Declining service availibilities

620-1104-014

Shoulder Screw Truck Mtg for Stamped Steel Frames .028 Length x .148" Dia 4-40 Thread

 

Is this what you are looking for? It was from their parts listing..at Brasseur..for K-Line. Hope this helps you.

  Stanchion P.N.620-8613-024,   610-8016-305 They are availble.

 

Take your pick.

 

Bill

It is difficult to find good service work anymoer - there are definately more getting out than getting in the business.  And its not for lack of business that is for sure!  The repair at my local LHS (Len2 on this forum) is excellent but he has often quoted me a three-month wait for repairs. 

 

I wonder if in the long run the toy train industry is heading where a lot of the products I buy seemed headed: don't even try to repair it, just chuck it and buy a replacement.  VCR/DVD/Blu-Ray plaers are one item I am convinced makes no sense to fix: if it breaks, replace it.  A lot of other mid-range techno things are like that:combination of cost aned obsolescence means you just chuck it when it breaks.  Don't like to think about that with vision Hudsons and the like, of course. 

You'd wonder, but geez I hope not:  Consider the price difference between a Vision Hudson and an eighty-dollar Blu-Ray player!

Silly to wait 3 months if its a Lionel repair, you could send it to Ohio and have it back in a week or two, tops!

Very sorry to see Dean Brasseur from Brasseur Trains leave. I put him right up there with Mike reagan, as far as K Line Service and a Parts Source goes. He has helped me out numerous times. AND he always E-Mailed me back one way or another with an answer, whether it was a Price and/or Part Number

 

TOO BAD!!!

 

Fredstrains

Hence the reason we perform both in and out of warranty repairs at Lionel. Our turnaround and testing parameters are second to none, I can say that confidently as a result of the hard work and high demands I put on the service staff. In terms of parts, yes, at times it can be frustrating trying to find a specific part for an out of production product. Especially when you consider the shear volume of different parts and fasteners used on the various products. As I am certain many can attest to, we have made awesome strides in Lionel service over the past 4 years in regards to parts cataloging and accessibility, there is still a great mountain of work ahead of us. Rest assured that we are staying the course and remaining vigilant in completing the part list / parts cataloging required to provide expert service to our valued customers for years to come. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to contact me directly at mreagan@lionel.com Thank you, Mike Reagan Director of Customer Service Lionel

With more expensive/rare or "premium" locos, right or wrong, if I get a bad one, or have a good one break, I don't send it back to Lionel/MTH/RMT/WBB or whoever - they might fix it but I think most likely I go to a lot of trouble returning it only to wait and have it only partly fixed or . . . not well.   

    I do think that I could take in by my local LHS and pay Len2 to fix it - and he would, but it would be expensive for parts, probably take a long time to get them, etc.  More frustration . . .

    So what I have done in every (about six) cases so far, is to put the problem loco on the shelf where it can look good, and run something that gives no problems.  I admit this is mostly what I do.  But so far I have never had a problem with a loco I really like - the closest is my 3759 SF Legacy - I like SF northerns but the 2900 series mostly, not the 3700s.   If I had a problem with my V Hudson, or the Blue Comet or Southern Crescent or my one or two favorite MTH premier locos, I don't know what I would do but I would try to get it fixed by someone.

   When I have a problem with a Williams or RMT loco, though, I just put it in my spare-parts bin and buy another.  

I think Mike Reagan said it all in the last Post. I can remember back when it took Months to get an Engine back from Lionel (Before the Mike Reagan Days), and NOW its a matter of days!!!!

 

Great Job Mike, keep it up!

 

Sincerely,

 

Fred Standa (FREDSTRAINS)

Yes, I understand that Lionel has done a superb job of improving both the quality and the turn around on repairs.  However, there is still a certain amount of hassle associated with any repair: I have to find the box and packing, which is somewhere but OMG that is going to take a while to find!  Then I have to pack it up, box and wrap it, etc., take it to the UPS store (I think they would come and get it but that means I have to wait at home half the day, etc.).  Not a lot of work, I admit, but not fun, and meanwhile . . . like most people, I have way too many locos, including too many favorite locos, so it is is just so easy to put a problem on the shelf and run something else today, and put it off for a while - like forever.

 

Frankly, I imagine this would happen even with my V Hudson.  I run in a lot now, but the fact is I have no NYC stuff, I don't even like Hudsons of any type except the Dreyfus, I only run it because it runs so well and has the swinging bell, and I find I run the Blue Comet about as much now because it is so pretty . . . .  Probably soon (within a year) something better than either will come along so it would sit on the shelf anyway (For example, the very best possible model loco that could ever be made: a Vision 2900 series SF Northern with swinging bell, whistle steam, and very good conventional running capability!)

