They referred me to another company in New Jersey I know nothing about. I don’t like this at all. Poor customer service. It’s seems like you buy it, now it’s your problem.
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That policy was announced a number of years ago. They only work on product still covered under the warranty. For most items thats only one year.
Pete
Not good customer Service considering how much they cost.
They don’t do out of warranty repairs on anything. Really nothing new here. Not saying it’s right but it’s not new.
My biggest issue with this philosophy is the lack of training for the repair folks they are getting people to.
It may not be new but at the price we pay for these products it’s ridiculous. I would be willing to pay for the repair because it’s out of warranty. It’s the depleting coal tender that’s not operational.
Who did they recommend? I can think of shop in New Jersey that is highly competent and already familiar with these engines. You could actually be better off.
Pete
@RandyC posted:It may not be new but at the price we pay for these products it’s ridiculous. I would be willing to pay for the repair because it’s out of warranty. It’s the depleting coal tender that’s not operational.
I'm willing to say they don't have the personnel to keep up with all the warranty repair and out of warranty repairs. This policy has been in place now for at least 5+ years, probably more on the plus side. Again I don't have a problem if they refer me but those folks need to be trained.
@Norton posted:Who did they recommend? I can think of shop in New Jersey that is highly competent and already familiar with these engines. You could actually be better off.
Pete
Jada Enterprises
Send it to Alex, I agree. The coal load is one of the more troublesome pieces of the locomotive, too many plastic gears. 
Lionel hasn't had a repair training classes in a decade. When Mike left, that was the end of that. Even the certified ones a decade ago are now ' untained ' in LionChief, bluetooth, etc. I'm sure a lot of repair folks have left since a decade ago, making competent repair guys scarcer. The technology has changed so much, from modular boards like radio boards, audio boards are all outdated today.
@gunrunnerjohn posted:Send it to Alex, I agree. The coal load is one of the more troublesome pieces of the locomotive, too many plastic gears.
Is Alex at Jada Enterprises?
@RandyC posted:Jada Enterprises
I'd take Jada enterprises over the current Lionel service dept any day.
If you've been a forum member for any length of time. You may know more about them than you think.
Have no fear.
@RandyC posted:Is Alex at Jada Enterprises?
Alex IS Jada enterprises.
Alex is AlexM here. He had your engine apart the day it was released. Your engine will be in good hands. You could likely drive it there but with the tolls.........
Pete
Alex would 100% be who I send a Big Boy to...or any other engine to. It will be in great hands.
Kalmbach Publishing Company (LOL) shut down Customer Service at their Waukesha, WI HQ and outsourced it to some unknown outfit in Tampa, FL a couple years ago. Well, when that brilliant move flopped they found another fly-by-nighter in Big Sandy, TX, of all places. Gads, what a thought...??? The sheer fact they put the girls in Waukesha out on the street (Item: These gals really knew their business too!) was enough for me to cancel all my subscriptions of the railroad related magazines I had purchased.
To add insult to injury, they have terminated Marc Horowitz, founder of Garden Railways magazine. GR's magazine's quality completely disappeared soon after. The advertisements outnumbered the number of pages of the articals, at least this was the impression I received. Believe me, Al Kalmbach, David P. Morgan, Rosemary Entringer, and Lynn Westcott, are all turning over in their graves to see how the top notch company Al Kalmbach started during The Great Depression with Model Railroader, has sunk so low.
A tip of my old wore out traditional striped engineer's cap to the entire OGR staff for maintaining Quality Plus with both the magazine and forum that all subscribers have come to love from the Get Go! WOW, you guys and gals run the OGR business professionally, and this is why I will renew my subscription when it comes due in 2021, and many more years too until my Maker calls me home to the roundhouse in the sky which is just beyond the Big Rock Candy Mountains where all railroaders, railfans, and model railroaders go when their number comes up!
