What happend to the steam chest effect on Legacy Locos?

Worked well.  I guess it's just a matter of models vs features.

It seems Lionel is "sprinkling" the vision line goodies onto the legacy line but not all locos have the same features. The operating steamchest locos lack the whistle steam effect and vice versa. The legacy mikes lack both. I think its a good way for Lionel to ad variety to its product line, "shaking things up" a bit from loco to loco. I'm sure adding all features to all locos multiplies the risk of failures/breakdowns not to mention a far more signifigant price increase as opposed to the fact that some new legacy locos are actually "less expensive" than their TMCC prdecessors, ie your em1.I think the biggest problem for your em1 to have the steamchest effect would be the rediculous overhang of the boiler versus the front drivers on turns requiring long unprototypical hoses of some kind that would likely kink or cause some other problem, not practical.

I recal that jon has said there just isn't space in every locomotive for every feature. Seems you can have Whistle Steam or Steam Chest steam but not both. Also I do not recall do many of the new steam engines have the very cool swinging bell feature?

I admit I am a bit hesitant about the steam chest feature, seems that it would spray a lot of smoke fluid onto your track

Rick,

I know what you are saying...but the hoses wouldn't be exposed in their entirety...they hoses can be positioned/made to look like they belong there and routed to the steam chests....I think I can make it work...I just have to get more info on the existing board and to whether or not it still has the function on the board or if it can be added....I think there's enough room to fit the equipment....I just have to figure out how I'm going to get it to work....See attached pic

Nick B

Middleton, MA

Chris,

Have you opened up and looked inside the boiler of that thing...a family of circus midgets could live in there....plenty of real estate...I have it opened up on the work bench at home...prepping it for paint.

PS: No smoke fluid blasts out of the holes...onto the track....just pure smoke...and lots of it.

Nick B

Middleton

Man an em1 with 4 steam chests all puffing an oil residue on the rails, slippery dirty track here we come.  I quit using the feature on my milwaukee s3 for that very reason, to much dirty track, rather have the whistle smoke, it works like prototype and the steam chests do not; both front and rear do not vent at the same time and the sound is now not correct with a constant hiss instead of the staggered hiss of the two alternating.