What is your most problematic locomotive?

I have a MTH Railking Lackawanna 4-6-2 pacific.  I regret buying it, which is hard to say.  The smoke unit has always been a problem, it gives a very poor uniform out put.  And has been for a while, stopping and resetting itself as if it is driving over dirty track.  But the track is pristine.  I have tried cleaning the rollers, I changed the wick.  You can see in the photo what it is doing. But me thinks it is going to need to go into the shed for a teardown by he skilled mechanics.  I hope that when it comes out on the road again , the problems will be solved but we will have to see,.

My most problematic engine has to be my Grandpa's 265E. I spent probably four years trying to get it to run for him when he comes over for Christmas. I cleaned up the motor, then the whistle died a few days before Christmas. The next year, I went to put it under the tree, and the cab crumbled. This past year the E-Unit stopped working (I still forced it to work under the tree, but I wasn't happy). Now that I went to fix the E-Unit, the wires started to crumble. I don't know what else could go wrong, but I don't want to think about it either...

My Beep.  It hates switches.

Yeah, BEEPs do, don't they?  Very annoying.  But I installed tethers between units to share power pickup and always ran at least two units, and the latest from RMT, with those lovely 'tween-locos tethers installed at the factory, are immune to that problem.  Still, when I rebuilt my BEEPWorld I created the strange gauntlet track so I could keep the reversing loop layout but not have any switches, since it is fun to run just a single BEEP (its all a person needs for anything less than about eight cars).

I guess that there are all sorts of problems that can plague locomotives.  Even the few responses so far have had a wide variety of problems.  Sometimes, when you take a new locomotive out of the box and try to run it, you have problems right away.  I guess it's like buying a new car (auto) and finding a bunch of little problems with it right away, and you're tempted to call it a "lemon".

 

My Weaver F6a Milwaukee Road Hudson started out with a problem:  It would only pull about two or three cars.  We found that the main driver axle wasn't moving in it's slides and virtually all the weight of the engine was on those two drivers.  The traction tire on the rear drivers wasn't even touching the rails.  A little adjustment to the slides by Gary at Weaver and it's now the best running traditional engine I have.

 

Similar but different: My new Lionel S-3 had almost no tractive effort when I first got it.  would hardly pull anything.  I checked for binding on the drivers, remembering the problem with the Weaver Hudson, but they were just fine.  Finally, I found that the trailing truck was not moving up and down properly, binding in the radius limiting slot.  Here, the weight which should have been on the rear driver was being supported by the trailing truck.  Repositioning the spacer cured the problem and now that engine can walk off with over 25 cars up my 2% grades with ease.

 

These "toys" are complicated and sophisticated mechanical things with lots of parts involved.  In either of the above cases, testing the engines at the factory before shipping would not have found the problems.  They both ran, stayed on the track, responded to the Command Control and looked perfectly correct.  They're not like the old Marx trains which were cheap, simple and always operated.  These are complicated engines and do require a bit of testing, adjusting, tuning-up or what ever you have to do. 

 

To me, this is part of the hobby.  I like the challenge, own more than 50 locomotives, all with TMCC, Legacy or DCS, and getting them to operate properly, keeping them running that way. caring and lubricating them is enjoyable.  Even my visitors seem to be forgiving when something fails while they are watching or operating the trains.  As to the question of the most problematic engine, I'm not sure which one wins that prize.  Sometimes when I have had to really work on, modify or otherwise repair an engine, I tend to appreciate that engine even more.  Maybe became a favorite of mine because I had a hand in making it what it is, now.

 

Paul Fischer

 

By far, by far my most problematic loco is the 3rd Rail Metro North FL9. I cannot get it to run. That's because it's not here.

 

I ordered it when I was a young man and now I am considering pre paying my funeral expenses. That way, if I ever receive the loco, I will consider my time with it a bonus.

 

Scrapiron the Tired

the only one that ever gives me any trouble is my MTH M1a....#@#%$#@!!!! traction tires!

MPC era locomotives are in general the problematic ones for me, particularly a couple of the diesels and electrics I have.  Don't get me wrong, they run, just not well.  I have a Pennsylvania EP-5 that runs, but it has the MPC shake.  Even after ballasting it a bit, it still runs wobbly and it is not a nice train to watch.  Similarly, I have an Amtrak Alco and it has the same issue.  These are trains from when I was a kid, so they are old but they were that way when they were new.  And then there is the 8753 GG1 that never ran right -- one of the worm drives was always off center and it would bind.  That I resolved by purchasing post-war GG1 trucks and grinding down the armature to fit a bit (the 8753 had holes in the bottoms of the power trucks).  The other engines I have all run well, but 1970s into early 1980s MPC items are the problem children for me. 

I take on MPC Era FA units as a challenge as they come challenged right from the box. I redecorated and beefed up two in the R.I maroon freight scheme. The other came as R.I 8563 which seemingly could not pull it's own weight. A subcategory to this question might be, "What locomotives are your favorites and yet are also the most problematic?" What is frustrating is having to rework an issue that could have been resolved by a better design. One that is obvious. Under ballasted and lacking dual motors yet having a motor that's barely a motor in of itself yet having a really sharp decoration can be frustrating, especially if you want a consist of more than four trailing loads. 