Godspeed on the Heavenly Express
Joe
I live in New Jersey and have used Alex (JADA) a number of times. He actually lives near my home...lucky me! All I can say aside from the fact that his work is impeccable and top notch is that he is also a fantastic guy to know.
Rest assured your depleting coal tender will be in good hands!
-Pete
@Chuck Sartor posted:Lionel hasn't had a repair training classes in a decade. When Mike left, that was the end of that.
Training ended way before Mike left. If memory serves me correctly it was Mike that stopped the classes.
It's been awhile so I may be behind, but why would Mike discontinue the classes? He was a 'people person'. Too many techs?
Training ended when service moved to North Carolina. To be honest, it would be enough for working service stations to just have access to the wiring diagrams and schematics. Service training was never about repairing to component level. Bruk has done more to help service post service school engines than Lionel by reverse engineering the boards.
Pete
So in today's world how do you become a certified tech for Lionel? How do they train their own staff?
The way these company's treat their customers I'm happy not buying any more engines. I think for the most part MTH was telling customers to send their trains to repair stations as well.
Would you send your out-of-warranty washer back to Maytag? No, you get in touch with a repair tech. What's so different about model trains?
@Frank Mulligan posted:Would you send your out-of-warranty washer back to Maytag? No, you get in touch with a repair tech. What's so different about model trains?
Most all companies I am aware of keep their service techs up to date with training and documentation. This hasn't happened with Lionel. That is a big part of the problem. They won't do the work themselves nor are they supporting existing repair centers.
Pete
JADA is Alex M, as stated above and he has one of my loco's as I type this. He is a real stand up guy!!! Other than Lionel I ONLY use Gunrunner John and Alex to fix my trains. Gunrunner has fixed probably 3 or so and Alex is currently working on my second, and its more of an upgrade..Email Alex, he will get back to you quickly.
@Cincytrains posted:JADA is Alex M, as stated above and he has one of my loco's as I type this. He is a real stand up guy!!! Other than Lionel I ONLY use Gunrunner John and Alex to fix my trains. Gunrunner has fixed probably 3 or so and Alex is currently working on my second, and its more of an upgrade..Email Alex, he will get back to you quickly.
Thank you very much. I saw photos of the Big Boy disassembled he posted when it was shipped out initially. I will contact him.
@Chuck Sartor posted:It's been awhile so I may be behind, but why would Mike discontinue the classes? He was a 'people person'. Too many techs?
From what I remember, even though folks were trained, they were not doing the repairs correctly and then the engine would often have to be returned to Lionel to correct. The comment I heard was out of 100 people that took the training, maybe only 10% truly grasped the repair process and were doing the repairs correctly even though all 100 might have passed the course. I got the impression that the electronics were the big issue.
@Frank Mulligan posted:Would you send your out-of-warranty washer back to Maytag? No, you get in touch with a repair tech. What's so different about model trains?
I say that shipping costs sending a washing machine back to Maytag would cost the same as a new washer would. Your comment was very helpful. Lionel and MTH are still operating service centers as far as I know.
@Norton posted:Alex is AlexM here. He had your engine apart the day it was released. Your engine will be in good hands. You could likely drive it there but with the tolls.........
Pete
Only about a 1700 mile round trip. I think it would be cost prohibitive unless I am in the area. But with everything I’m am interested in ie York Show , NJ Hi Railers . I will probably ship it. I could stop at Hennings Trains though.?
I saw Babylon and thought you might be on the island. Different island?
Pete
My theory, Yes 100 per cent get with Alex, he’s much better than Lionel would be due to proper training: Now take me serious, Pack your Big Boy very carefully in the Original box, then the original Carton, then Place this Carton in a third box with adequate packing, styrofoam peanuts, bubble wrap for making sure no damage in shipping. Use UPS ground, place Fragile stickers on the outer Carton. You’ll be glad you did. Insure your Locomotive. When I sell a high end engine, I Triple Pack for my customer and friends here in the hobby.
