Lionel Legacy Southern Pacific F7 AA Set

Hi Brad • Looks cool on the rails in the YT Video.

Bad Day at Black Rock - Great opening sequence with the SP rolling across the desert filmed from a helicopter...

and another shot (not from the movie)

Great looking set Brad, enjoy them!

Brad,

Wow they really put out some smoke, great sounds too. Good luck with them.

One question, doesn't your wife mind you running trains on a white rug? My wife would use me for bait.

JohnB

Very nice. Enjoy your new purchase.

Very nice purchase.

They really look great.

Art

Love those SP F units, nice video.

a few of my F units also,

Hi JohnB,

Thanks for checking out the post. I'm 16 years old so there is no wife to bother by running trains on the carpet, however today I'm building myself a layout so I will no longer have to run them on the ground.

Brad

David, great photo.  Those are great engines.

B-dog, those are sharp looking F7s.  They look and sound great.  I have a set(different roadname) on thier way to me so, I really enjoyed your video as a preview.  Enjoy yours!

Santa brought me the same SP's.  Yet mine have been a disappointment.

I put them on the track and powered them up and it feels like the gears are grinding / stuck.  I put some grease on them and really nothing improved.

The engine is jerking reminiscent of the odyssey jerk.  I even turned the Odyssey off, no luck... GRRR

John

Hi John,

I had the same problem when I first got it. The problem is the traction tires are rubbing against the "break pads" on the side frames. (Test this by running it without the side frames, it should run smoothly). There are two easy solutions: Remove the traction tires all together, or try to mess with the side frames to get them not to rub on the tires. I fixed the problem by adjusting the side frames and replacing the tires. Hope this helps,

Brad

I have several F3/F7 Legacy engines and everyone exhibits jerky operation and slow speed. Everyone had the brake detail rubbing against the traction tires. Lionel will provide thinner ones if you show them your purchase receipt. I would not try to bend the detail. 

 Run them fast and you will start to see shredded tires. That's a sure indication.

Same issue.  There was a thread around here in 2013 - i found it with a quick search.  Recommendation was to change to MTH DE-18's.  I did, and it worked.  I still am not super happy, as I really need to drive up the speed to get the engine started.  I should take the side frames off and see if that helps, as there might still be some binding with the DE-18's...

In another thread, Marty Fitzhenry recommened using MTH tires that are thinner and they will clear the brake details.  They are part # DE-0000018 and can be ordered direct from MTH for about $0.80 each.  You need to place a $10 minimum order.  Everyone says the F-units run fine once replacing the tires.  I just ordered some last night for my new F7 set.

I will call Lionel tomorrow.  This is disappointing.

What happens if I go the shredding of the tire route?  will it trash the traction tire all together or just rub it down to a level where I can use it?  I am ok with if it rubs it to a level where I can run the engine.

John

John,

If pulling power is not a big concern for you, then you could completely take off the tires. I fixed mine by adjusting the position of the side frames (you can angle them out slightly), and by changing the tires. On one truck I had to use pliers to slightly bend the tabs that hold the side frame to the trucks, however it is not noticeable. 

Brad 

I would go without tires while you wait for new ones, or get some MTH DE-18's.

I ran mine about 20 feet and they were chewed-up beyond belief.  It trashed the tire completely, but I happened to have 4 spare DE-18's on-hand.

Love the livery theme for those locomotives. I have an MTH F unit and associated passenger cars that came as a starter set. The Santa Fe livery looks great on any F unit, but honestly, the F units are really cool looking in any livery.

I cut all the traction tires off the engine and now it rolls much much better.

I did not call Lionel yet.  I will do that shortly.

John

All you have to do is call lionel.  I did and they sent me a new set of thinner traction tires at no charge.

I wouldn't risk it, call Lionel. They will send out a free set of tires as a replacement as noted above.

I bought a New Berk and it was missing its dummy coupler. They sent a free one in the mail.

cweden; Actually, I ground down the brake shoes with a Dremel burr/grinding wheel on three different F unit sets I have as I had no access to a local hobby shop that might carry MTH traction tires (DE-18). It does work if getting some MTH tires is not an easy option.

The biggest issue with not addressing the interference is possible overheating of the can motors while doing the rubber-grinding routine. Not sure is SantaFe fan has any input as to what it does to the speed control electronics during these episodes either.

I had to grind down frames on my Wabash, L/N, and would have had to do my SP units as well except Marty Fitzhenry was kind enough to include new ones when I bought my SP units from him last Fall.

So far I have not had this problem, but it's good to know what to do if the problem arises.

I have the War Bonnet SANTE FE F 3's, legacy. Also the Frisco ABA set, new in the box. Good Thread, Beautiful Southern Pacific AA units. Happy Railroading

I had the same problem when I received the SP F-7 Black Widow and called Lionel and they sent the correct tires with no charge they are well aware of this ongoing problem,the tires that come with the locos are too fat hence the brake shoe interference.

Mikey

leapinlarry: I would bet you will find your Frisco F's have the traction tire issue due to the time frame in which they were manufactured. You may want to pry them out of the box and check.

Great looking engines. SP just has one of the best color schemes. Enjoy

Steve