I just took delivery of a new Lionel SD40-2. First time I have been disappointed with a Lionel loco. The kinematic coupler on the front hangs down and the plow hits the rails and catches on the turnouts. In addition they hang over on curves and hit the switch machines. The rear assembly rises up and only I/2 of the coupler stays engaged and the pilot wont re center after coming out of a curve. I hope the dealer will take it back.
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BILLSRR, that's the way to do it. Let the dealer fool with Lionel. You bought the defective engine from them.
In addition, don't the lights stay dark on this one?
gunrunnerjohn posted:In addition, don't the lights stay dark on this one?
Billsrr posted:. The rear assembly rises up and only I/2 of the coupler stays engaged
I have 3 of the latest run SD40-2 and all three have this problem.
Thanks for all the replies, the dealer accepted a return so I don't have the problem any more. I can't believe that Lionel would produce such a poor system. I used to be a engineer and the concept is good but many times the actual produce is riddled with problems. My old saying was everything works on paper.
romiller49 posted:BILLSRR, that's the way to do it. Let the dealer fool with Lionel. You bought the defective engine from them.
Most dealers turn you over to Lionel and will not deal with it.
These are terrible. Sadly have one myself
VistaDomeScott posted:romiller49 posted:BILLSRR, that's the way to do it. Let the dealer fool with Lionel. You bought the defective engine from them.
Most dealers turn you over to Lionel and will not deal with it.
Then I would be done with that dealer.
I don't understand why Lionel went so backwards with the design of these. The SD40's introduced in 2015, the SD38's the following year, and the first few runs of the SD45's have excellent kinematic pilots with very little if any gaps and are perfectly level. Why they ignored doing both of these things is anyone's guess...
Hm. For some reason I thought this was Lionel’s first attempt at kinematic pilots on the SD40. I agree that the kinematic pilots on the ES44AC from five or six years ago look great, and I haven’t read many complaints about those.
It’s my understanding that each “run” is made in various Chinese factories on a contract basis. So there’s no guarantee that the quality or even parts content will be the same from one run to another. This is the reality of the modern toy industry.
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