Alex M is an expert repairman, very good at fixing these highly electronic based engines. Also, Gunrunner John could do the same work. These guys know their electronics, take great care in their work. The reason for triple packing is the fragile front end of this Big Boy. Great Question, Lionel is just being honest, they are not prepared to fix this locomotive. Happy Railroading
@Norton posted:I saw Babylon and thought you might be on the island. Different island?
Pete
I left Long Island in 2017.
@leapinlarry posted:My theory, Yes 100 per cent get with Alex, he’s much better than Lionel would be due to proper training: Now take me serious, Pack your Big Boy very carefully in the Original box, then the original Carton, then Place this Carton in a third box with adequate packing, styrofoam peanuts, bubble wrap for making sure no damage in shipping. Use UPS ground, place Fragile stickers on the outer Carton. You’ll be glad you did. Insure your Locomotive. When I sell a high end engine, I Triple Pack for my customer and friends here in the hobby.
Alex M is an expert repairman, very good at fixing these highly electronic based engines. Also, Gunrunner John could do the same work. These guys know their electronics, take great care in their work. The reason for triple packing is the fragile front end of this Big Boy. Great Question, Lionel is just being honest, they are not prepared to fix this locomotive. Happy Railroading
I have all the original boxes and packaging. Yes UPS is the only way to ship something of value. I have used USPS before. Never will use them again for something high value. Thanks for the info.
@RandyC posted:I have all the original boxes and packaging. Yes UPS is the only way to ship something of value. I have used USPS before. Never will use them again for something high value. Thanks for the info.
Keep in mind that everyone has different experiences with shippers. Over the years, I've had better luck with USPS Priority Mail than I've had with UPS. You might take a look at the recent thread about UPS losing a train the poster was supposed to receive. Last month I had an engine lost due to careless delivery by a UPS driver.
Regardless, brace yourself when you see what it's going to cost you to ship a Big Boy round trip for repairs. 
@breezinup posted:Keep in mind that everyone has different experiences with shippers. Over the years, I've had better luck with USPS Priority Mail than I've had with UPS. You might take a look at the recent thread about UPS losing a train the poster was supposed to receive. Last month I had an engine lost due to careless delivery by a UPS driver.
Regardless, brace yourself when you see what it's going to cost you to ship a Big Boy round trip for repairs.
I can only go by my experiences with a shipper. Shipping will be costly. I am retired so I can probably deliver it myself for the same amount and it will be handled better for sure. Also it will give me an excuse to take a trip.! LOL
Are replacement parts (did someone mention plastic gears?) going to be an issue?
For future high $ steam purchases, unless you have to have the high end electronic functions, look to 3rd Rail
Randy.......Discouraging isn't it? High end costly locos not repaired by the importers. Yes, send this to Alex. He has done repairs for me. I had the same issue with that depleting coal load. Lionel fixed it under warranty. After warranty, smoke unit issues were repaired by Alex for me. I sold that Big Boy shortly thereafter. Just didnt want to deal with any more issues in the future. Shipping that loco to NJ from Ohio with insurance was very costly. I had a Lionel FEF that was repaired by someone else (not Alex). Dumped about 600.00 in repairs that never worked. Tech kept putting in RCMC boards (3 or 4 of them) that lasted only minutes on my layout. I talked to the service manager at Lionel and practically begged him to repair my FEF. He refused because it was out of warranty. 2 independent service stations attempted to do the repairs but could not get it. I pushed Lionel some more and finally Lionel bought the loco back from Me. I did appreciate Lionel doing the buy back. Problem was I was still out 600.00 for previous repairs. Bottom line here is your best to let Alex handle this repair. I have not purchased a Lionel locomotive since and will never again.
I was always a MTH fan and still am however I will not buy any more locos from MTH due to no service after warranty and more than likely parts drying up. I will still buy passenger cars and freight cars. In my opinion, these high end locos are way too cool when all is working well. But when you need a repair you really are on your own.
