Any clue what's going on when the sound just falls silent on a Legacy steamer? Happens to us like half the time they are running.
Thanks.
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1. Dirty track or rollers
2. "Dead spots" on switches, Atlas turnouts in particular are notorious for this problem.
I have a fastrack layout and experienced this problem only once when some crud on a roller lined up with crud on a turnout, cleaned both and the problem never returned.
If you track and rollers are clean and its not your turnouts the next option may be to add a 9 volt to the tender to compensate for the power dropouts, check your owners manual.
The latest legacy stuff seems more sensative to dirty track than the old TMCC stuff, this is exacerbated by when the sound is lost it stays off until reset.
All good points made by Rick. Review every point he made. The only thing I would throw out would be to take your continuity meter and hit both rollers on the tender. If you do not have both bringing power to the tender, you got it. When you drop sound, can you bring it back with AUX-1-0? Have you opened up your tender and reseat the boards?
What is your engine number?
Happens all the time on our layout Usually dirty track like Rick said. Any momemntary loss of power will cause it even its a millisecond
On locomotives that lose sound over switches do they have a battery installed? I installed a battery in my engines when I got them and I have not lost sound on any of my Legacy engines, it's smoke fans and smoke unit boards that constantly fail that is getting my goat. And I have cleaned my track twice in 7 years, Legacy, DCS both operate perfectly.
Hey Paul Who the heck is that in your Avatar pic. It looks like a 1970's porn star.
Originally Posted by bluelinec4:
Hey Paul Who the heck is that in your Avatar pic. It looks like a 1970's porn star.
ROFLMAO You have no proof of that and that is just a old rumor. lol
This one better? Rich keeps deleting my golf picture lmao!
I have only 1 Legacy loco, a NIB unrun 2-6-6-2 that I got very cheap because it had been damaged physically in shipping. I fixed it visually/mechanically; it always runs well.
But, a couple of times I have noticed a Sounds of Silence moment, I was philosophical about it and and ascribed it to the loco's rough childhood and fork-lift attack. It has only happened twice, I think. (I cycled the power to correct.)
However, if this semi-permanent (requires attention from the operator) sound drop-out is truly a Legacy "feature", it is indeed a great step backwards, as only a couple of
my very early (1990's/RS 2.something) steamers show this same behavior. All the RS 4.0, etc. locos may skip a beat on a switch (few do), but come right back and go about their sound-business. Batteries are NOT a solution; this did not happen before, and should not happen now.
If it's just my poor abused loco, that's OK.
Originally Posted by D500:
However, if this semi-permanent (requires attention from the operator) sound drop-out is truly a Legacy "feature", it is indeed a great step backwards, as only a couple of
my very early (1990's/RS 2.something) steamers show this same behavior. All the RS 4.0, etc. locos may skip a beat on a switch (few do), but come right back and go about their sound-business. Batteries are NOT a solution; this did not happen before, and should not happen now.
I believe that the sound not returning after a power loss is due to the fact that a legacy loco can sit on a powered track in an "unpowered state" with no lights on loco or tender. It must be addressed and "powered up" for tender lighting and sound.
In all fairness to Lionel, if you have deadspots on switches that cannot be bridged by the rollers no matter the loco type be it TMCC or legacy theres obviously a problem with the switch.
There have been threads on how to install feeder wires to "dead spots" on certain brands of switches.
These locos take electricity to operate if its not there, they don't operate.
The 9v battery terminal IS the solution to a track power problem, thats what its there for.
Conventional operation involves a very large interruption of track power, the 9v solves this one as well.
Page 19 of your owners manual:
"Installing a nine-volt alkaline battery
LEGACY RailSounds Sound System operations
Although the LEGACY RailSounds sound system is powered through the track, we
recommend that you install a nine-volt alkaline battery in the tender to prevent the
sound system from shutting down during track power interruptions (for example, at a switch
or a dirty section of track)."
I always fit a 9v battery into my Legacy locomotives as soon as I get them. I fit is as a part of my pre-first-run process, together with the initial lubrication, putting a puff of graphite into the couplers and making sure that the traction tyres are all fitted snugly. To date, I have had no sound issues at all with my locomotives. 
(Apart from the period of utter confusion when I first accidentally shut the sounds off with the AUX-1+Volume down key combination. But I think that most of us have encountered that one.
)
The AUX 1 and then 0 worked. Thanks. I will add the batteries to the tenders too. Thanks for that as well. Obviously, I need to start reading the owners' manuals.
Just a side note not all of the new Legacy engines have a battery backup. Specifically, the Vision Line Hudson does not.
