Guys,
Many of you have known me for all the problems I have had with Lionel Flyer items. I told myself (an others) that I would NEVER buy another. Well, (as they say) never say never. I was taken by the UP Geep paint job, and the fact that I always wanted a Gilbert one, but couldn't find one for a decent price. So when the new ones were announced with their better looking trucks, and for such a great price, I bit the bullet. Well, the bullet bit back.
My Geep came in, and I tested it for loose trucks, screws, faulty paint and then put it on the track. Powering up the remote (with new batteries) all seemed well! I gave it a lube and it was a bit hesitant, but in a few laps, it smoothed out nicely. Quieter too. I fired up the Blue Tooth app, and it gave me more features! Great! The loco wouldn't pull more than 8 cars without spinning the wheels, but that's all I wanted to pull anyway. I was even going to paint the pilot steps to match, and mixed up a batch of paint to do that when I ran the train around to a convenient spot to take the locomotive off the track. The front headlight wasn't working. Now, if it were the ElectroCouplers, I'd not even bat an eye since I don't plan on doing any switching with the thing anyway. But a HEADLIGHT? I suspect a cut or shorted out wire. Am I going to attempt the repair? No way. The board is probably fried from an LED shorting out. Someone else reported a cut wire due to the flywheel cutting into it. It's going back! Lionel strikes again!
