My new Lionel Legacy 4-8-4 GS-2 Daylight, with absolutely no intervention on my part or anybody else’s, and in a span of 15 start-ups or attempted start-ups, went from completely inoperable to fully functional.
To make a long story short, initially the GS-2 came alive immediately upon track power being turned on with the RUN/PGM switch in the PGM position. I tried the RUN position once after the PGM position had failed five times, but it did not make any difference. Of course, the engine coming alive on its own when powered up makes it impossible to program it with a new engine ID.
On the seventh try, however, I powered up the track and the GS-2 remained dormant, so I was able to program it with engine ID 15, and it blew the whistle once. Great, I thought; but when I went to load the module after moving the switch to the RUN position, it again came alive when the track was powered up. Frustrated, I called Lionel the next morning - yesterday.
With the Customer Service Rep on the line, I again tried to program the GS-2 as the CSR suggested. As soon as I applied power to the track, the GS-2 came alive, and the CSR heard it, so she told me to send to Lionel for repair.
I let the engine set on the track for several hours, and when I was ready to package it, I decided to give it one more try. Lo and behold, with the switch again in the PGM position, the engine did not come alive when I powered the track, and I was able to program it again with ID 15, which may have constituted a reset, and I even loaded the module without any problem.
I ran the engine several times back and forth over a 60-foot stretch of track, and although it ran, it did not respond well to the commands. This included the whistle, the direction control, and the smoke. Sometimes it was OK, but other times it ignored the commands. The speed control was mostly OK, but not as ‘crisp’ as it should be.
I powered it up and down several more times, and only one more time the GS-2 came alive immediately when power was applied. So I powered it down and back up, and it has not ‘acted up’ anymore since.
The commands started to be responsive after about three, five-minute runs, but the smoke still did not respond. It would not always come on, and the two times it did come on, I was not able to shut it off. So I let the engine sit for a few more hours, and then ran it late last night without problems; other than the smoke, that is
This morning I ran it again, and it was perfect – including the smoke! The smoke turned on and off on command. I have run it eight more times since then, five to 10 minute runs, and it has been perfect every time.
A few months ago I had a little problem with a Legacy AT&SF Northern (6-11332) not responding to commands initially, but this went away on its own rather quickly. However, I have never had any problems programming a new Legacy engine with its proper ID number, and this one happens to be my 12th such engine.
I know that some mechanical items sometimes need a period of breaking-in, but I have not heard of an electronics item requiring breaking in. Has anyone else experienced this? Any ideas of what may have caused the GS-2 to be so obstinate initially?
Thanks for reading.
Alex