And he charged you each and every time he replaced a RCMC board? It's people like that Lionel needs to weed out!
@Pingman posted:Are replacement parts (did someone mention plastic gears?) going to be an issue?
The gears are brass or bronze and not the problem. I know what happened.
I found the problem. That piece pulled off the bottom of the coal load. A new coal load is $12.50 from Lionel. I will try to order it. I will let you know how it turns out. Piece of what looks like a monofilament line winds around that shaft behind the large gear and pulls down against those two springs. It’s worth a try for a few dollars and time .
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@Chuck Sartor posted:And he charged you each and every time he replaced a RCMC board? It's people like that Lionel needs to weed out!
He didn't say it was a Lionel-authorized or even trained tech who did the work, though. The only thing the poster said with regard to the RCMC boards was that it was repaired by "someone else." If it was someone at an authorized Service Station (and it may have been), then that should be made known to Lionel.
You know, Alex probably doesn’t need the entire engine, I think he has a VL Big Boy that he could connect with if necessary. Just a thought. Also, I have nothing against USPS, I just recently received a K-Line Hudson, shipped by USPS Ground, not Priority, and it cost $44, and took almost 2-1/2 weeks to receive. I had issues with the tracking system. It did arrive, in great shape. I just feel UPS has a better tracking system. They all throw packages like footballs, this is why I say place a fragile sticker on the package. Alex M is a great repair man and has at one time shown the VL Big Boy inside and out. Good luck, Happy Railroading
Good to hear you found the problem Randy. Looking forward to your updated post once you get it resolved.
And WOW! Look at all the gears in there just to make the coal load go down. 
It looks like an automotive transmission LOL!
@RickO posted:Good to hear you found the problem Randy. Looking forward to your updated post once you get it resolved.
And WOW! Look at all the gears in there just to make the coal load go down.
Yes they are all metal gears and very well made but the molded rubber hole is the weak link. I don’t know how else they could have made it better. Thanks. I will give it a try.
More praise of Alex:
I have a semi-scale Lionel Hudson from the late 90s that died. Sent it to Alex.... he put in new boards and now it runs like one of my Legacy engines!
Peter
@Putnam Division posted:More praise of Alex:
I have a semi-scale Lionel Hudson from the late 90s that died. Sent it to Alex.... he put in new boards and now it runs like one of my Legacy engines!
Peter
I found the problem. I will attempt a repair myself. Thanks
mth locomotives are for the most part easy to work on. lionel is another story. I just fixed my lionel legacy mikado smoke unit and what a piece of junk that smoke unit design was. trouble with being a tech it seams is every time you get a new engine to repair they have changed the electronics package. legacy, lionchief, lc+, lc2.0 and so on. since mike gave those classes I bet the electronic pakages have changed a lot. especially now that blue tooth is invoved.
so just like cars now a days its becoming a more and more specialized job. not to mention some things are just poorly engineered by especially lionel which makes working on them even more frustrating at times. I am sure that working for say lionel as a hourly tech does not pay what its worth either. hope you get your coal load working again. I am sure you will.
@RandyC posted:They referred me to another company in New Jersey I know nothing about. I don’t like this at all. Poor customer service. It’s seems like you buy it, now it’s your problem.
@Fredstrains posted:
Try Mike Reagan!! It will be repaired & repaired RIGHT !!!
@Fredstrains posted:Try Mike Reagan!! It will be repaired & repaired RIGHT !!!
Is Mike Reagan doing repairs. I know he works for TW Trainworks.
@Lionelzwl2012 posted:mth locomotives are for the most part easy to work on. lionel is another story. I just fixed my lionel legacy mikado smoke unit and what a piece of junk that smoke unit design was. trouble with being a tech it seams is every time you get a new engine to repair they have changed the electronics package. legacy, lionchief, lc+, lc2.0 and so on. since mike gave those classes I bet the electronic pakages have changed a lot. especially now that blue tooth is invoved.
so just like cars now a days its becoming a more and more specialized job. not to mention some things are just poorly engineered by especially lionel which makes working on them even more frustrating at times. I am sure that working for say lionel as a hourly tech does not pay what its worth either. hope you get your coal load working again. I am sure you will.
