Flyonel Legacy Equipped MOPAC PAs

I looked at those at York at the Charles Ro booth.  The color is much different and a brighter blue.  They would not match the earlier set and that is why I moved on and bought the New Haven set.  The price was great though $350.  It is half the original price.

Bill: Do you know whether the 1991 shell will "bolt-up' to the new chassis?

I will have to look but the new chassis are much different.  The shell also has a hole for the smoke unit.  Plus I think a lot of the electronics are part of it.  I will look in the morning.

Yes it will work. The old shell will be missing the front 2 screws, but they are not essential. The exhaust stack must be drilled out for the smoke unit. The smoke unit gasket must be glued to the roof. The new shell has adapter posts that are screwed in place. They must be transferred to old shell. If the engine derails on sharp curves, the ladders must be bent out slightly as the trucks are in a slightly different position on the new chassis. An easy 1 hour project.  

The one thing not mentioned above is that the areal is fastened to the roof of the shell near the back with a small screw.  The old shell will not have a hole for the screw.

Roundhouse Bill posted:

The one thing not mentioned above is that the areal is fastened to the roof of the shell near the back with a small screw.  The old shell will not have a hole for the screw.

Been awhile since I did the conversion, forgot about the antenna. Two sided tape or a shot of hot glue works great to hold it in place.

Thanks for all the info and tips guys; I ordered a set of New Havens from Charles Ro today. Next week my 49601 MOPAC "coffee grinder" should be a lot quieter + have electro-couplers and smoke. Will have to see how the Legacy RS goes with the original RS in the "B" unit.

A few comparison shots.

Cars are slightly darker.

Rich

Is that height differential 'correct' for the model?  I'd have to run an AA to visually kill that large 'gap' between the engine and cars!

Finishing up my LTI-Legacy MOPAC conversion this weekend. Things I've found;

The new headlight board also screws to the new shell; I used clear silicone to hold it to the shell after swapping the headlight lens as well since it is drilled for the LED headlight.

We now have a correct six-wheel truck under the PA versus the older four wheel Gilbert design-another plus.

Initially I had an issue where the chassis worked until I screwed the shell to the chassis. After much hair pulling, I finally figure out the rear motor flywheel must have been shorting out the antenna signal to the RCMC. I had originally mounted the antenna plane length-wise in the shell roof. Once I removed it and mounted it cross-wise in the very rear of the shell, it worked correctly. Used the clear RTV to mount this as well

Now all I need to do is paint the truck side-frames silver to match the rest of the set.

The one "bummer" is the dummy unit came out of the new packaging (which appears to do its job very well-a good design) with the electro coupler bracket broken allowing the coupler to hang via the two wires. Found a piece of the plastic bracket in the bottom of the shell. Due to the design of the new packaging, I surmise it was broken while being packaged.....  Will need to call Lionel Monday. It really is a cheesy bracket to be putting all the train drag on; metal would have been a better choice.

Just a suggestion - Tamiya silver paint covers black in one coat, is easy to brush on and most important dries without brush marks.

D&H 65 posted:The one "bummer" is the dummy unit came out of the new packaging (which appears to do its job very well-a good design) with the electro coupler bracket broken allowing the coupler to hang via the two wires. Found a piece of the plastic bracket in the bottom of the shell. Due to the design of the new packaging, I surmise it was broken while being packaged.....  Will need to call Lionel Monday. It really is a cheesy bracket to be putting all the train drag on; metal would have been a better choice.

 

I had the exact same issue on my SP PA dummy coupler.  I called Ro and they sent out the new bracket the next day.

Brendan

Brendan posted:

D&H 65 posted:The one "bummer" is the dummy unit came out of the new packaging (which appears to do its job very well-a good design) with the electro coupler bracket broken allowing the coupler to hang via the two wires. Found a piece of the plastic bracket in the bottom of the shell. Due to the design of the new packaging, I surmise it was broken while being packaged.....  Will need to call Lionel Monday. It really is a cheesy bracket to be putting all the train drag on; metal would have been a better choice.

 

I had the exact same issue on my SP PA dummy coupler.  I called Ro and they sent out the new bracket the next day.

Brendan

Me 3.  Broken off electro coupler on my MoPac dummy received this week. Returning it Monday for repair.