@Hannibal-St Joseph RR posted:Beta 3.0
2-minutes of run time evaluation:
Cow catcher shorting out on center rail
Rubber tires rolling. May need to buy Lionel tires to replace these with- the rubber seems too pliable perhaps.
Shorting on center rail - while on low profile tubular track (Marx and Lionel)
This is a design/manufacturing defect I will need to work around.
Note the metal under the coupler sags. If it didn’t sag, it wouldn’t touch the center rail.
I like the engine sound and momentum. The horn sounds toy-like.
Couple of paint smudges behind the rear doors, but otherwise looks very good.
Rubber tires rolling after 2 minutes of running at lowest speed with no load on tubular track.
I agree with earlier comments that the couplers are almost non-functional when using manually. I’ll try them on an uncoupling track today, once I tape up the front to prevent shorting.
I paid $210 for Lionel’s lowest end GP38 in 2020, and $188 for this Menards engine with the same features 18 months later. With Lionel I get dealer support, increased resale value, blue tooth, iPhone app, future compatibility, and spare tires. Overall I think I will be much better off paying 6% more for Lionel quality and support. Saturday I’ll post in the Saturday Switcher thread this engine’s run through my track. Last Saturday I ran the Lionel GP38 and posted on the Saturday Switcher thread.
Fun to test a brand new product! If I can figure out the tire situation, and after I fix the center rail shorting problem, this F unit should work fine for pulling my Amtrak cars, with no switching duties requiring a functional coupler.
Maiden Voyage: rough ride over the K-Line O42 manual switch; otherwise seemed to traverse the Gargraves flex at about 34” diameter, K-Line O42 auto switch, two Marx O34 auto switches, and Marx 34” dia curves and Lionel straights as well as the Lionel GP38.
One point, not to quibble, but comparing a Lionel engine you got in 2020 to what Menards is or isn't these days may not be relevant. The price of Lionel's products have shot up and are likely to go up even more. You are correct IMO about price vs quality, to me saving a couple of bucks and getting something that to me is inferior doesn't make sense. And yeah, it could be a better bargain to buy a lionchief engine used than this new, kind of like back in the day buying a Yugo new or a used Toyota or the like, no comparison.
