New MTH Turbo Train Problems

What brand of track did your friend run it on?

 

Alan

No problems whatsoever with derailments on O72 RealTrax.  My problem has been tether disconnect between the power car with the trailing wheel set and the coach.  The power car with the trailing wheel set is meant to be the trailing power car and will display the constant red lamp.  The power car without the trailing wheel set is meant to be the lead power car and has the smoke unit.  The train runs better in this configuration but I am still experiencing tether disconnect after clearing S type curves.  The back and forth movement seems to disconnect the tether from the coach to the trailing power car.  I will try to use some of the add on coaches to make this go away!  But absolutely no problems with derailment - you MUST properly thread the torsion struts through the holes on the sides of the coaches.  I suspect that could be related to your derailment problems.  I was looking at how the single turbo power car with the trailing wheel set ran when not connected to the coach and it did not run good.  I believe the torsion struts being inserted into the rings on the side of the coach are essential to the operation of this train to guide two wheeled bogeys through the curves.

 

 

Turbo at 70 mph + on O72 MTH RealTrax!!

More 70+ mph running on RealTrax 72

 

 

This train tracks very well with the torsion bars in place!

Mine has done a lot of laps now on my ceiling layout 0-120 and some 0-96 curves. So far has not come apart or derailed. One thing I noticed is that the trucks sit at an angle when you look at them from the side. And the wire connection is very stiff.

I wonder if you were to wiggle the wire a bit to get it a bit looser if it might work better on your layout.

 

As far as I can tell engines on both ends smoke acording to the directions.

 

 

https://ogrforum.com/d...33#13256332715036033

 

I had the same problem & had to send it back.

Kj356 - thanks for the tips.  I better start putting smoke fluid in both forward and aft stacks!

Well, my CN version tracks well on 072 Fastrack.  The cars come close to touching with a 1/16 of an inch to spare.

I'm  not experiencing any "disconnects" at this time and all systems seem fine.

 

My only problem is a non-functioning smoke unit in one of the engines.

I can hear the fan but no smoke.

 

Has anyone gone inside one of these units yet?

And possibly offer any tips?

 

Thank You

Didn't have derailing problems, but one of my axle gears cracked a tooth at 75smph. Brought the train to an abrupt halt. Calling MTH tomorrow to see about getting a replacement power truck rather than spending $60+ to ship the whole train.

Reading this post is very disappointing. After waiting for so long to receive your Turbo Trains then to encounter these problems is unacceptable. These sets should of all been checked and should work flawlessly. Is there no quality control today? If there is its not much. Our train manufactures want to stay in China. I sure don't know why.

I agree Jim 100%. And it's every manufacturer that is using Chinese factories that we are receiving stuff from with a high number of failures/problems. They should be checked out once reaching these shores and they are not.

And if YALL didn't trample over each other to buy this crap and be the first to post pictures on OGR????

Well Mr. Blume...........................that was certainly helpful!

Please continue..........................it's not everyday we get such pearls of wisdom!!

 

Soo Line

I agree with Paul, but having just ordered my Penn Central unit am taking a wait and see attitude. I know that MTH does a fairly extensive quality control check and is fairly responsive to issues.  I know they have sped up their service turn around time in the last 6 months and anticipate that all issues will be resolved.  Flaming manufacturers and other members about issues or the excitement of receiving their long awaited trains does not help anyone and only causes more angst.  I have a test track set up finally and I will run my units and report back.

Has anyone run the Turbotrain on 072 Atlas track yet???  Boy oh boy....I am now thinking about cancelling my order.  I haven't received mine yet as I believe they are waiting on the two extra cars I ordered....now I am thinking I will just replace this train with something else.  If it doesn't operate properly on 072 Atlas then I am up a creek...  So...if any of you have reports on how it runs on Atlas, please let us know.

 

Thanks,

Alan

Above reports are that it tracks fine on RealTrax and Fastrax O72.  It is tight clearance on the curves but it works.  There are a couple of reports of tether disconnect.  The tortion or torsion bars should be connected up properly and I believe derailment issues may be linked to not connecting the tortion bars as they seem to assist the tracking of the bogeys connecting to the various coaches through the curves.

I have one of the new CN Turbo sets, I run Atlas O72 radius track and have absolutely no issues with this train at all. I am using O72 track which is the 6 foot circle.