Any 1xxx series "Scout" loco with the 'shark fin' reversing control lever on top.

 

Mine is a 3rd Rail Yellowstone. It has always had poor static ridden sound and broke a linkage the very first time I ran it. It also will derail like yours if the rail even thinks about being less than 072 diameter rail. Loosening track screws in the one area allowed it to run. The other area it derails from a section straight to an 072 section track. Absolutely stunning door stop.

I have a postwar Lionel 671. fix and fix and refixed about

1000 times. it just keeps giving me fits. drive gears, armatures,

e units. and it still doesnt run. Im about to chuck it!

Ha ha ha ha ha ha !!!!!! Classic.

There are weeks when apparently I am "snake bit" and whichever engine I am running is my most problematic engine.

 

If I have to pick one stinker from the bunch though, it would be a set of Lionel B&M GP-9's with TMCC.  It is impossible to simply set the speed and let them run like you can with an MTH engine.  I'm constantly having to finesse my TMCC remote throttle.  The one powered unit will from time to time, simply decide to begin derailing in random spots that it has successfully navigated a 1000 times and close inspection reveals absolutely nothing wrong with either the track or the wheels.  (Ok, at least several of these were wires binding against the cab figure inserts which I have since removed.)  Often as not, the derailing stops as quickly and mysteriously as it began.

 

My other gripe with these engines was that Lionel never painted the cab doors and walkway steps white as was prototypical on the B&M "Bluebirds".  Deciding that this might be causing bad karma, I broke down over the holidays and painted the steps and cab doors myself.  They did seem to run better afterwards.  Honest. 

 

Curt

Maybe I'm just lucky, but apart from a few minor (and easily solved,) problems, all of my locomotives are trouble free. So, none would qualify as being in any way problematic.  

>>My most problematic loco is my Lionel UP 9000 4-12-2.  It's a lovely loco, and I particularly wanted to have a model of it - as far as I know the prototype had the largest set of non-articulated drivers made.  And that seems to be the problem: the very long set of drivers, even though many are blind (i.e., without flanges) makes it very sensitive to track issues<<

 

 

I think its my favorite:  my LionMaster T-1.  But in its defense, it also has the most hours of any engine I own.  The power leads from the rollers wear where the driver trucks pivot, the smoke unit needs attention each year, the METAL gears are getting worn.  But I love her...

 

Jon

"Maybe I'm just lucky, but apart from a few minor (and easily solved,) problems, all of my locomotives are trouble free. So, none would qualify as being in any way problematic. "

 

oh, you never should have said this...  

I was hoping someone would comment on the 9000, too.  Mine doesn't like switches - even if they are wide radius, perfectly level, etc. - one reason I built my big loop without any.   I really like mine as a model though, and do run it sometimes, but it is a bit ungainly and somehow I can't avoid noticing how those trailing drivers are sometimes completely off the rail . . .

Scrapiron,  

 

Scott Mann was showing the Metro North and New Haven FL-9s on his table at O Scale West a couple of weeks ago.  Both of them are absolutely stunning models.  I really liked the Metro North version.  The Metro North has all the detail that was added and looks fabulous.  

 

I only ordered the NH version.  I wish now that I had ordered both.  My wallet can only go so far.

 

Scott told me that the container with the models is going to arrive at 3rd Rail Headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area, CA on Feb 15.  The container is already at sea.  The models will be shipped shortly thereafter.  You may have yours by the end of the month.  I am lucky.  The 3rd Rail HQ is about a half hour drive from my home.  I am going to pick mine up in person.

 

Joe

I have numerous engines that annoy me but most likely its more me than the engines.

 I have an on going consistency issue with some of my PS2/PS3 scale engines. That’s already posted in another thread a few pages back by now. I have an extremely troubling issue with a Lionel Scale Dreyfuss Hudson (6-28084).

The engine came straight out of the box with issues. First it wont start to move below 8.5 volts and when it starts at 9volts it takes off at 40 + scale MPH. I fully described this issue in a topic many pages back by now.

The engine shows no sign of damage or broken parts and does not have the broken signal wheel that these engines are prone too as per our very knowledgeable board personnel.

 I tried to correct/modify the issue by installing a ERR Commander M board.

This caused the engine to start off slowly and run smooth but left the top speed at only about 50-scale mph. With this board installed the engine now speeds up about 25 mph when the whistle is blown and the sound is garbled all the time. Multiple transformers have been tried with no success.

 

To be fair I am working with ERR to correct the issues and they have been VERY helpful and accommodating so far. But I have not gotten the issue corrected yet and to no fault of theirs.

 

I have never really had issues with my post war/prewar engines. Maybe I don’t expect as much from them either.

 

Oh yeah I have the Beep switch issue also.

I prefer to say that every locomotive has its own special characteristics, and some of them have special needs. To imply that a locomotive is problematic could be detrimental to their self-esteem. 

 

No matter what I did I couldn't get this puppy moving

 

That's a easy one too answer. It's my grandfather's Lionel #408. He bought it new in 1937. It's basically NIB  with all the paperwork and everything, including the original Lionel tissue wrapping.

