LOCO problems

Kinda common. It's the nature of the modern beast. Electronics are very fussy compared to electro mechanical items... but today folks want "wow" more than simplicity and reliability.  Reprogrammable circuits are yet more prone issue; but still highly useful being re writeable.

 But they can do more, often while taking up much less space. It is cheaper to produce boards and use can motors as well; so profit is a factor. (Plus some folks prefer the modern performance; slower and quieter, no e-unit buzz, etc)

If you expect new electronics to be glitchless, your kinda dreaming. Tech hasn't really been on that path for decades...IMO begining with Windows 2 or 3; released early so WE could find the bugs and pay for support once the code WAS ready.  It was the writing on the software wall.   (sometimes it does take while for glitches to rear their heads anyhow) 

 I worked on boards to feed myself in a few trades; I think they are, in a way, "overated" compared to "electromechanical".

Roller spacing has been an issue for 100 years.  There are PostLPost wartwar don't work with this or that other Lionel items

There is nice example, Google/Android "auto-spellwreck" and "vindictive text" has been crap for what, 6 years now; google support never posts comments in questions/comments about it because it is flawed code they can't fix..... but it KINDA works, MOST of the time... "Good enough! Gimmie; gotta check my email" ...saving us and killing us at the same time 

Anyhow, all Lionel products don't fully interchange; never have. 

  Between brands you're almost lucky anything works. More than once, a design purposely got used to prevent mixing of brands.  (Euro and US Og/and some large gauges, differ by a few thousandths of an inch.  Just enough that some earlyEearly trains cannot be run on US track. (so we wouldn't buy a Euro loco)

The thing to do is search for another roller set that can fit, but has a different arm length.   Another fix is add a tender/dummy loco roller and a tether to carry power to the power unit.  OR, a stay alive capacitor that could take the motor across a short dead gap (tricky design work to not have that mess with performance)

Electronics can be fun; but I was having fun already

Adriatic, thanks for your input. I figured issues were KIND of common. It is just upsetting. 

I was kind of baffled by the Store manager when he said, "We don't usually have any issues with MTH stuff." and then in the next breath, he said, "Yeah, send it back. We will send you a new one." In the first sentence, I was thinking....OH MAN..I messed this train up. And then with his next sentence, I thought, if he so quick to tell me he is going to send me a new loco, this is more common than he is leading me to believe.

The GE loco going completely BAD is baffling. It is brand new. I used it less than 15 days.

Two truck wheels falling completely off a NJ Transit diesel leads me to believe it is just poor craftsmanship. 

The Spacing distance of the Power rollers of the MTA train leads me to believe in bad design.

While I do expect NEW Technology to have glitches, I don't think this is NEW. These types of trains have been around for quite a few years now. 

Again, thanks for your input. It is greatly appreciated to know I am not alone. 

@Pg3ibew posted:

I know these are toys and they are not PERFECT. I treat these trains like gold. They are not cheap by any measure. These things should NOT happen on toys this expensive. For years, as a kid, I would set up my father's old Steamer and Diesel and basically play smash up derby with them and never had issues. And they are STILL running.

You're comparing apples to hammers.  The complexity of modern command controlled locomotives and post-war locomotives is hardly a apples to apples comparison.

@Pg3ibew posted:

I am NOT going to say I will NEVER buy MTH again. But with 3 different MTH Engines, I have 3 very unique problems. In such a short period of time. Are these issues common? Thanks for any help.

I'll be waiting for the same statement after you buy a few items from any other brand, because it's not like any of these issues are unique to one company.  I see lots of locomotives from all the major manufacturers, and I can tell you with certainty, your issues are not unique to one brand.

@Gunner, I know I am comparing apples to hammers. I also know that I will almost certainly be buying more MTH. Hence the reason I said that I WON'T say I WON'T buy MTH. 

All I am saying is, for such an expensive Item, it is a shame that there are issues like this. I am an amateur photographer. This stuff cost as much as some of my gear. If my lenses, flashes, whatever, broke down as much and as quickly, Nikon would not be in business. 

One difference is the quantities they make this stuff in.  Nikon makes tens of thousands of the same thing, and much of the cost in those items are the quality of the components.  The economy of scale is nowhere near that with stuff like model trains, so in order to price it competitively, they cut corners.

Lest you think it's just model trains, years ago I used to have a fridge for 20 years without doing anything to it.  That last three we've owned, that cost a whole lot more even considering inflation, have lasted no more than five years before it was not economical to repair them!  I have a three year old $3,000 GE Profile that's now failing here, can't wait to see what that costs.  Stuff just isn't made to the same quality standards nowadays, especially stuff like model trains.