I was just on the phone with Lionel. I explained that I could not find parts for my American Flyer trains. She explained that" if it was not on the web site then Lionel does not have it"
Are any of you having problems getting parts from Lionel? If you are not having problems, please tell me your secrets for success...........
Jackie
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The new parts website is a mess and a big step backwards over the old site. I have yet to order anything but I have done searches, others will chime in on the experiences.
I've been asking them for a year for the parts diagram for a Legacy Berkshire. I need a 10 cent part. They are pathetic.
@William Jack posted:I was just on the phone with Lionel. I explained that I could not find parts for my American Flyer trains. She explained that" if it was not on the web site then Lionel does not have it"
Are any of you having problems getting parts from Lionel? If you are not having problems, please tell me your secrets for success...........
Jackie
It’s a total dumpster fire, it seems they have very little appetite in the way of support/parts. But they will sell you another new and improved one.
I've been resurrecting my Lionel stuff that had been sitting in a non-climate controlled garage in Houston for 20 years. I needed a lot of parts. I've had near 100% success rate on eBay. I have an old K-line book with all the postwar Lionel stuff in it, along with exploded parts diagrams and instructions. I just search for that part number on eBay, and there was maybe 1 or 2 things I had to go elsewhere.
I need to jump on the bandwagon here too. Last night I was looking for the pick-up assembly used for the baby Madison 6 wheel trucks. I knew the main number was 9536, I couldn't remember the suffix number. I looked under pick up, pick-up assembly, 6 wheel truck, 6 wheel truck with pick-up. Nothing. I could not find that part anywhere. If you don't have the complete number, the search function is useless. At least the old site a partial number you could usually find what you need. I went over to Train Tender's site and found the number easy-peasy.
LIONEL: Dump this site and reinstate the old one. It is a failure. Not user friendly at all. Too much wasted space with duplicate pictures of the same item. No logical order at all.
@Chuck Sartor posted:LIONEL: Dump this site and reinstate the old one. It is a failure. Not user friendly at all. Too much wasted space with duplicate pictures of the same item. No logical order at all.
You have to wonder who's bright idea it was to nuke a working site and replace it with this monstrosity! 
Usually the people in the company's IT department come up with plans for these "new improved" sites, also known as job security
. Otherwise they are the results of outside IT consultants and are called a good sales effort (by the IT consultants).
I can't say what happened with the lionel parts page, but it looks familiar to me.
I have been working with software companies for 40 years and this is the best way I can explain what happens to some.
Companies that follow the Einstein axium, tend to do better and software works better. "If I had 1 hour to save the world I would take 55 minutes to define the problem." During the internet explosion, the creator of Amazon took 6 months testing and building the system. Can anyone even remeber the original competitors to Amazon today?
Just placed an order in the Lionel parts system. It has been exactly one month since my last order.
There have been 7,959 orders for parts in the system in a month.
7,959 orders in a month? That's a 1,000 part orders a week. Something doesn't sound right. How could they humanly process all those?
@choochoopaul posted:It has been exactly one month since my last order.
Did you receive it?
Mine took a month. They could speed it up if they didn't vacuum seal every part individually.
@Robert Cushman posted:Mine took a month. They could speed it up if they didn't vacuum seal every part individually.
They have always done that plus put the part number on the bag and still got it out the door within three days before this change. Thats not the holdup. Who knows whats going on? My last order from MTH was marked shipped within 30 minutes of my placing it. Had it in three days.
Pete
Lack of parts, lack of repair facilities, and to a lesser extent, lack of a 990 have caused me to permanently stop buying anything new from Big Orange.
I found everything that I needed for a repair to a Legacy 3751 back in January. Easy PZ and I was somewhat impressed at the time. But, in typical, modern Lionel fashion....."if it's not broke, we'll eventually screw it up." They, literally, can't do anything right any more. They actually spent time and money to make their web site.....worse.
I now need parts for a Legacy Big Boy and can NOT find them on this ridiculous web site.
At today's price points, I can't see how people still put up with this horrific customer service.
Regarding the new Lionel support website, I've said it a few times before, they really need to bring back the previous functionality for searching for items vs replacement parts. And the old filters for item/replacement part starts with, contains and ends with.
Another item I noticed, some of the items are almost hidden, for example item 1933500 CN&W Alco FA. Go to the page for that item and the only item listed is the owners manual. Does not list the two A units. However if you search for 1933501 or 1933502 you will find the parts list for each of the engines. And the search only works for an exact match, type 193350 and you don't see any results. So unless you know the exact item number, you wont find the parts. On the old website, the two engines would be listed right under item 1933500 along with the breakdown of the individual items, made sense.
What's quite quite concerning, if you look at many of the high end sets from the past two years, there are virtually no replacement parts. Some only list just placeholders with only a manual.
I've worked with Engineering databases for the past 20 years, and I can say the Lionel support website is truly a mess. Definitely falls in to the category of lets get something new up and running, even if it doesn't work.