I have the same problem with I think is the first 3 Lionel Master engines.  Challenger, T-1 & NW (1218) Lionmaster version.  I operate in conventional mode.  Even though Lionel states will run in either conventional or command, they won't.  There is no switch to turn off the "Odd-no-see" speed control.  All three have been sent back to Lionel and finnaly I was told they just need to run in command.  By the way I took them to a friend's house who uses TMCC and all three work perfectly.  My results are jerking running, lights that sometime work, no smoke, and sound that cuts in and out.  These loco's are beautiful but are not designesd to work at less than 1`8 volts.  I got that from the horses mouth - Lionel!  The boards on these 3 warly Lionmaster engines do not have the switch to turn off the speed control.  The boards do not allow you to turn it off with the Cab 1.  I am told that the only hope is to replace one of the boards (a later one that will allow you to turn off the speed control with the Cab 1)but they are very expensive. Later Lionmasters have a switch on the bottom of the loco so I am told or have the right board to reset with the Cab 1.  In Lionel's defense they finnally sent me 2 boards that I can put in these loco's so I can turn off the speed control with the ca 1.  I have yet to undertake this because I just don't have the experience dealing with advanced electronics.  What a joke!

 

Paul Edgar

 

Paul Edgar

How much you want for that 1218?

 

Jon 

The next one I run

Jon,

My engine is not the scale 1218.  I have the Lionmaster version which is 12??I do think it looks wonderful and some day I will change out the board so I can get it out of "Odd-no-see"

 

Paul Edgar

Send me your problems! I love challenges!

Chuck

www.only3rail.com

chuck it my way....

Southwest Hiawatha - Is the MTH 4-12-2 scale size?  I had seen one a few years ago and was under the impressive its wheels were a tiny bit smaller and it was about 1/2 inch shorter, but I did not see them side by side so I don't know.  If it is scale, I may try to find one just to have both.  Really an iconic loco in my eyes.

Lee

 

As far as I know the MTH 4-12-2 is scale. It is a Premier item and these are normally scale dimensions, if not always exactly prototypical paint jobs. As I mentioned, I ran a 3rd Rail one next to an MTH one and I certainly didn't notice any size discrepancy. The drivers could be a tad undersized; the drivers on most 3-rail steam engines are. They don't look out of proportion to me. As far as the length goes, I haven't measured it against a scale drawing, but half an inch would be hard to notice on something that size. 

 

Here are a couple of pictures of the MTH locos in operation. A friend and I brought ours to the toy train museum to run them together. The last pic shows two of the MTH units doubleheaded. 

 

My most problimatic locomotive is a Lionel scale camelback that I bought 6 years ago. It has TMCC but no Odyssey speed control. As a result, it has 2 speeds; crawl and fly-off-the-tracks fast. I sent it to a gentleman who installs command control in locomotives to get an ERR Cruise Commander installd but alas, it wouldn't fit...lucky me. I talked to Marty Fitzhenry about putting PS2 in it but I haven't gotten that far yet. I can honestly say that I hate this engine. If Marty can't work his magic on it, the next time that it will see my layout it will be as the centerpiece of a new locomotive scrapyard scene. Cheers.

Joe Barker,

Thanks for the good news.

I guess I'll have to live a little longer.

 

Scrappy

I have the MTH 4-12-2  CAB9009 and it has never had a problem on lionel 072 switches or Ross 096 switches all mainline curve on layout is 096 and it is a scale engine,shows up in the 2008 MTH Catalog.

Mikey

My Lionel Northern Pacific Atlantic released a number of years ago. It has the TMCC lurch which is quite significant, about a 4 to 6 inch jump when it receives its start-up command. And more troublesome is the driver wheels are starting to flake away with some kind of metal fatigue.

Thank you.  I'm encouraged.  It certaintly seems to handle track issues and switches better than my Lionel.  With several other reports on similar problems with that, and now two reports on the MTH doing well, It seems clear it is the better loco for my layout, if i can find one.

My worst engine is the Lionel AEC 57 Switcher.  That loc runs horribly.  It bucks and grinds forwards and reverse.  It will speed up and slow down as I hear the drive train grind.   I've tried replacing the armature to no avail.  There is only two gears in the thing, you would think it would run easily.   The front coupler was busted right out of the box when I bought it.  I repaired that but am sorry I didn't just return it.  The first time I took it apart I found one of the screw holes was stripped right from the factory.  I had to repair that as well so the shell would stay on properly.  Its probably worth more in parts for its tmcc components than it is whole.  It just sits on a shelf as it just irritates me when I try to run it.  I have other switchers and they run smooth as silk (but they are older LTI stuff).

No problematic locomotives on my roster.  If something doesn't perform properly, it goes back into its box or into a display case if I like how it looks.  

 

The latter was the case, for example, with my new Lionel 2-truck Shay.  Runs fine by itself, but derails cars on curves (discussed at length in another person's thread here recently).  But I like the appearance of this locomotive--I like all geared locomotives--and until such time (if ever) as I can fit my layout with wider curves, it will be a display item.