New Generation Legacy Locomotives Fail on Existing Layout

Since no one has chimed in, I'll give you my limited opinion.

Since the issue only happens at 4 specific locations on the track and the engines work flawlessly on a test track, I don't think it is a tether issue right now. I would think that you may be experiencing a temporary voltage drop at those 4 locations which is causing the sound to drop out.

I would first test the track voltage with a meter on the 2-3 sections of track at or near each location.

If that tests out, I would remove the 2-3 track sections at the "easiest-to-remove-track" location on the layout where it is happening and hardwire (solder) those sections together; re-install; and see if that eliminates the issue at that location.

Many folks have commented about some of the new releases having sound dropouts.  Usually it's on switches or crossovers, rarely on a straight piece of track. For locomotives like the Vision Line Challenger and the Vision Line Niagara, the culprit is the two closely spaced rollers on the tender, too easy for them to lose contact on a transition piece.  My fix for the dropouts is the YLB - RailSounds Battery Replacement (RS-Lite).  This is a permanent battery replacement specifically designed for Lionel RailSounds equipped locomotive.  The RS-Lite version plugs into the audio board directly and has one wire to the center roller, job done.

It actually comes in two versions, one for locomotives with a battery cable, and the other for locomotives with the RS-Lite board.

1st, I wouldn't test for steam issues with a diesel as they have no sound tender. 2nd, we need a track plan. It is known many Legacy steam engines loose the sound when rolling over a switch or other track piece if power or common is lost. Unlike TMCC the engines they were not programmed for the chuff to restart.

Thank you everyone for all of your suggestions. 

I am curious, but have no clue as to whether this might be a power issue, or a signal issue. The drop out occurs on straight track, not on a switch.

BTW, this is my first ever post, although I have read posted information often, and find it very useful. Please do not be bashful to suggest if I should have chosen a different Forum subject category for this particular concern.

Thanks again.

It should also be noted that some new Lionel steamers, my PRR H10 included, do not like dirty track at all.  I have to clean it really well with a scotchbrite pad then goo gone..So make sure your track is nice and clean.

Thank you for that reminder. I will definitely call out the MOW cleaning crew tomorrow morning.

Fastrack has known continuity issues. Ensure there aren’t any voltage drops due to poor connections. Bend, scuff, clean track connectors as needed. Clean every inch of track. Connect your transformer to the track using extra drops. Good luck. 

You mentioned your track is not fixed yet.  Those new engines are also bigger, longer than the diesels you tested with and the track is probably flexing as it goes over it, losing connection for a second.

Even on straight sections the track need to be solid, level, tight connections between track sections.  As a test you could screw done and shim the spots where it drops out and retest and I bet it will go through the sections fine.

How are you controlling the engines? Manual throttle, Legacy, Bluetooth with a handheld device and app?

If you have identified troublesome areas, just exchange a piece or two of track from that area with another area, particularly 10" pieces.

A lighted caboose or passenger car is handy to roll around and check for good power. Remove any other cars or engines.

If you are using a Legacy base, try connecting the base track wire to the Black output terminal on the transformer.

FIXED!

Thank you everyone for your recommendations.

A special thank you to "Cincytrains" for being the first to remind me of the basics -- I cleaned about 20-25 feet of track spanning the area of three of the four locations where LRS was dropping out.

Both of these new locomotives ran flawlessly repeatedly and consistently, not just over those three areas, but the entire loop (approx. 72 ft), at the "restricted speed" setting -- both forward and reverse.

Thanks again.

OGR Bob, welcome to posting on this great forum, your going to really enjoy reading what many folks (with great electronic experience) say about repair fixes, ideas, thoughts, to help us when we have operational issues. Gunrunner John is one of the best. Marty E is also one of the best, just to name a couple. There’s another thread named “What did you do on your layout today “ where we show pictures of our layouts, the work we’ve been doing and commenting on others achievements. Hop on that thread, you’ll like it.  Happy Railroading 

So was the track very dirty there? Or did your pressing on it temporarily "tighten" up the connections?

Along this 20-25 foot area where there were three different LRS dropout locations, the track was already tightly connected and level, and in fact there were some electrical connections close to a couple of the dropout locations.

All I did yesterday was to thoroughly clean the rail top surfaces. before cleaning, visually they did not look that bad, but my white soft cotton cleaning rag was VERY black afterwards.