@Berkshire President posted:Lack of parts, lack of repair facilities, and to a lesser extent, lack of a 990 have caused me to permanently stop buying anything new from Big Orange.
I found everything that I needed for a repair to a Legacy 3751 back in January. Easy PZ and I was somewhat impressed at the time. But, in typical, modern Lionel fashion....."if it's not broke, we'll eventually screw it up." They, literally, can't do anything right any more. They actually spent time and money to make their web site.....worse.
I now need parts for a Legacy Big Boy and can NOT find them on this ridiculous web site.
At today's price points, I can't see how people still put up with this horrific customer service.
Which Legacy Big Boy are you looking for parts for ? I have one of the first Legacy versions, made around 2007 and surprisingly there a few parts listed for it. Searching just "Big Boy" shows 527 parts, way too many items to scroll thru. Entering the Lionel 5 digit PN found it, don't need the 6- prefix.
@ed h posted:What's quite quite concerning, if you look at many of the high end sets from the past two years, there are virtually no replacement parts. Some only list just placeholders with only a manual.
That's a very REAL concern, IMHO.
I can no longer justify or risk spending 2K+ on a steam engine when it's unclear if there are replacement parts available and there are essentially no local Qualified Service Stations any longer.
When the Warranty Period expires, you're pretty much left hanging in the wind if anything goes wrong.
Fortunately, there are are several excellent "repair guys" on this Forum who do an excellent job.
Unfortunately, even they need parts.
@ed h posted:Which Legacy Big Boy are you looking for parts for ? I have one of the first Legacy versions, made around 2007 and surprisingly there a few parts listed for it. Searching just "Big Boy" shows 527 parts, way too many items to scroll thru. Entering the Lionel 5 digit PN found it, don't need the 6- prefix.
6-11104. The first Legacy Big Boy #4014.
https://www.lionelsupport.com/...tive-Only-6101104001
My 4014 is perfect other than the smoke unit. But guess what parts aren't available?
My thoughts were to get an extra board(s) as well....but I don't think they're available either.
My model was at a local Service Station that, surprisingly, is qualified to make the repairs. I dropped it off in January and picked it up last week...untouched. The guy is retiring next month and doesn't want to crack open my model without first knowing the likely required parts are available. I can't blame him.
I had the unfortunate luck of dropping this model off while the website was taken down. Boo........
@Berkshire President posted:6-11104. The first Legacy Big Boy #4014.
https://www.lionelsupport.com/...tive-Only-6101104001
My 4014 is perfect other than the smoke unit. But guess what parts aren't available?
My thoughts were to get an extra board(s) as well....but I don't think they're available either.
My model was at a local Service Station that, surprisingly, is qualified to make the repairs. I dropped it off in January and picked it up last week...untouched. The guy is retiring next month and doesn't want to crack open my model without first knowing the likely required parts are available. I can't blame him.
I had the unfortunate luck of dropping this model off while the website was taken down. Boo........
I believe that smoke unit uses this AC regulator and is available.
691ACRG103
Its usually the regulator that fails, not the unit itself. Worth a shot.
Pete
@Norton posted:I believe that smoke unit uses this AC regulator and is available.
691ACRG103
Its usually the regulator that fails, not the unit itself. Worth a shot.
Pete
Pete - you just made my day. Absolutely worth a shot.
The loco was NIB until I ran it two Summers ago. It still has the plastic on the coal load. Everything else is tip-top on my model.
Big thanks for the tip!!
One other thing. This engine has early modular Legacy. Some of these got a 6 ohm resistor on the smoke units. Best order a few 8 ohm resistors just in case. A 6 ohm resistor will take out the AC regulator.
Pete
It sounds like Lionel simply doesn't want to be bothered with providing parts anymore... which was always a real attraction, I think. 😐
Mark in Oregon
I ordered parts from EBay, Brasseur, and Lionel for a few repairs I needed to make. I received the EBay and Brasseur parts in a few days. After three weeks, I received an email that my warranty repair from Lionel was shipped. The Lionel email didn’t include a link to track shipment like everyone else seems to do. I agree with others that they should be able to do better than this.
Wow...less than an hour ago, I posted a question here about some American Models parts. After getting a couple of replies, I went to the AM website and placed the order.
About 5 minutes ago, I received an email confirmation from them. 👍
Guess Lionel can't/ won't/ doesn't want to do the same... 🤔
Mark in Oregon
Remember, griping here does nothing but preach to the choir. An enmasse email deluge or phone calls from all offended parts ordering parties to Lionel may motivate them...then again, maybe not. But, at least they will know their customers are not happy.
I’m not griping, just pointing out reality. I did call and ask for an update on my order and was told it would would ship out “next week”. They said that they had a backlog to work through. I thanked them for the update.
To me, the delay is not a big deal since this is a hobby and not a life or death matter. Just seems longer and more difficult than it should be.
@Chuck Sartor posted:7,959 orders in a month? That's a 1,000 part orders a week. Something doesn't sound right. How could they humanly process all those?
or, one must wonder why so many parts are needed!