Lee, can you not just package the loco and pre pay the shipping with USPS and leave it on the porch?  I have been doing that for about 2 years and never had a problem.  USPS will only pick up first class and above (not parcel post) but most of these train items should fit in a medium or large flat rate box.  If they don't, you do have to weigh and measure your package but that is not near the hassle of what you describe.  I haven't been inside a post office in nearly 3 years.

This is fun to contemplate.  It can take a half hour to unpack and disassemble a model locomotive, and that is before any diagnosis or inspection takes place.  For those of us who can afford model trains along with all the other fine things in life a half hour of effort at our jobs can easily cost a hundred bucks, counting fringe benefits, office space, health insurance, etc.

 

I am often asked to build custom models.  I routinely scare potential customers away, this way:  It takes me an hour just to drill a cylinder block and set up crosshead guides. Can you see yourself investing $75 in crosshead guides?  The answer is always no, and I go back to the airport where I belong.

 

What you want is somebody who charges you minimum wage and fixes these things competently.  There are folks like that, but they are rare, and overwhelmed.

 

As always, just opinion.

When did Dean leave Brasseur?  I e-mailed him a question about a K-Line part about three weeks ago, got an answer from him and then ordered the part in question and several more.  Subsequently I got an e-mail from Brasseur saying they wouldn't be taking in any new repair work.  Maybe that was a result of Dean leaving.

to electroliner.

   The shoulder bolt I need is for attaching the coupler assembly to the truck, not the trailing truck to the frame.  I will call Brasseur to see if they can compare the part you found to the photo I sent them.  Not very hopeful.

2.  Electric railroad.  ERR no longer does conversions.  They still sell TMCC and Railsounds boards, but they  

do not carry conversion hardware, ie; nylon screws, insulated handrail guides, etc.  They apparently have contact information on their website for dealers who install their systems, but I have not checked them out yet. 

 

 

SINCE WHEN DID THEY STOP????????

 

This is yet another reason to learn to service your own trains. 

I'm only about 50/50 on my own repairs to modern locos.  I fixed a brand new MTH European series 4-8-2 that ran weird - loose gear.  Ruined a Lionel U30C that died (fixed a parted wire inside so it ran again, then botched the reassembly and broke the shell (partly not my fault, the shell was badly warped and the chassis had held it straight - it really did not want to go back on straight).  I repaired an old MTH scale SF 2900 Northern witha  locked up or broken PS1 board but failed to make any headway on fixing a coal turbine that rumbles and smokes at idle but won't get out of neutral. 

 

Personally, I have had much better luck with pre- and post-war, non electronic stuff.  Rebuild/restored a lot of old, old stuff, replacing broken drivers, making parts from time to time - alot of three old ruins into one good restored loco kind of thing -  and never had one not work out well.  Its the electronics and modern gadgetry that comfounds me usually.

Fortunately, I have the electrical engineering background and most of the electronic stuff isn't an issue.  The real issue with the electronics is finding service information.  If you can't get the information or spare parts, some repairs become very difficult.  That's one reason I have amassed a supply of spare boards of various types, many problems become easy if you can swap out stuff to localize the failure.  For the TMCC boards, I've had good luck replacing drivers and triacs, even fixing some of the cooked traces from shorts.

Well, I have two degrees in EE but they don't help much with some, such as the coal turbine.  And, I'm just not going to get into getting a bunch of the bench equipment I really ought to have to work on such stuff.  So I got little satsifaction trying to track down wqhat was wrong with that loco, and if and what PS2 upgrades could handle the power needs of that beast, and did not really want to replace all its boards with an aftermarket set (it has rather a unique sound and the sound board did work - I could not find what I thought would be a satsifactory turbine replacement sound board although i didn't put that much effort into it, I suppose) - its a shelf queen now and I'm happy with that.

 

I put afterbard boards in the Northern and was quite happy, though.  It chuffs and sounds like a generic steamer now but it runs in conventional (all I run) and makes appropriate sounds, so I am happy with it.

Getting the right sounds with aftermarket boards is a continuing saga, I can attest to that.

Lee,  If you wanted to send me the Coal Turbine boards I could reset it for you.  I assume you tested with good battery and try to come out of Reset with voltage below 10Volts.  This is most likely a software conflict issue.  G

did you try to call weaver models and talk with gary.

 

1-570-473-9434

Thanks, but no . . .

 

and yes, DL&W, I could call around but . . . it's reassembled, up on the shelf, and doing a good job of just looking good.  I have so many locos including the GTEL and Veranda if I want to run turbines, that I don't really need it.  It is also so big that while I think it would make it around the layout, it would look ridiculous - that was one big, big locomotive!!!

 

Thanks, though, for the offers and advice, all the same - much appreciated . . .

For one off speciality parts I use a clock maker.  He can make any fastener out of almost any material.  Check a local clock maker.  Not just some serivce dept but a genuine clock maker.