Lionel LIRR M7 Commuter Power Problems

Jay:

 

I initially had the same derailing problem and had to have the wire to the contact roller replaced with a more flexible one.

 

I recall that you were going to add weights to the powered unit and I assumed that worked for you.  The added weight to the car plus the two car add on may be too much for the powered unit.

 

My understanding from other posts I have read is that the powered unit was not really designed to pull the two car add on.   It runs fine for me with the original four car set.

 

George

Wider curves help I've noticed. It is pretty under powered but I would still get a set if they ever retooled for the ConDOT M8s. I would love to add a set or two of those.

I should have mentioned that when my Lionel service station fixed the wiring from the trucks I was able to get rid of the derailing problem without adding any weight. Also the elevated figure 8 is all O-48 Fastrack so that wasnt part of the original issue.

     It sounds like my problem is that it is just under powered.

Does anyone know if it is possible to add a second motor to the powered car? I find it hard to believe that they would offer an add-on set that the powered car could not pull. Any suggestions would be great.

 

Jay in Ottawa

I have a six-car Metro-North set, and the power car is indeed underpowered. Mine will spin at start-up, but will pull the train once you goose the power. After it gets rolling, it runs ok (as you can see here), but I wouldn't ask it to climb any steep grades.

 

I think the set is kind-of poorly thought-out, because of the single-motored power car, in conjunction with the one-way drawbar-instead-of-couplers configuration, making it  difficult to add another power car in the middle or end of the set. I'm assuming Lionel didn't test the set's performance very thoroughly because it was a starter set, and did not anticipate many purchasers buying the add-ons or running the extended set on anything but whatever came in the box.

 

---PCJ

I watched your video and your train does seem to have a better top speed than mine. Are you using a larger than 80W transformer? Thanks.

Jay in Ottawa

At the time, I was using a Z-1000. The set's transformer I think is still sealed in its carton. It may in fact be a 40-watt transformer, which is why I never bothered to unbox it

 

---PCJ

The LIRR is underpowered and has two other problems, one the wires break off and the motor overheats and mealts the mt. bracket. We have done many repairs. The earlier Metro North seems to have less issues.

Thanks for all of the replies guys. I will try a more powerful transformer and other than that it looks like I may be stuck. I will investigate and see about adding another motor.

 

Thanks,

Jay in Ottawa

You need to add a second power unit motor car. Has nothing to do with the transformer.

Add some fishing line sinkers under the front to fix the derailment issues.

Add a longer power wire so the wheel flange wont cut into it.

Improvments will make a differance.

 

Topic has been covered in detail several times on both subway forums.

More info there.

Just a quick update and an admission of making a rookie mistake....so I spoke to Lionel service about this issue and they suggested that I check the traction tires and make sure the track was clean. I responded promtly that those things were fine as I was sure I could not have overlooked something so basic.

After my response I decided to doube check the wheels and track and found that I had missed my elevated loop when I last cleaned my track and it wasn't just dirty, but dirty and oily! After a quick track cleaning and a cleaning of the wheels my commuter train is now running much better and has been given the nod of approval from the boss (my 8yr old son).

I felt I had to post this and admit to my rookie mistake and to thank Lionel service for pointing me in the right direction.

 

Jay in Ottawa

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but I wanted to know if anyone ever put a second motor in? I would like my 6 car train to be able to go up a somewhat steep grade, and I'm not exactly sure that can be done with one motor

I never purchased the two car add-on due to the pulling problems.

 

Sorry I can't help.

Always afraid to put them on the tracks for fear something might happen. How are the newer  Candy Cane and Mets M7s?

LI Rail Fan:  The problem with installing a second motor in the power car is that the speaker is in the place where the second motor needs to go. One could inside, roof mount the speaker to get it out of the way as the running electronics are in the center fuel tank area of the car, so that space is already taken up.  Additionally, if you had taken the car apart, you would see that a weight stack, in a horseshoe configuration is used to give some added weight for traction that wraps around the first motor,  so you might want to also do that.  Finally, a bulkhead would have to be made to block out the sight of the second motor  from the passenger seating area.   Otherwise it is a doable job.  Dennis M.