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I have one, the Chrome plated sides released last summer. 

Looks absolutely stunning. I got the powered A and dummy B. Can't pull at all. Quite surprising from an MTH twin motored engine. Maybe I got a lemon but it pulls enough to make me happy. The dummy B is also like a lead weight that probably doesn't help

SJC posted:

I have one, the Chrome plated sides released last summer. 

Looks absolutely stunning. I got the powered A and dummy B. Can't pull at all. Quite surprising from an MTH twin motored engine. Maybe I got a lemon but it pulls enough to make me happy. The dummy B is also like a lead weight that probably doesn't help

How many cars are you pulling? What make cars?

Brian Kotula posted:
SJC posted:

I have one, the Chrome plated sides released last summer. 

Looks absolutely stunning. I got the powered A and dummy B. Can't pull at all. Quite surprising from an MTH twin motored engine. Maybe I got a lemon but it pulls enough to make me happy. The dummy B is also like a lead weight that probably doesn't help

How many cars are you pulling? What make cars?

I have all kinds of cars. The A (with the dummy B) will start spinning wheels with about 4 cars I've found on clean, level track. 

Hey Brian, they are the passenger cars that come with the set, plus the add-on vista dome - see the thread below for my pictures and short video.

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...34#73509797237484634

The MTH Product numbers: (All are stainless plated)

20-20622-1 - E8 Set - this comes with the #83 A E8 and 4 passenger cars

20-20052-3 - E8 A #84

20-20621-3 - E8 B-Unit #86

20-67276 - Vista Dome Car

Hello Brian.  You might also check out MTH passenger set 20-65288 (and its related add-on cars). They are plated stainless to match the F3s.  I have the Legacy Santa Fe F3s on order. They are supposed to be stainless plated as well. I prefer MTH passenger cars over Lionel (18” is better for my layout and I’m allergic to thumbtack couplers) and have made a superficial search (certainly not as determined as yours!) for the above set. I couldn’t find it, but maybe you can. I was told by my dealer that MTH will likely rerun the stainless plated set after the Legacy F3s come out, so hopefully we’ll both get them eventually. Good luck and enjoy your awesome new engines. 

SJC posted:

I have one, the Chrome plated sides released last summer. 

Looks absolutely stunning. I got the powered A and dummy B. Can't pull at all. Quite surprising from an MTH twin motored engine. Maybe I got a lemon but it pulls enough to make me happy. The dummy B is also like a lead weight that probably doesn't help

I too bought the powered A , unpowered B, and a complete set of passenger cars. It would not pull the consist. To make matters worse, there was some corrosion inside the A unit around one of the screws that holds the body onto the chasis, and the smoke unit was shot. Apparently, it had been run a good bit and placed back in the store’s inventory. When questioned, MTH replied that I need two powered A units to pull the consist. Well, I had a Dash 9 that a put behind the B unit. Worked fine. But, I’m irritated that non of the deficiencies were mentioned in the catalog.

George Mason posted:
SJC posted:

I have one, the Chrome plated sides released last summer. 

Looks absolutely stunning. I got the powered A and dummy B. Can't pull at all. Quite surprising from an MTH twin motored engine. Maybe I got a lemon but it pulls enough to make me happy. The dummy B is also like a lead weight that probably doesn't help

I too bought the powered A , unpowered B, and a complete set of passenger cars. It would not pull the consist. To make matters worse, there was some corrosion inside the A unit around one of the screws that holds the body onto the chasis, and the smoke unit was shot. Apparently, it had been run a good bit and placed back in the store’s inventory. When questioned, MTH replied that I need two powered A units to pull the consist. Well, I had a Dash 9 that a put behind the B unit. Worked fine. But, I’m irritated that non of the deficiencies were mentioned in the catalog.

George,

If your powered A wouldn't pull a dummy B and 7 or 8 MTH plastic passenger cars I'd look at the tires first. Track clean? With oiled axles and pickups these cars roll amazingly well.  While adding 2 more dummy units is a lot of weight, the Lionel F unit sets came as a powered A with a dummy B and a trailing dummy A.

BobbyD posted:
George Mason posted:
SJC posted:

I have one, the Chrome plated sides released last summer. 

Looks absolutely stunning. I got the powered A and dummy B. Can't pull at all. Quite surprising from an MTH twin motored engine. Maybe I got a lemon but it pulls enough to make me happy. The dummy B is also like a lead weight that probably doesn't help

I too bought the powered A , unpowered B, and a complete set of passenger cars. It would not pull the consist. To make matters worse, there was some corrosion inside the A unit around one of the screws that holds the body onto the chasis, and the smoke unit was shot. Apparently, it had been run a good bit and placed back in the store’s inventory. When questioned, MTH replied that I need two powered A units to pull the consist. Well, I had a Dash 9 that a put behind the B unit. Worked fine. But, I’m irritated that non of the deficiencies were mentioned in the catalog.

George,

If your powered A wouldn't pull a dummy B and 7 or 8 MTH plastic passenger cars I'd look at the tires first. Track clean? With oiled axles and pickups these cars roll amazingly well.  While adding 2 more dummy units is a lot of weight, the Lionel F unit sets came as a powered A with a dummy B and a trailing dummy A.

Running on Fastrack that, at the time, was clean. I had added an RPO car and a full length observation car to the five car passenger set. I did not check the tires on the A unit. This set was all MTH Premier with long passenger cars. The Dash 9 could pull the entire set by itself. I’ll check it out again. Thanks! 