I have three MTH locomotives that are DOA!
Yes, TW Trainworks advertises that they repair our trains, Mike Reagan is one of the best repairman ever and they are a forum Sponsor to. He was the best Lionel Service Manager they ever had, he knows these modern electronics. You might say, “You’ll be in good hands with TW Trainworks “. Great Question. Happy Railroading
Looks like every high tech toy that is made today, regardless if Made in the USofA, or over there, over there, they all come with built in factory defects. Having recently passed Milepost 74 in July, I wish upon a star, that I still had my Marx wind-up NYC freight and UP Streamliner. They ran and ran and ran and if I still had them today they'd still run and run and run......
Of course, I wish upon that same star it was 1951, and I had just celebrated my fifth birthday knowing what I now know!
@RandyC posted:Is Mike Reagan doing repairs. I know he works for TW Trainworks.
Yes , he is doing Train Repairs w/ TW Trainworks.
@RandyC posted:They referred me to another company in New Jersey I know nothing about. I don’t like this at all. Poor customer service. It’s seems like you buy it, now it’s your problem.
Good news. I called Alex and he was very helpful. He helped me with info and photos and I was able to repair the problem. Great guy to deal with.
Alex is definitely one of the good guys! 
@leapinlarry posted:They all throw packages like footballs, this is why I say place a fragile sticker on the package.
IMO, you NEVER label a package as fragile! It's not going to change their handling, and a disgruntled employee is likely to abuse it just for fun! If you haven't packed it to survive the roughest handling it's going to encounter, it'll probably arrive broken anyway. 
IMHO Alex M IS THE best Lionel repair tech I've seen him repair burnt up vision line engines that were toast ! Fried. and he restored them to perfect working order. he has repaired bad design problems that Lionel made on especially vision line engines and when finished they were better then new !
Highly recommend Alex M for any Lionel repairs !
Alan
@gunrunnerjohn posted:Alex is definitely one of the good guys!
IMO, you NEVER label a package as fragile!
I agree. Fragile just is another sticker on a box. My old job we used to send out NDA, 2DA and 3rd Days. You would be surprised how many times we had those not arrive when they were supposed to because they were just too busy and didn't put the right box on the right truck.
Whenever packaging, pack the living $#&* out of whatever you are shipping. If possible, double box. When I sent out my Challenger to Lionel, not only did I double box it, I used toolbox foam to extra line the top and bottom of the box with other packing material on the sides. That engine didn't move nowhere inside that box.
Further to this, most of the stuff I have received from stores, other vendors, ebay, or wherever have all been packed really good. I have had a few outside boxes with a dent in them(a knee or who knows what), but the stuff inside was okay. It may sound like a lot of extra work, but the bottom line is an ounce of prevention equals a pound of cure. Better safe than sorry.
@RandyC posted:Good news. I called Alex and he was very helpful. He helped me with info and photos and I was able to repair the problem. Great guy to deal with.
Glad it worked out! Mine broke as well and I used Alex's on forum tutorial to make the repair. It's held up for about a year now.
For the outer packing of engine boxes I use Costco double wall heavy duty produce boxes. Very sturdy card board. Easily available. Easy to modify. Free. Did I say free?
I try to pick up boxes in pairs or quads. I use the bottom box as is. Wrap the loco box in big bubble wrap. The top box I slice the glued flaps to open the corners with a spackle knife, position it over the bottom box then use a hot glue gun to seal each top flap over the bottom tray.
There must have been at least 25 engines wrapped like that this spring with no damage.
