has it been a good experience?
Bob C.
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Just Got mine.
Used with problems, it's like working on a fine Swiss watch.
It does not get better than this.
choochoopaul posted:Used with problems, it's like working on a fine Swiss watch.
Huh?! Which one are we talking about?? If you mean the the pre-Legacy, RS5 sets they are seriously problematic and definitely not suited to any but the biggest layouts.
That said, I run the engines and four cars I have, that actually work most of the time, on my carpet layout whenever I can and they are great - seriously entertaining what with the opening doors, lights and sounds. A great idea that was way ahead of the manufacturer’s ability to deliver.
I run mine from time to time. It works good, but went back to Lionel early on and had most of the boards replaced.
All good now though!! 
Acquired ours second hand.
Fiddly to get the couplings aligned but you do get better at it with practice. Once it’s on the layout it tends to stay on for a few weeks.
Touch wood never had a serious issue with it. Very impressive set and great for train shows especially on this side of the pond.
Nick
I have it on the layout currently. I love running it because of the insane number of cool features (pantographs, opening doors, etc.) However, I will admit it is a very problematic set. One car's lights blink every time I open the left side doors. I have never gotten the tilting feature to work right, but it doesn't really bother me. I second the statement that you need to have a large layout for this set to work properly, but when it does work, it is quite the treat.
Good to know regarding the reliability issues with set - when it was first released in 2006 I was keen to pick one up (and still am to be honest) although perhaps I should wait for a modern iteration/release. I was so enamored with the set, it didn't even occur to me that perhaps all of those bells and whistles (pun intended) could result in reliability issues.
- Best time for me was buying the Acela, the second best time was selling it. Lionel had it longer then I did.
Dave
Funny that the Lionel set seemed to have as many reliability problems as the real train.
Jim Waterman posted:Funny that the Lionel set seemed to have as many reliability problems as the real train.
New technology always has its kinks at first.
Good Morning Forum Folks.
Thanks for all the Acela tips and issues. they have helped me get my set operational. One trick I would add to the setup list, is to use your cell phone camera to look at the end of the train to see that you have IR signal.
Then when you add the next car in the consist you know it is getting the control signal.
As I work through the issues, I do notice how well made and assembled this set is. The components used in it's manufacturing are first class. You have in some cases 5 motor assemblies in each passenger car.
As of this morning I have 4 cars operating in the consist, two more for today's work session.
I will post updates as work and operating sessions continue.
Mine is still in the box... complete with the 3 car expansion set... one of these days
I did get new traction tires on it - took me 2hours! 
Mine was the best and worst train I ever purchased. Something that has not been mentioned in this post is that if you have two curved sections of track, assure that you have at least one train car length before going on the next curve section. If you do not have this capability on your layout turn off the tilt feature. Also, I used electrical tape around each connection to assure that the IR signal would go to the next car. If I still had the train, I would use black gorilla tape instead of the electrical tape. I would still have the train if I had not had to send either the engines or specific cars back to Lionel six times and the last return, when an engine was defective upon the return repair, was the last straw for me. If they ever re-issued the train I would try it again in a heartbeat. When It worked it was the best train I have ever had.
Way overengineered. I would like to see/ have a set without the opening doors, tilting, adjusting pantographs, etc. The features would be nice if they worked, but I would rather have a well detailed, well operating set than a broken tech savvy one.
I have seen some videos of it on YouTube looks really cool to me, but I don't have a big enough layout to run it on, not to mention I probably would not be able to buy it anyway. Also, not sure if I would want to run it since it sounds like it has quite a few problems.
Friday Workday Report:
One more passenger car working completely by remote control.
Only the cafe car still to be worked on. The first thing to learn about this Acela train set is, wait of one command to complete before sending another command.
At club night last night, it was the show of shows.
Please post your issues, and I will help you with your set.
Remember it's always about the trains.
Saturday Progress Report
Club Open House today, we will see which is a bigger crowd pleaser, Thomas the Tank Engine, or the ACELA.
Still no luck on the club car. Just might try to brighten up the interior lighting, so much for the mood lighting.
Still repairing and restoring the Acela sets.
Working on the eighth set as we speak.
Referrals coming from Lionel Service direct.
Contact me if you need help with your set. E-Mail address in profile.
