2-10-10-2 Arrival (and problems)

@RickO posted:

Lionel stopped including modules several years ago. Cost savings?

That or to help push the sensor tracks. They are great products just frustrating they discontinued the IRV2 for the probably 75% (not a real number just pulled it out of the air) of us that don’t use Fastrack.

@zhubl posted:

That or to help push the sensor tracks. They are great products just frustrating they discontinued the IRV2 for the probably 75% (not a real number just pulled it out of the air) of us that don’t use Fastrack.

I totally agree Zachariah.  I got back into the hobby in late 2017 and had no clue IRV2 or LCS was such a cool offering so that show how bad the marketing of it was I don't miss much but I totally missed this and I am still playing catchup with some things but I am back to having a pretty good handle on stuff again. Crazy I was only out of the mainstream for 3 to 3 1/2 years.

@BillYo414 posted:

Looks like I didn't get a flawless locomotive either. I'm not sure if it's warranty worthy though.

1. I'm binding somewhere when I go forward. I think I identified it as the forward drivers on the right hand side. I'm not sure if something needs tightened or loosened. The voltage on the transformer drops to 15. Probably not good for the engine.
2. I don't know if a speaker is loose or what but the rattling is supreme when I blow the whistle.
3. Most fascinating, when I blow the whistle with the whistle steam on, smoke comes out around the front of the boiler where the headlight is I suspect this one is related to acoustics. I haven't taken the engine apart but I doubt the whistle steam has any parts anywhere near the front of the boiler. I figure the speaker is vibrating at the right frequency to make the joint separate a little bit. I should have checked it with the other whistles.

Here is how I started it up: I added smoke fluid to both units and then started up with all smoke off. I just wanted to hear the literal bells and whistles and see the bell swing. I think that's one of my favorite parts about this locomotive. I would love to add it to others. Anyway, I ran it forward and it hung up. I thought a roller got caught on a switch but soon discovered that wasn't it. Then I powered down to turn on stack smoke. It came on and worked well. Very happy with that. Then I ran in reverse to check for binding. It did but not so much. I powered down and turned on whistle steam. Powered up, whistle steam was slow to start but seemed ok. I didn't use it much for fear of burning anything up. Ran forward and noticed the binding seemed to occur when the front drivers where at the end of their stroke. Powered down to turn on blowdown steam. Tested the blowdown and it's pretty awesome but again, I didn't use it a ton until we know more about what's burning up and why. I pushed the engine forward while running at low speed and that seemed to stop some binding. I'm suspecting I have loose linkage somewhere.

Anybody else get the binding?

I hope @Bruk gets his soon so he can tear it apart haha!

Bruks breakdown where he mentions loose linkage as well as smoke coming out of the smokebox door:

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...9#159096765106531509

@zhubl posted:

That or to help push the sensor tracks. They are great products just frustrating they discontinued the IRV2 for the probably 75% (not a real number just pulled it out of the air) of us that don’t use Fastrack.

I'm pretty bummed about that, but I quickly went out and I think I found enough stock to finish my LCS wiring, but that doesn't help without Fastrack much.  I don't see any of the Lionel 85383 expansion sleds available anymore.  OTOH, Factory Direct Hobbies has 25 of the Lionel 6-85296 IRV2 still in stock.  It may be a little more expensive, but you can buy more than one, you get two sensors in each pack.  It's about twice the price of the expansion pack to do it this way, but you can still get it done.

You'll have to do a search on it, direct links are frowned upon for non-sponsors.

You're the MVP @RickO I been in the basement working on surface prep for my backdrop. I would have 100% missed this.

I hope he mentions something about the headlight coming on when it feels like it haha

Unfortunately, the frustrating saga continues with my model. I thankfully received my 2-10-10-2 yesterday with minor ware on the shipper. At first, I thought all was well after I read the invoice and saw there was an owners manual, but I was wrong. I got the engine down stairs and started unwrapping it. The first thing that ticked me off was the tender deck plate floating around the box. I had wrote in my letter that it had no screws and it seems they ignored it or were lazy. Next, I unwrapped the tender and to my shock one of the water hatches was forced open and the brass hinges were on the brink of snapping off. This is what really pushed me over the edge. Expecting for the worst I moved over to the locomotive and I found bent handrails, a loose smoke box front and a loose body screw. Thankfully however, they did replace the board and the engine, electronically, works.
Overall, I am infuriated in Lionel’s inept ability of quality control. All of these problems, even the fixed ones, could have been avoided. For years I have been a high supporter of Lionel and 90% of my collection is Lionel. To have something like this happen is just heartbreaking. I have called the dealer and they unfortunately cannot do anything. My trust with Lionel to not make the same mistake twice is at all time low.