Steve...do you mean 072 radius (which would be 0144) or do you mean just 072 track (which is a 6 foot circle)??

 

Thanks,

Alan

Well, I'm up and running.

The smoke unit is fixed, just a wire.

The smoke units on MED are very thirsty.

 

Up side.  Piece of cake getting inside.  Six screws and the shell comes right off.

Not even any wires to disconnect.

 

The horn volume is not as loud as other MTH engines I have.

As well, I don't seem to be able to ramp up or down the engine revs.

The sounds are okay but MTH still can't touch Lionel in that department.

 

Soo Line

Jim S,

   You and I think along the same lines, completely unacceptable for the time and money expended.

PCRR/Dave

Well I spoke too soon on my CN Turbo. I was running it last night and at around 70 smph she stopped dead. After some close viewing it appears to have something binding in the truck, its not the motor as it spins freely. Anyone else encounter this issue. I purchased 4 of these sets and the other 3 are fine.

 

Steve

Hi Steve, two questions.

 

First off as Alan asked a few post back are you actually using 72-inch radius (12-foot diameter O-144) or is it O-72 (6-foot diameter)?

 

Second were the "torsion bars" properly attached to the car bodies?

 

 

OH!  Let us add another question.  You state that "the motor" was spinning.  Are you saying that ONLY one of the two motors was spinning?  Or were both the front and rear motors each spinning? 

Ron

I run mine on 072 (6' radius) Gargraves . Initially the train would stop and front trucks were up off tracks and spinning. Rear car lights were out. Found that lead tether had came loose. It happened 4 more times.
End for ended 2 passenger cars and so far so good.
The loop the train runs on is a dog bone one and obviously lots of turns plus running thru 4 sets of 072
Curtis switches. I've got my finger crossed that it continues to work properly.

 

Mine stopped dead at around 75smps. Closer inspection showed that a couple of teeth broke off the rear axle gear on the power truck of the lead locomotive. Just got off the phone with another member who's down at Ready to Roll in Florida and the owner there reported the same thing happening on another unit.

OH....BOY......I don't think this piece is going to be the winner we thought it would be.  Broken gear teeth....how the heck would that happen on a new piece like this??

 

Alan

Not quite clear on the curves, and the question has been raised by others as well.

 

[Partial quotes]

 

• ...Gargraves track, smallest curve on layout 072 to over 100 inch radius curves.

• ...I run Atlas O72 radius track and have absolutely no issues

• ...I run mine on 072 (6' radius) Gargraves

 

Are you sure? I just didn’t know they existed!

 

You see, 72-inch and 6' (6-foot) radius curves would make a 12-foot diameter circle and 100-inch radius curves would make a 16-foot 8-inch diameter circle.

 

Just wondering

 

Alex

I edited my first post and I am using Atlas O72 curves which is a 6 foot diameter. Secondly, after train stopped I removed shell and found the motor was not turning freely. This was only happening in one engine, the other engine works fine. Upon further investigation the issue seems to stem from the truck assembly. Thirdly yes the torsion bars were installed properly.

 

Steve

 

Once the cause of the gear tooth failure is determined, I'm hopeful that MTH will make a decision to repair ALL sets.  While not everyone will experience the failure immediately, it seems to be something faulty in the design which will ultimately fail.

Sounds like MTH has made their version of the Lionel Acela

As a guy that loves ugly engines this one was a bit to Buck Rodgers to me. I told Matt not to buy it it way to out there. Does the front of the engine Clam sheelfront open up?. if so Matt you can stick a couple of those Estes rocket motors in their and fire it up.

Received Amtrak version yesterday. Have been running it on club layout without problem at this time. Running with extra passenger car w/o problems.

Sorry to hear that some of you gentlemen are having problems with this new engine. 

 

Looks like a sweetrfunning engine on the above posted video clips however!  I really like the close coupling of the cars.

 

Jim

I wish they would do a Railking version that could run on 031 track, i would buy one in a heart beat!

DITTO!!!! I'd like a Turbo Train but the price and issues keep me away. Maybe MTH will do a RK version, a little less detail, more reliable tracking and tethers....I'd buy one.

 

Right now happy I don't have the funds for it......

So far mine has been running fine.

Wide radius track though and do not run it to fast.

 

Only issue is one coach with a lower light level very low compared to other coach.