George Mason posted:
SJC posted:

I have one, the Chrome plated sides released last summer. 

Looks absolutely stunning. I got the powered A and dummy B. Can't pull at all. Quite surprising from an MTH twin motored engine. Maybe I got a lemon but it pulls enough to make me happy. The dummy B is also like a lead weight that probably doesn't help

I too bought the powered A , unpowered B, and a complete set of passenger cars. It would not pull the consist. To make matters worse, there was some corrosion inside the A unit around one of the screws that holds the body onto the chasis, and the smoke unit was shot. Apparently, it had been run a good bit and placed back in the store’s inventory. When questioned, MTH replied that I need two powered A units to pull the consist. Well, I had a Dash 9 that a put behind the B unit. Worked fine. But, I’m irritated that non of the deficiencies were mentioned in the catalog.

I'm surprised it won't move the entire consist. I have a couple Lionel F3s with twin Pullmor motors and Magnetraction. They will all pull 2 dummy B units, a dummy A unit, and eight 16" aluminum passenger cars without issue on level track. The newer can motored MTH F3 should be able to pull a dummy B and 5-7 18" plastic passenger cars with ease. I'd check to make sure the traction tires are on the locomotive and that both motors are operating freely. 

George Mason posted:

Running on Fastrack that, at the time, was clean. I had added an RPO car and a full length observation car to the five car passenger set. I did not check the tires on the A unit. This set was all MTH Premier with long passenger cars. The Dash 9 could pull the entire set by itself. I’ll check it out again. Thanks! 

I'd have expected an MTH F unit to pull that easily. (though the full dome cars are pretty heavy correct?) A few of the repair guys here know better, I'm guessing the Dash 9 and the F3  powerwise are the same internally. What is the track radius? As the track diameter goes down, the drag goes up. 

 

Here is my MTH Stainless Plated F3 from 2018 pulling 11 additional units/cars. I took the other powered A unit out and it's not having any issues. I don't have any inclines on my layout and my curves on this loop are O48. Clean / oil your rollers and also put some conductive coating on them.

 

 

 

 

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BobbyD posted:
George Mason posted:

Running on Fastrack that, at the time, was clean. I had added an RPO car and a full length observation car to the five car passenger set. I did not check the tires on the A unit. This set was all MTH Premier with long passenger cars. The Dash 9 could pull the entire set by itself. I’ll check it out again. Thanks! 

I'd have expected an MTH F unit to pull that easily. (though the full dome cars are pretty heavy correct?) A few of the repair guys here know better, I'm guessing the Dash 9 and the F3  powerwise are the same internally. What is the track radius? As the track diameter goes down, the drag goes up. 

 

60 inch radius

George Mason posted:

Mine is the 20-20465-2 chrome plated edition.

Are you stating that you bought the 2 rail version without tires?

not this I hope

https://mthtrains.com/20-20465-1

Are you pulling up inclines?

My 2 rail F units don't pull much singled out. When you double or triple them together, the pulling power seems to jump up exponentially.

I would not expect a single F unit to pull a big train up any type of inclines. Perhaps lighted cars are causing too much drag as well? Check for free rolling trucks. Lubricate the dummies axles too.

Last edited by Engineer-Joe
George Mason posted:

Mine are 3 rail and I inclines on the track. It maybe a power issue which seem to plague TCS. My layout is temporary until I have the time to do something permanent.

I run DCS. Power issues are from wiring and connections, and are not caused by DCS! (TCS?)

How big are these inclines?

I would always suggest pulling the train by hand up the incline to judge how much power will be needed to do the job.

It's amazing how hard it is to pull bigger trains up inclines.

Last edited by Engineer-Joe
Engineer-Joe posted:
George Mason posted:

Mine are 3 rail and I inclines on the track. It maybe a power issue which seem to plague TCS. My layout is temporary until I have the time to do something permanent.

I run DCS. Power issues are from wiring and connections, and are not caused by DCS! (TCS?)

How big are these inclines?

I would always suggest pulling the train by hand up the incline to judge how much power will be needed to do the job.

It's amazing how hard it is to pull bigger trains up inclines.

Sorry for the typo. And zero inclines. I should have more power connections but was in a hurry to get things running for the holidays.

SJC posted:

I have one, the Chrome plated sides released last summer. 

Looks absolutely stunning. I got the powered A and dummy B. Can't pull at all. Quite surprising from an MTH twin motored engine. Maybe I got a lemon but it pulls enough to make me happy. The dummy B is also like a lead weight that probably doesn't help

I would think there is something amiss with your MTH F3s. My friend at the BDSME in Bethlehem PA pulls 10 MTH 18" passenger cars. We have 2 1/2% grades on our layout with one Lionel TMCC engine. He also pulls a dummy A and B. He has been doing this for years at our clubs open houses. I don't remember him ever replacing the traction tires but I think yours  are suspect. They are all Santa Fe. Good luck

JohnB

Last edited by JohnB
@SJC posted:

I have one, the Chrome plated sides released last summer. 

Looks absolutely stunning. I got the powered A and dummy B. Can't pull at all. Quite surprising from an MTH twin motored engine. Maybe I got a lemon but it pulls enough to make me happy. The dummy B is also like a lead weight that probably doesn't help

Have the same problem. The only advice that I was given was that it needed two A units to pull the passenger consist. My solution was to create a lash-up of the A unit and a Dash 9 that I have. I have an older Baldwin shark with a powered B unit. Any idea why MTH quit offering a powered B?

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