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I bought this locomotive today and I sent the following email to Lionel this afternoon. If anyone wants to chime in before I get a reply from Lionel feel free to offer your thoughts. 

 

Hi,

 

I just purchased a new LEGACY Chessie GP35 from Hobby Express in Cranberry Twp PA 16066 on Saturday, November 28 and I've experienced a few operating issues. The rear headlight (reverse) and rear marker lights (forward) do not light up. The front and rear number boards occasionally flicker. Twice the locomotive shut down on its own when direction was changed.

 

I removed the shell to check for any loose connectors and saw none. I've reprogrammed the engine and performed a reset (AUX1 + 0) and still no change in the lighting issues.

 

Any help with this matter will be greatly appreciated.

 

Regards,

 

Rob

 

I have Atlas track and my power supply is a 180-watt PowerHouse. My TMCC and LEGACY locomotives are run with my CAB-2. No other trains were on the track when I ran this engine.

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I don't have much to say other than that's quite disappointing. My uncle took me to Hobby Express for my birthday a few months ago but I picked something else, but I remember looking at that engine several times, now I'm glad I didn't buy it. Lionel's GP35's are some of their best efforts. Best of luck with it!!

Haha...Thanks! I've been looking at it for awhile myself. Bottom shelf in the display case...

 

This is the first time I've had any issues from a LEGACY engine other than the usual smoke-related problems like motors that crap out or burned up heating elements. The ironic thing is that I had the first powered unit #3524 but I sold it earlier this year 'cause I was making way for 2 LEGACY Chessie SD40s that I preordered.

 

That GP35 ran awesome and smoked great too. I wish I still had it but this one will be fine once I get to the bottom of what's causing the lighting abnormalities.

 

From what I've seen, the Lionel GP30s and GP35s are among their best diesels. In fact, no other manufacturer comes close to matching Lionel's Geep 30s and 35s in terms of detail, operating features and sounds.

 

That's why I wanted this model again and lighting issues aside, I wouldn't hesitate to get another.

The repair order said that it was tested for 3 hours which every locomotive that I've had serviced by Lionel said that. I think that's standard operating procedure by Lionel after an engine is repaired. Well, at least so they say. 

Lionel was there all of the way, from the first email I received stating that they received it to the email I received Tuesday saying that it was shipped via UPS with tracking. 

Earlier in the week I stopped by the local train store, Imperial Train Co., and had my eye on a LEGACY GP30 to run with my GP35. Vick, if you're reading this, I thank you for your time but it was a little too pricey for me. So, I checked with a few other places and decided to buy it, albeit a different road #, from Charles Ro ($470 plus $9 shipping). That was about $135 less  than I would've paid at the local train shop. (That's taking into account 7% PA sales tax in Allegeheny Co.) Imperial Train Co. is a beautiful store and I would highly recommend it to anyone who's in the Pittsburgh area. Great selection, especially if you're into MTH.

I'm all for supporting local businesses but sometimes a significant difference in price is the overriding factor. Having said that, I probably would've sprung for the engine if it was around $500.

This was my first purchase from Charles Ro, and won't be my last. What a first-rate outfit they are! Not only did I get a great price on this locomotive but they threw in their current catalog, a 2015 Lionel Signature Edition Catalog, the Volume Two Catalog and  the 2015 Christmas Catalog.

So, as luck would have it, this GP30 is doing the exact same thing as my GP35 when I placed it on the track for the first time - no rear marker lights! Haha! I kid you not! At least the rear headlight works as does all of the other lighting features. I reprogrammed it and pressed AUX1 + 2 but still no change in the rear marker lights. I double-checked my CAB-2 after I inserted the memory module to make sure it was programmed as a DIESEL in LEGACY mode and LEGACY RAILSOUNDS.

Here is the exchange I had with customer service over the last 24 hours:

Hi,

Thank you for servicing my Chessie GP-35 (6-38797), RA #8056284. Since I knew I would be getting this engine this week I decided to buy a C&O GP30 (6-82129) on Monday from Charles Ro Supply Co. to perform a lashup with.

Beautiful engine, maybe Lionel's best diesel to date. Unbelievably, right out of the box it's experiencing the same issues as my GP-35 - the rear marker lights will not light up when the locomotive is moving forward. All other light functions work as they should.

I reprogrammed the engine and pressed AUX1 + 2 on my CAB-2 but still no change.

I run these 2 engines together, tail-to-tail with the GP-35 in front so only the front marker lights (and # boards) on the GP30 light up as they're supposed to as the trailing engine facing in reverse in a LEGACY lashup.

So, I'm in no hurry to get this looked at. I just want to bring it to your attention just in case I decide to get this matter addressed in the near future. Maybe after the holidays I will request an RA # to have this repaired. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy running these 2 locomotives together.

Thanks and Happy Holidays!

 Rob


 

Rob,

I'm sorry to hear you're having an issue. Make sure you check each engine to see that is it properly programmed as a Legacy.

Press ENG + whatever number you have assigned it + INFO - using the SCROLL button verify it is showing as a DIESEL, and that it is a LEGACY.

Other than that, feel free to give us a call after the holidays and we'll get you straightened out. Please keep a hold of your receipt showing purchase within the last year so at that time we can verify your warranty.

Thank you,

Meghan, Lead Customer Service Representative


 
Hi,
Thanks for the reply.
I loaded each engines' info into my CAB-2 with with the corresponding orange memory module. I double-checked the info and each engine is set to DSL, LEG and LRS. So, that is correct.
Rear marker lights aside, the GP30 is just great, and so is the GP35. Thanks again for servicing that engine.
I have the original receipt from Charles Ro. I'm probably going to hold off contacting Lionel for awhile unless some other issue arises, which I'm not expecting. I've been running these 2 locomotives in a lashup since I got both of them Thursday and they look and run fantastic.
Best regards,
Rob
LEGACY Geeps 001LEGACY Geeps 002LEGACY Geeps 003.
 
 
 

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Images (3)
  • LEGACY Geeps 001
  • LEGACY Geeps 002
  • LEGACY Geeps 003

The GP30 is fine. 

I removed the roof cover and found that the prongs for one of the class light LEDs were touching. I separated them and powered up the engine and the rear class lights now work. I suspect that about half of these "issues" can be fixed at home with minimal effort without having to return the engine to Lionel for repair.

Dave, I'm thinking about getting a LEGACY Chessie GP9 when they come out this summer. My next LEGACY locomotives will be 2 Chessie SD40s that I ordered from Nassau Hobby Center in February. Lionel is showing a March delivery date.

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