Made in America Lionel 1-700E

Well, as ironic as it seems, the early runs of the original American-made 700e were made with impurities in the Zamac casting, leading to "zinc rot" which would make the engine slowly deteriorate and crumble away.  That's also part of why those that have survived command premium prices today.

So it goes to show that QA problems are hardly unique to the "made wherever" trains today.

I think he is referring to the LTI version (also made in America), rather than the pre war 700E.

John

i have one it runs like top, the old school railsounds stays turned off i cant stand it sounds horrible. i also swapped the front truck to a scale one, which i think looks alot better.

I purchased a LTI 1-700e that had never been run -- barely out of the box -- and have it on a shelf above my desk to look at.  I, too, replaced the front trucks with scale ones and it makes a tremendous difference in its proportions.  Since I have a 773 to operate, I don't know if I ever will run the 1-700e.  I'll end this post witha question:Should I ever run it, remembering that it has not been run at all in its 22 year life, what servicing would you recommend I perform prior to operation? This may say something about the issue raised by Sam to begin this thread. Thanks for your replies. Dick

I have one sitting on my desk as I type and it looks and has run great, I also have have the scale front truck. Although I am planning on removing the motor to upgrade to a can motor and then adding PS2.  Then it will go on my roster to be run at my whim.

Dick: Like any locomotive that has set for a long time without running, I would re-oil the armature bearing wick in the cab + remove the boiler shell and clean out the dried grease in the gearbox with some Lucas Red & Tacky or Labelle 107 PTFE grease. Then oil both ends of the worm shaft and front motor bearings. Finish up with a light drop of Labelle 107 oil on all moving axle bearings & linkage pivot points. Should run like new when your done. Don't forget the front truck axle/trailing truck axles + tender axles.

I still have the 1990 1-700E, and it still looks and runs as solid as it did 22 years ago. Smooth, quiet runner with quite power to spare, at least when it pulled 30 cars.

I think I'm one of those few guys who refuses to upgrade it though, I kinda prefer keeping the original RailSounds in it - sort of evokes the Richard Kughn era it was proudly made during.

The only thing kind of irks me is that fragile chain that connects the enginer to the tender - thanks to my mother's clumsiness, it broke off easily, and is quite a pain to put back. Fortunately, Lionel has the replacement part available.

Otherwise, it's a real keeper and a modern era Lionel classic made in America. As for my new Vision Hudson, it operates and is as robust as it's predecessor. With less fragile minute parts, that might give it an upper hand. Just hope the electronics hold as reliable as before.

Is the scale front truck for this engine still available from Lionel?

If so, does anyone know the part number?

Thanks

quote:

Of course at MSP of $1.6K back then, not everyone has it on their layout or runs it enough to get good datum.

The street price was around $1,200.

The scale front trucks are relatively easy to find, Jeff Kane (train tender) has them for $9.00

Considering the fact that they are at work, the women in that photo don't seem to be having too bad a time.

Yes, was aware of that, but thought I'd include that as an aside.

You don't seriously think Lionel would publish a photo of sourpusses now, do you?

People always smile for the camera for an in-house publication.

Rusty

quote:

Yes, was aware of that, but thought I'd include that as an aside.

According to what I have read. Zinc Rot was common in the 1930's because ZAMAC was a fairly new product, and the manufacturers didn't understand the significance of leaving impurities in the alloy. To further complicate matters, Zinc Rot doesn't usually present itself right away. Once they figured out the problem, it was addressed. From what I've seen and read, Lionel trains made from 1938 and on don't tend to suffer from Zinc Rot.

So comparing Zinc rot in 1930's Lionel trains to Zinc rot in recenly made trains isn't exactly fair.
On the other hand, I had a 1970's EP-5 pass through my hands with zinc rotted sides on the dummy truck.

Never was comparing zinc rot from the 30's to zinc rot today.  To requote myself:

"...it goes to show that QA problems are hardly unique to the "made wherever" trains today."

The point was QA issues have always existed even prior to today's O gauge trains, in context to rrman's comment about the made in USA version "Holding up" compared to made in wherever.

Zinc rot is not unique to the pre war Hudson's or other trains made in the early part of the 20th century. I had a MTH  premier triplex that had zinc rot on the top of the boiler and it kept spreading. So yes it still happens but allot more rare then it was back in the early part of the 20th century.

Dave

Hello david1.........

My goodness, your MTH premier Triplex's boiler has zinc rot on top of the boiler ? 

Is it possible to take picture of the zinc rot area as so we will get the idea what it looks like if you don't mind.

the woman who loves the S.F.#5021

Tiffany

quote:

Zinc rot is not unique to the pre war Hudson's or other trains made in the early part of the 20th century. I had a MTH  premier triplex that had zinc rot on the top of the boiler and it kept spreading. So yes it still happens but allot more rare then it was back in the early part of the 20th century.

Its not, but it should be.

I've read complaints about zinc rot on diecast automobiles, and have experienced it on important cast parts of my wife's garden lights. They just crumble.

As I stated in the article, the 1-700 E was a significant locomotive in many ways. It was the pinnacle of a long series of developments that allowed Lionel to finally make this engine twenty years after the company changed hands in 1970.  Even though it was its second year in production, the RailSounds installation in the 1-700 E was the harbinger of the digital revolution/evolution in O gauge trains that continues to this day.

One of the ways to upgrade a 1-700 E without doing violence to the basic locomotive, is to put a more modern version of RailSounds in the tender.  I was surprised at how bad RailSounds "1" sounded compared to current versions.  The difference between Velveeta and a good Swiss to my more discriminating sound sense after over 20 years of steadily improving 3-rail sound systems.

Ed Boyle

Apparently, TM Books & Video seemed to like the original RailSounds a lot when it was the top sound system out there - if you watch their older videos like Toy Train Revue, you hear those sounds all over at full volume! They still do a little today.

This 1990 1-700E is still one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful, of the Hudsons that have been made to date. There's something about its appearance that is special. Just my opinion.

Breezinup,

Agreed.

Ed Boyle

Both of you - agreed.

Because this locomotive is so beautiful to look at -- even study the detai,l if you like -- with visitors as it proudly sits on its special base under its plastic case, I hate to ever run it. I added the scale front trucks and have the tender pushed closer to the cab so it looks more prototypical.  I believe that I get more pleasure gazing at it than I would running it, since the early RailSounds I've heard on You Tube sound so poor. Dick

I learned something new about the scale pilot.

I too have mine sitting in the case under the clear cover. Mine came with a piece of wooden Gargraves track.

I love it just as much as my Vision Line 700E. But this one I like the AC motor showing in the back.