For long stuff like lengths of flex track I use 4 of the same produce boxes. The bottom two I slice open the glue corner flaps then slide them together like a telescope with glued touching surfaces. For the lid I do it a little different. I place the bubble wrapped contents then position the top two same style boxes slid together with glue and let the dry. Once dry I install the top like a shoe box lid, glue in place, and ship it.
At least 6 cartons of track went out like this with no damage this spring.
All boxes go out with a secondary securing of 3" heavy duty package tape.
I still think triple packing on any of our pricy and delicate, feature rich locomotives is extremely important, and although some feel that the fragile stickers are not necessary, I feel that they are necessary. Many parts needed to repair our engines now are out of production and worse, Lionel has no parts in their inventory, so, when selling someone a beautiful locomotive, I try my best to do everything necessary to make sure it arrives in excellent condition. I’m glad that you were able to get your VL Big Boy working or fixed correct. Happy Railroading Everyone, and have a great Independence Day.
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@leapinlarry posted:I still think triple packing on any of our pricy and delicate, feature rich locomotives is extremely important, and although some feel that the fragile stickers are not necessary, I feel that they are necessary. Many parts needed to repair our engines now are out of production and worse, Lionel has no parts in their inventory, so, when selling someone a beautiful locomotive, I try my best to do everything necessary to make sure it arrives in excellent condition.
I agree with good packing, my point is the FRAGILE stickers are ignored or worse by the shipping people! It has nothing to do with the items arriving safely.
@Tom Tee posted:For the outer packing of engine boxes I use Costco double wall heavy duty produce boxes. Very sturdy card board. Easily available. Easy to modify. Free. Did I say free?
I try to pick up boxes in pairs or quads. I use the bottom box as is. Wrap the loco box in big bubble wrap. The top box I slice the glued flaps to open the corners with a spackle knife, position it over the bottom box then use a hot glue gun to seal each top flap over the bottom tray.
There must have been at least 25 engines wrapped like that this spring with no damage.
For long stuff like lengths of flex track I use 4 of the same produce boxes. The bottom two I slice open the glue corner flaps then slide them together like a telescope with glued touching surfaces. For the lid I do it a little different. I place the bubble wrapped contents then position the top two same style boxes slid together with glue and let the dry. Once dry I install the top like a shoe box lid, glue in place, and ship it.
At least 6 cartons of track went out like this with no damage this spring.
All boxes go out with a secondary securing of 3" heavy duty package tape.
Hello Tom Tee,
Sounds like you have a good system.
Could you please provide a couple example photos as it would go a long way to help visualize your packaging description/suggestions.
Thanks!
I recall a posting on this forum where the person had the same issue with the coal load. In his posting he provided a video describing his workaround which involved tacking something to the grommet and using black latex to hold it in place on the coal load. It may be something to try should this fail again. I have the same engine and while I have not experienced this problem, it seems that it may only be a matter of time.
@ScottM posted:I recall a posting on this forum where the person had the same issue with the coal load. In his posting he provided a video describing his workaround which involved tacking something to the grommet and using black latex to hold it in place on the coal load. It may be something to try should this fail again. I have the same engine and while I have not experienced this problem, it seems that it may only be a matter of time.
That was Alex. He updated his "fix".
TO: OGR Forum-ites who praised JADA and Alex as a repair shop extraordinaire ...
So, what is the complete mailing address, e-mail address, and website of JADA? I want to place that info in my PC address book for reference if/when one of my Lionel engines may need repair. I already know and appreciate Hennings, GRJ, Mike Reagan, but one can't have too many qualitied repair guys on file.
Thanks in advance for sharing the info about JADA
Mike Mottler LCCA 12394
@Mike H Mottler posted:TO: OGR Forum-ites who praised JADA and Alex as a repair shop extraordinaire ...
So, what is the complete mailing address, e-mail address, and website of JADA? I want to place that info in my PC address book for reference if/when one of my Lionel engines may need repair. I already know and appreciate Hennings, GRJ, Mike Reagan, but one can't have too many qualitied repair guys on file.
