Vision Big Boy returned from Lionel - report 03 Feb > Part 2 - Best News Yet:

Sorry to learn that is what not perfect out of the box. I's sure that Lionel will make it right by you. You just have to wait a bit.

Sorry to hear of your troubles. Hopefully they will be resolved quickly.

-Greg

Oooh Boy - here it comes.  That's life in new toy trains for sure.  Best of luck figuring it out.

Hello,

I had run mine last night for the first time. No issues.  I did not use the smoke features as I wanted the fluid I put in to soak into the wick over night.

Today when I ran it I had some issues too. However I found that I have a section of track that is lacking some power so when I run the engine through this section with smoke on, the engine slows down or stops altogether.

I also had issues with the smoke working,  as I ran the engine more and ever so often I would try the smoke features they would work better and better. 

Now they r working great.
I have about 2 - 3 hrs total on my big boy.

I hope this helps
Ron

I would first blown down the fluid tube on the smoke unit you have that's not working .. Next make sure the oddesey switch is on .. 

Sorry to hear about these issues. FWIW I think that the VL steam features that rely on lengths of tubing to take the smoke to the outlets are problematic. I had similar problems on my VL Challenger with the Dynamo feature. It's never worked exactly as advertised although I have got better results since using an airbrush to clear the tubing of any smoke fluid residue. Initially I did exactly what you did, which was to add smoke fluid on the assumption that there wasn't enough to give the necessary output. I now think that this might make the problem worse If the fluid collects in the tube.

Sorry to hear you are having problems with it Alex, I hope they can be easily resolved and you are up and running again very soon. Maybe Lionel will have some suggestions for you to try without having to sent it back? Good Luck with it.

• The whistle sound is fine, but I wish it were quillable. I have a recording of a 1:1 scale Big Boy, and its whistle tone does vary.

 

That is odd. I have the first Lionmaster Legacy Big Boy and that has quillable whistle. Funnily enough my engine is 4006.

 

Nick

If you are running Legacy, it should quill. 

These are no longer simple "toys" but are really high tech computers....I am sure you will be able to get these problems worked out...

 

Alan

I was wondering how long it would take before someone mentioned that...

appears to have a beautiful whistle but to me it sounds a little like the engine is 'burping" it out.   Not much quilling that I can hear..

Joe 

This is another one of those threads that is headed for deletion. Problems should have been addressed to Lionel before being posted here.

 

God Bless,

"Pappy"

The smoke issue does not surprise me, as every Lionel I own seems to have fickle smoke units that require tender loving care and extra steps.

Unlike my MTH smoke units which never ever have any issues.

However, that odd track behavior is a concern.

The acid test is whether that engine is the only one with issues on that section of track or not.

Having said that, a voltmeter would be a good thing to use to measure the track section voltage, as I am sure with a locomotive of that size and features, might be more sensitive to track fluctuations.

Speaking of that....depending on how your track is mounted and/or the construction and type of materials the track is attached to...again, with heavier engines like that one, could cause sagging or flexing of the track.

Check and troubleshoot that track fully before sending off the engine.

I would dispute that every observation of a potential problem need first be taken up with the manufacturer.

The entire purpose of this forum is to exchange ideas, ask questions, seek guidance or simply to discuss trains.

The OP labeled his post as an observation which I would certainly not interpret as a complaint.  Perhaps his intent was to determine if his observations were unique to his BB or if others had experienced the same thing.

I for one don't see anything even remotely offensive or off topic with that.  Maybe we all need to quit being so concerned with walking on egg shells on this forum.

Curt

I certainly see no issue asking. Maybe it's something someone here can help with. Once it goes beyond and inquiry and into complaining before taking it up with the manufacturer then I would feel it is poor taste. But it's a big forum with lots of opinions. 

 

 

Chipset,

 

No issue with the track voltage; but just to make sure, I ran the tests in different sections of the layout, and was able to duplicate the symptoms anywhere.

 

Curt, Marty -

 

Precisely! I have no issues with Lionel, and without even talking with them first, I am 100% confident that they will fix these problems. 

 

I simply posted the thread here in case that the problems I am experiencing (no blowdown and erratic running at medium speed) might have an easy fix  - probably not, but it doesn't hurt to ask. The issue with the (not) quillable whistle is what it is, and I am OK with it.

 

Thx!