Boy that stinks. One wonders if they wrapped it with the hatches open when packing it.

At $2200, I'd request another RA. They can keep eating the shipping until they fix it ,or give you a refund.

Yeah they ought to just give you a new one at this point. Bent rails won't be straightened in my experience.

Yeah, saw Bruk's post about the smoke coming out of the woodwork, that is depressing. In no way should there be any flaws like that going on. Almost makes me want to not smoke out. I'll have to look back at Bruk's post some more and read more details about it.

I would send it back but since it was THEM who caused it, I don’t know what will happen next. But, digress, I cannot send it back to the dealer (Nassau) to get a refund and I like the engine to much to give up and take the money. I plan on calling Lionel Tuesday and however their response is will determine my next decision.

@BillYo414 posted:

Yeah they ought to just give you a new one at this point. Bent rails won't be straightened in my experience.

I wish, but almost everyone is sold out of all the road numbers. Thankfully, I was able to bend the hand rails back strait. I am more concerned about the water hatch hinges. If I have to make the repairs myself, I plan on trying to bend it back into place. If it snaps, I will glue it back into place with black lock tight.

@Trainmaster04 posted:

I wish, but almost everyone is sound out all the road numbers. Thankfully, I was able to bend the hand rails back strait. I am more concerned about the water hatch hinges. If I have to make the repairs myself, I plan on trying to bend it back into place. If it snaps, I will glue it back into place with black lock tight.

I don’t understand why the place you bought it from wouldn’t help you more especially since you had problems out of the box.

@Robert Cushman posted:

I don’t understand why the place you bought it from wouldn’t help you more especially since you had problems out of the box.

When I first called, about a month ago, they had sold out of all road numbers and I could not swap mine. I also cannot get a refund as their policy states I cannot return an item if it has been unboxed and has been run.

@Trainmaster04 posted:

When I first called, about a month ago, they had sold out of all road numbers and I could not swap mine. I also cannot get a refund as their policy states I cannot return an item if it has been unboxed and has been run.

What do they expect you to do unbox it in front of them at the store? I’d get my stuff from somewhere else if that was the case. Email me and I’ll tell you where I get mine and  they’re always shipped because I have no shops that are close.

@Robert Cushman posted:

What do they expect you to do unbox it in front of them at the store? I’d get my stuff from somewhere else if that was the case. Email me and I’ll tell you where I get mine and  they’re always shipped because I have no shops that are close.

Thank you for your offer. My reasoning behind buying from Nassau is for three reasons. One, they have had a great customer service department. Two, they support and are a sponsor of the OGR. Third, they have unbeatable preorder prices. I paid $2,000 for this model (MSRP being $2,500). Compared to Charles Ro or Train World, they charged between $2,300 to $2,400. A great difference considering it is an expensive locomotive.

I agree that their policy is not truly fair to their customers, in my opinion, but to protect their business from manufacturer's problems, they have to do this. I have tried Train World and Charles Ro both and I have had mixed results. Either terrible customer service, or misplaced orders. This is the first time I have had any problems with Nassau and up to this point, I have enjoyed doing business with them. In the end, it is not their fault that Lionel released a defective model, but they should have at least tried to rectify the problem.

This is unacceptable.

Lionel really needs to back up their defective product, and if they can’t give you a full refund.

@Trainmaster04 posted:

Thank you for your offer. My reasoning behind buying from Nassau is for three reasons. One, they have a great customer service department. Two, they support and are a sponsor of the OGR. Third, they have unbeatable preorder prices. I paid $2,000 for this model (MSRP being $2,500). Compared to Charles Ro or Train World, they charged between $2,300 to $2,400. A great difference considering it is an expensive locomotive.

I agree that their policy is not truly fair to their customers, in my opinion, but to protect their business from manufacturer's problems, they have to do this. I have tried Train World and Charles Ro both and I have had mixed results. Either terrible customer service, or misplaced orders. This is the first time I have had any problems with Nassau and up to this point, I have enjoyed doing business with them. In the end, it is not their fault that Lionel released a defective model.

Well in this case does not seem the great pre-order price was worth it. I have to disagree with your comment on great customer service because of this case and point right here and if they were so great they should be helping to resolve this.

Rince and repeat.

@Shawn_Chronister posted:

Well in this case does not seem the great pre-order price was worth it. I have to disagree with your comment on great customer service because of this case and point right here and if they were so great they should be helping to resolve this.

That is exactly what I was going to say. They should be doing something to help you get this resolved.