This thread reminds me of that old adage…
Patience is a virtue, catch it if you can Seldom found in women Never found in man
In all seriousness though, it can become very frustrating - at times - when dealing with Lionel. 🤣
I had problems with a NIB Cab1-L/Base1-L unit. I was able to talk to a support person at Lionel without any hassle. While she didn't seem to really understand the issues, she gave me an RMA number and sent a prepaid USPS label. She did say the turnaround was 5-6 weeks, which I'm okay with. I checked my online account a few hours later, and my case number was already there. About 5 days after I mailed the package I got an automated email from Lionel saying they received it. So now I'm in the 5-6 week period. The warranty experience up to now with Lionel has been about as good as any vendor. I know it's not the same thing as finding parts on their clunky website, but at least some groups in Lionel are doing a decent job.
FWIW, I designed a major DB and wrote a GUI to a search engine for a bespoke application for my former company. The DB grew to be a critical one, and it was huge. The searches on it took fractions of a second. I'm not sure what DB Lionel uses, I used MySQL because it was free and my company was cheap. The option to enter a partial term and do a search on the DB is pretty darn simple. I imagine it's the same for other DBs. So their failure on their parts search is due to poor coding and/or understanding of the customer requirement.
@choochoopaul posted:There have been 7,959 orders for parts in the system in a month.
Even if that is true, it has nothing to do with the problem of searching for parts on the site.
@texgeekboy posted:I had problems with a NIB Cab1-L/Base1-L unit. I was able to talk to a support person at Lionel without any hassle. While she didn't seem to really understand the issues, she gave me an RMA number and sent a prepaid USPS label. She did say the turnaround was 5-6 weeks, which I'm okay with. I checked my online account a few hours later, and my case number was already there. About 5 days after I mailed the package I got an automated email from Lionel saying they received it. So now I'm in the 5-6 week period. The warranty experience up to now with Lionel has been about as good as any vendor. I know it's not the same thing as finding parts on their clunky website, but at least some groups in Lionel are doing a decent job.
FWIW, I designed a major DB and wrote a GUI to a search engine for a bespoke application for my former company. The DB grew to be a critical one, and it was huge. The searches on it took fractions of a second. I'm not sure what DB Lionel uses, I used MySQL because it was free and my company was cheap. The option to enter a partial term and do a search on the DB is pretty darn simple. I imagine it's the same for other DBs. So their failure on their parts search is due to poor coding and/or understanding of the customer requirement.
The Lionel Support and Lionel Store website both appear to use Netsuite / Suite Commerce which is an Oracle product. I've worked with both oracle and sql databases and partial searches are just as easy as in sql. There should be no excuse why the online search function is so limited.
@CALNNC posted:Remember, griping here does nothing but preach to the choir.
I wasn't gripping either; just pointing out that it CAN be done.
Also: got another notification from AM last night, showing the USPS tracking number...👍
Thanks to the crew at American Models! 😊
Mark in Oregon
Other then length of time shipping, my biggest complaint is that when you order electronic boards, they did away with putting the part numbers on the parts bags. It is very frustrating when you receive 10 boards, and nothing is marked. This has to be remedied fast!!. Harry 
@Harry Henning posted:Other then length of time shipping, my biggest complaint is that when you order electronic boards, they did away with putting the part numbers on the parts bags. It is very frustrating when you receive 10 boards, and nothing is marked. This has to be remedied fast!!. Harry
Lol - Amazing! Maybe - they don't want to offend the other PCB's for having more memory .
@ed h posted:The Lionel Support and Lionel Store website both appear to use Netsuite / Suite Commerce which is an Oracle product. I've worked with both oracle and sql databases and partial searches are just as easy as in sql. There should be no excuse why the online search function is so limited.
Lol - If your database is setup right!
I have discovered that if you type A/F only in the search box things are starting to show up.....also if you type the engine number(6-48198 for the Y's) you might bring up the schematic for the engine. Maybe things are improving.............................................
Regards
Jackie
PS I have just looked up all my legacy loco's and saved these pages for quick reference later.......
@Strummer posted:I wasn't gripping either; just pointing out that it CAN be done.
Also: got another notification from AM last night, showing the USPS tracking number...👍
Thanks to the crew at American Models! 😊
Mark in Oregon
...and the parts were delivered today... 😁👍👍👍
Mark in Oregon
Ordered a radio board for my 2020 Y-3 15 days ago.........PENDING FULLFILLMENT .......today.......come on lionel get some employees to work .........this is hurting train sales you know.........does anybody carry these newer boards in stock........... tired of slow service......pre-legacy trains are beginning to look good again
Jackie
Over time, the rock solid TMCC steamers (most of which were made in Korea, not China)....upgraded to four chuffs and a Super Chuffer from GRJ....become more appealing, me thinks.
That said, my biggest gripe is not a terrible website or slow service/fulfillment.
My biggest concern is lack of replacement parts in the future for steam engines I recently paid around $2K for.
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