory error. The simply provided us with new engine shells free of charge.

Hopefully, they can supply me with a correct number board that I can switch out. Any other 757’s out there?

Hey Adam, bummer about the number board, but also kinda fun!  The gray boiler looks much lighter than other Lionel NKP Berks, Mikados, and Consolidations.  How does it compare with the rest of your Legacy NKP fleet?

It is virtually identical to my 2014 NKP 765 with the exception of the light grey smokebox and firebox. I'm not sure why they went this route but I do know that the real 757's paint faded to similar color at the RR Museum of PA. It has since been repainted. This one does not have the detachable MARS light. I have yet to install nor do I plan to put it on my 765.

I would compare it to my MTH Premier NKP 755 but that's a whole nother post...

A quick pic of my 767 (its 767 all over!), all looks well with appearance. Really glad it has whistle steam and I think firebox glow. That was not listed in the blurb! Happy! This is the first Lionel O scale loco I have ever seen in my life,( i.e. not a video), as they seem to be scarce in our Fairest Isle, so I did take a bit of a chance that I would like it. So far it looks fab just on the shelf! Running it will be bit of a challenge. I have everything in place to put together a small circuit for test running. Powering up is a slight issue. I will be using 12v DC to power a 110v 60hz pure sine inverter, thence to the Lionel transformer etc. I only have Bluetooth option for controlling at the moment. ( I have been told by Lionel that all there latest engines are 50hz friendly now anyway, but hey. Its much more interesting (and legal) to do it as above). I was a bit surprised that such a complex model should not come with a full spec sheet stating all the features. Maybe there's more in the instruction manual I need to read. This cant be the first scale Berk to cross the pond can it?

Scepter'd Isle: Congratulations!; you're going to love a locomotive with the potential for command control; once bit, you will not go back.  This forum will help you with any questions - they helped me repair a Big Boy.  I am the destroyer of Lionel smoke units - be mindful of your dosages of smoke fluid - too many drops could harm electronics and fans - too few will burn out heating components; no worries, there is much smoke unit info on the forum.

Thanks for putting the video together. I am starting to think nobody bought the L&N version. That's the one I would like to hear run. But the others are great.

My friend Ray brought in his new American Railroads Legacy Berkshire 6-84691 to the BDSME yesterday so I shot a couple of videos:

  Ran perfect out of the box. He used the Bluetooth to run it. Thursday we will set it up in our legacy system. I think he picked the right Berk, this one is unique.

JohnB

RickM46,

The Milwaukee Road Legacy Scale 4-8-4 S3 Northerns were released in 2011, they had road numbers 261, 267 and 267. They were all black with red pin striping on the windows and a few other places. The also release Hiawatha passenger cars, 7 in total, if I remember. I have the #267 <6-11230> and all the passenger cars.

Just got the new what if paint scheme (cab 260) and it looks great. Now all I need to do is locate another set of cars and I will be in heaven. Barring that, I will have the 267 pull freight and the 260 the cars.

Kevin 

JohnB posted:

My friend Ray brought in his new American Railroads Legacy Berkshire 6-84691 to the BDSME yesterday so I shot a couple of videos:

          

            

  Ran perfect out of the box. He used the Bluetooth to run it. Thursday we will set it up in our legacy system. I think he picked the right Berk, this one is unique.

JohnB

John, Your friend got a winner in that loco. I get my 1225 next week

I'm really glad I have earlier runs of the Berks. I'm not a fan of the battleship grey smokebox.

MichRR714 posted:

I'm really glad I have earlier runs of the Berks. I'm not a fan of the battleship grey smokebox.

Charlie, I 100% agree on the light gray smokebox. I hope it was a one time variation/goof. 

Hi again from this Scepter'd Isle!

I have now given my 767 NKP a run on a short test track, using the Bluetooth app. All seems to function OK. And it was on English electricity! (I should add that it was via a pure sine inverter to get the correct voltage and frequency). Let's say I'm impressed so far, and I can't wait to give it a proper run on a continuous loop. I agree the light grey smoke box colour looks naff. (Might give it some 'weathering' one day). I have a couple of questions:

1, There seems to be a smoke fan which runs continuously, and emits a faint whining noise - is that normal? It stops when I turn smoke off.

2, The old question of how much, and when, to add smoke fluid? Please could you point me to the best thread for advice.

When my loop is set up I will post some footage here.

Tim

Scepter'd Isle posted:

I have a couple of questions:

1, There seems to be a smoke fan which runs continuously, and emits a faint whining noise - is that normal? It stops when I turn smoke off.

2, The old question of how much, and when, to add smoke fluid? Please could you point me to the best thread for advice.

1. Yes, the whining noise is normal. That's just the sound of the fan operating. When you turn off the smoke unit, the fan shuts off. If it's louder, that just means the unit needs lubricated, so you need to gain access to the smoke unit and add some oil to the fan motor. Eric Siegel has a great video on YouTube that goes into more detail, just look up "how to fix a noisy smoke unit".

2. Look at your owners manual to see how much fluid you need to prime it. Assuming you run your Berk once or twice a week, I'd say to add smoke fluid every 3 weeks or so. When you add it, depending on how much smoke is coming out, add an appropriate amount of fluid.