Lionel Lackawanna Northern

It was in Run 172 April 2000 and Run 166 June 1999.  I too have been considering purchasing the Lackawanna because of these two articles, but am hoping Lionel will release a new Lackawanna Northern with Legacy since they just released other Northerns last year.  Hope this helps.

I, too, have the fabled 18003 Lackawanna.  When they are fixed, they are awe inspiring.  What a thunderous beast!  Good luck.

Those are great looking engines!  

Lackawanna called them Pocono's not Northerns  Weaver has a beautiful Pocono with TMCC

Thanks Jared, Now all I have to do is dig out the mags and start a fixin. Those engines are easy to find and relatively cheap. They were not cheap when they came out. I am searching out the Northern Pacific (gray) I do not think that one had the bearing problems though. Thanks again Mark

I have this one, the Rock Island, and the Northern Pacific one.

None of mine ever had the bearing problem, but I have repaired a few that did. I think by the time the NP came out in 1992, that problem was long gone. I bought my NP Mint, and the pullmor is super quiet. They are all superb runners. I just updated all 3 of mine to TMCC and RS4 Northern Sounds.

Mine ran but it was a growler. The motor repair fixed that and it's still a good runner.

Jim Barrett did an excellent article in OGR some years ago, on the issues with the new Rock Island & Lackawanna "Northerns" when they were first released. Quality control on many of those new locos was sadly lacking.

I purchased the NP version mint and it is a super runner.

I have the 18003 model with a drive bearing problem.  How easy is it to fix for a layman?

All 3 can be found for around the same dollar - $175 to $250 at most. I don't know exactly how much it would cost to fix the problem, but it's more about how much diffuculty goes into fixing it.

The problem with mine was that the axles slid in and out so that the flange on one set of drivers would rub against the back of the wheel alongside it.  I inserted an E-clip (to use as a spacer) between the wheel and the frame on the other side of the engine--problem solved!

Hi Ed, As Jared shared the OGR run 166 in 6 of 99 gave a great step by step repair. I remember doing on my RI. I don't recall it being a tough job. Just make sure you get the correct bearings as Jim Barrett points out in run 172 04/99. You will need bearings 671M-20 and 2020M-17.