 

Alex

pappy, you have got to be kidding! Why have a forum if you think this should be deleted! John

I also want to know any (possible) issues. I am having an issue with not having a quilling whistle. This was one of the main reasons I went ahead and preordered this loco. I just went and checked my Lionel catalog and sure enough "realtime quilling whistle" is listed as a feature. If in fact this loco does not have it as advertised, I think I would prefer a Legacy Berk instead. No matter how good the whistle sounds(and I have seen the videos) I still will be disappointed without the quillable feature. This is a good example of why this thread should stay. I appreciate the heads up before I get mine(or cancel mine now). Certain people have had these Big Boys for a week now while others(like myself) have not heard a word from the dealer we bought them from. I bought mine from a Forum sponsor, and yet to hear a word about the status.

I would tell my dealer before telling the world.

Marty F. -

 

I received my Big Boy from my dealer before Christmas, he gave me a very good price, and none of the issues I am having are his doing and did not occur during shipping. I am very happy with my dealer.

 

Lionel will take care of what ever is repairable 

 

Alex

I think sharing these experiences are good thing. When something unexpected happens its hard to tell if it was designed that way or its a malfunction. Good luck with this Alex.

 

Pete

Some people never learn.

 

FYI - My above comment  was aimed at an earlier poster in this thread.  HIS comments have been deleted.  I will not mention the poster, he knows who he is.

And for the record my does have a quill to it. Not as obvious as the other engines but I can notice it. It is a little hard to notice but it exists. 

there is absolutely nothing wrong with discussing these issues.Many of us yet to receive the loco can learn alot. We should not be afraid to discuss problems with this loco if they exist out of box.

 

bob c.

The vision big boy whistle is both prototypical and quillable. The range of pitch and amplitude change is indeed modest when compared to,for example, the 765 berk, but this matches the historical recordings of this locomotive.

Rudy Trubitt
Director of audio
Lionel

LOL, spend 2 grand on a loco voice a couple concerns and bingo, folks don't want to hear about it.

 ( Critical post removed) Thanks for chiming in regarding the whistle Rudy!

Alex,

   Bummer to have a new complex engine with problems right out of the box, I was very grateful my new Legacy Shay had only a rear coupler that did not function when it arrived.  I know Lionel would make the coupler right, but I did not want to take the chance of shipping it again.  Alex one of my pet peeves is the lack of quality control in out hobby, hope you get everything worked out.

PCRR/Dave

Rudy,

 

Thanks for the "straight skinny" on the quillable whistle feature on the new Big Boy.  Its always nice to get info straight from the horse's mouth.  

 

Mine isn't arriving at my LHS until tomorrow (with luck)... Cannot wait to see her in action!

 

BTW, Happy upcoming Birthday!!!!!!!!!

 

Best,

Dave

I was wondering that...how many here have actually heard the big Big Boy.

Well, it is the same whistle as on UP 844 and 3985, so I can personally agree with Rudy concerning the prototypical sound, as I have listened to both for some 17 years as a contract member of the UP Steam Crew.

That's what I call great customer service. Rudy has responded to the sound questions on a SUNDAY. I am sure he wants us to have the straight scoop and he has personally taken care of that.

 

Thanks Rudy.

There will be a separate a thread, no more delete-worthy than this one (which for the avoidance of doubt means no earthly reason to delete it) when Alex M. opens up his Big Boy, sees how things are arranged inside and posts his findings. Then we'll see how the blowdown smoke unit and tubing are arranged and what might be the answer to why it's not functioning as expected as described in the original post.

 

I'm a bit surprised about the whistle as I can quill away to my heart's content on my VL Challenger and the earlier FEF-3, but that would certainly not be a deal-breaker for me. I agree that it's commendable that there's been an answer from Lionel on this TODAY.

 

Thanks, John.

 

Pappy, why would you think this perfctly legitimate thread would be headed for deletion? The OP posted about what appears to be a problem with the way his Big Boy runs. Others have chimed in here with suggestions and good, accurate information (thank you, Rudy.)

 

Threads like this are occasionally deleted when the thread turns personal. Keep it on topic and free of personal attacks and we're good.

Rudy, thank you for chiming in on this issue. I am relieved to know that a quillable whistle does in fact exist. If anyone out there can post a video and demonstrate, that would be awesome.

Mine is due Monday 12/29, not sure I am qualified to know something is not quite right, just hope it runs, smokes,talks.

 

I do appreciate the comments on this and other threads as it gives me a heads up on what to look for.

 

Brent

Here ya go...

 

Since we are talking possible issues........Correct me on this......But if any Big Boys need to go back(which I hope is only a few isolated cases)doesn't Lionel pay shipping both ways on Vision line locomotives for a period of 2 years? Seems to me I seen that written somewhere on Lionels catalogs.

Marty...wise to turn off smoke before making that video.