VL Big Boy Part

Boiler front door.

BREESE,

  My VL BB came like that too.  All I did was put it back on the two sets of hinges on the boiler and gently squeezed the hinges shut with a pair if needle nose pliers.  Simple fix but someone did not do their job in QC.

I thought about that but the connectors have a "small post" on the top and bottom that hooks into the hinge, one of the "post is broken off. Don't know if Lionel will send me a part, if not, I will buy one if I can find one.

Brent

I would send it back at their expense and have them fix it. This is after all an engine with a $2700 list price!!

When I recently got mine back from service the bell from the front of the engine was laying in the bottom of the box... the little plastic screw that holds it on is stripped... come on Lionel... you need to do better!

I believe the rate of issues we see on this forum is part QC, part shipping damage.  Don't ship these heavy locos in particular unless you need to do so.

It seems that this top line loco is having some teething pains. Somewhat disappointing.

Bob C.

I also have had ZERO issues with my new bigboy!!!

Marty,
No one loves Lionel more than me and don't misunderstand I LOVE this loco!

Looks.. sounds.. detail.. performance.. and just sheer presence it's got it all!

It is also understood that any engine with this much new technology is going to have some initial problems. But when parts start falling off a $2K loco before you can even put it on the rails that's a good reason to complain loudly!

And what exactly is it supposed to mean to the person with the loco that has a problem that there are many more out there problem free? Is it supposed to make me feel better as I box up and ship out my brand new high dollar loco that there are 20 other guys out there happy playing with theirs? That doesn't make it any better when someone opens the box and finds parts in the bottom....

RD,

  You nailed it!!!   When I opened up the VL BB box and unraveled the plastic the first thing I said was WOW.  What a great looking engine YES!!!  Then all of a sudden the boiler door was beneath the boiler and front pilot, my heart sank.  I felt like, what the heck,is this.  Then thoughts of packing it up and sending it back sent shivers on me.  I looked at it and just did what I had to do.  I crossed my fingers and put in on the tracks and hoped nothing else was broken, but everything works great.

  QUALITY CONTROL should be number one thing to insure that the customer gets what they are paying for.  Whether it is paying for a 2K engine or a $400 starter set, it comes down to "the quality goes in, before the name goes on". 

  I too LOVE LIONEL products.  The service dept.A No.1, GUYZ at YORK, top notch,  The products, outstanding,  but please have better QUALITY CONTROL.

Marty all I'm saying is it adds nothing to the conversation to tell posters with problems how well your engine is working or how you have x number of locos with zero problems. You say you are not waving the Lionel banner but that's exactly what you are doing...take it from someone who has been just as guilty of the same thing in the past.

You are trying to make sense to someone who by their own admission doesn't own or ever plan to own a Vision Line engine and the chicken littles who always see the sky falling..

 In the meantime someone with real issues who looks to you as someone who knows what they are talking about sees the  .."I'm not having any problems" line and thinks yea right..

This is all nothing more than my opinion based on years of participation and observation on the boards....take it for what its worth....

You know what.  I'll just stay out of these threads.  Twist my words how you want.

All I know is,if you have a problem with a Lionel locomotive new out of the box,Lionel will be happy to make it right.They are NOT stupid.They know they can't afford to give you a botched product.They want you to be happy so you will continue to buy their products.This is how smart companies stay in business.This is why they spend a Fortune annualy to operate a service department.Nick

Whatever... your words speak for themselves I don't twist anything.. you just don't seem to get what I'm saying so lets just let it be.

RD

My apologies.  We both have strong opinions.  I respect yours.  Water under the bridge.

WOW...talk to personal attacks.

Somebody got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning...

I guess some people on here would have a field day if they bought a new car or truck today with all the recalls..

Somewhere up above, in this thread, someone mentioned something about shipping these engines and the possible inherent problems with that.  I agree.  These engines are heavy and the shipping carriers do not spend the time to read the labels and handle the boxes with the same care and diligence we do.  I have worked in the shipping industry and despite all the careful loading, etc., one good bump and the box is on the floor of the truck.   My LHS got two of these engines, one is good the other went back for the same problem the OP has, plus the front pilot/drive block was bent and barely missed hitting the center rail.  It clearly looked as if the engine had landed on its nose.  FWIW.

No apologies necessary Marty...no biggie... we usually see eye to eye on these issues and I respect your opinion and your understanding of how the techie stuff works.

I guess I'm  just having trouble communicating my point today.. definitely no personal attack.. I hope that is understood..

Understood and moving on...

So let let me get this straight.... the guy whose slogan is " Live the dream, own the best! LIONEL !" ....is complaining that Marty E is flying the Lionel banner...

IMO MartyE tries to be a positive influence towards the hobby,certainly a valuble asset to this often negative forum.

Besides, as Charly mentioned, what if it was damaged in shipping. The bottom boiler hinge sure looks like its broken. One good drop on the end of the box nose first, by a UPS/Fedex employee could be the culprit. Not much Lionel can do about that outside of having you fly to china and pickup your loco yourself.

 If Breece would have ( gone to the source) contacted Lionel he could have already had it on its way back for repair.

When something else you own breaks or is defective do you go to an online forum to show folks "hey look its broke"? Or do you go to the source, store, dealer, whatever and exchange it its a small item, phone, blu ray etc or schedule a repair for a larger item, appliance, car, house etc.

Like most everything, toy trains are" man made", man made things break. Thats what a warranty is for.

Can we just move on? Ugh.  RD and I have.

Sure Marty. I just think somewhere theres a UPS/Fedex employee giggling at this thread.

BReece, from what you are saying and from looking at the pictures, one of the four "small posts" or pins on the boiler front cover is missing? From the picture you posted, it appears to be the upper one on the bottom when mounted on the front of the boiler.

Also, in the front boiler picture, the upper hinge of the two top hinges appears to be bent upwards. I assume this is allowed the cover to come off.

I would think the one pin or post on the bottom and the two on top will hold the boiler cover in place, along with the magnet in the boiler.

I would reinstall it, using needle nose pliers as others have done, and see if it works alright.

Unfortunately as with anything there will be problems from time to time and these BB's are no different.  Sadly things break and while frustrating they are repairable...these BB's were Big Bucks but that doesn't make them bullet proof or any less likely to suffer breakage.  I would contact Lionel and they will make it right for you....and TRY not to let it bother you too much.....things happen and I have no doubt you will have many enjoyable years of running your BB. 

Hello folks, thanks for all the replies, I have reread my post and  find that all I said was my VLBB was back from Lionel (I should have said Lionel Repair) and all I wanted was the name of the part, this information has been received.

By the way, the part was not broken the first time the engine was sent to Lionel.

An email was sent to Lionel right after the inquiry about the name of the part.

Brent

The real problem here is ALL sellers of any products don't have quality control any more , it saves all the company's  save a payroll by having YOU the buyer to be the quality control and look what money they save by not having to pay another salary!

Plus no carrier care about your packages any more. I do believe that UPS is the /worst due to my experience's with them

 USPS is the best when it come to shipping damage!

Alan