Thanks in advance for sharing the info about JADA
Mike Mottler LCCA 12394
Mike,
Go to the forum advanced search, there is a selection called members. Type in Alex M. You will find his email address. Send him a email asking for his contact info.
JohnB
Kazar,
Will do on the next shipment.
BTW, I just sent a new SS engine and caboose 3000 miles by FedEx ground and this is the kind of response I get with my packing method:
Hi Tom,
just wanted to let you know I received the engine and caboose yesterday in excellent shape. Well, also I’ve got to say that after bouncing around the hobby for over 40 plus years and sending and receiving items via mail, ups and other carriers for that same time period, you have taken the award for the most ingeniously packed item ever in the history of my hobby tenure. I am pretty much speechless.
Thanks again for everything and I hope we can do it again.
Take care,
Jack
@leapinlarry posted:I still think triple packing on any of our pricy and delicate, feature rich locomotives is extremely important, and although some feel that the fragile stickers are not necessary, I feel that they are necessary. Many parts needed to repair our engines now are out of production and worse, Lionel has no parts in their inventory, so, when selling someone a beautiful locomotive, I try my best to do everything necessary to make sure it arrives in excellent condition. I’m glad that you were able to get your VL Big Boy working or fixed correct. Happy Railroading Everyone, and have a great Independence Day.
Larry, what does the black writing on the lower edge of your package say, I can not make it out??
Tom Tee - To me it looks like 'THIS END UP! PLEASE! and the Return Authorization number is also included.
@leapinlarry posted:I still think triple packing on any of our pricy and delicate, feature rich locomotives is extremely important, and although some feel that the fragile stickers are not necessary, I feel that they are necessary. Many parts needed to repair our engines now are out of production and worse, Lionel has no parts in their inventory, so, when selling someone a beautiful locomotive, I try my best to do everything necessary to make sure it arrives in excellent condition. I’m glad that you were able to get your VL Big Boy working or fixed correct. Happy Railroading Everyone, and have a great Independence Day.
Now that is a box to make the shipping guys tremble Larry. When they see this thing coming down the conveyor, they're sure to shake in their boots. All joking aside, that is one major packed up box.
Yes, Tom Tee, that’s exactly what is written, “this end up please”, as this box actually was the outer carton sent to me from Pat, Harmonyards, CEO of the Harmon Shops when he returned my re-build Kline J1e NYC Hudson, and there were absolutely no damages. The original Kline box/carton/packing were inside this larger carton full of styrofoam peanuts and bubble wrap and more. Whether the fragile signs made any significant difference, I’m not sure, however, it gave me peace of mind.
I then used this box/outer carton to return two Lionel Legacy expansion sets for repair to Lionel which is the reason for the RA number on the box. Lionel returned it packed the exact same way as received. No damages. Happy Railroading Everyone
Larry, my post was a just a good natured rattle of your chain noting that the "This side up" was on the bottom as pictured.
I am not totally unskilled, but when looking inside my Lionel FEF (since gutted and 2-railed) I could see that trouble-shooting might be a difficult process. Assuming that one simply pulls the old circuitry and installs new, I could see three or four hours' labor plus parts and shipping. That is approaching the cost of a new model, unless the labor cost is way below what your employer charges for your efforts.
I can see why Lionel refuses to deal with out-of-warranty items: it would be so expensive as to drive up the cost of new production, and probably lead to the actual demise of your favorite model train source.
Whoever Jada is, they must be a cottage industry - willing to work for $25/hr with zero overhead expenses. Good for them - tell them thank you as often as possible, because they are doing you a giant favor.
@bob2 posted:I am not totally unskilled, but when looking inside my Lionel FEF (since gutted and 2-railed) I could see that trouble-shooting might be a difficult process. Assuming that one simply pulls the old circuitry and installs new, I could see three or four hours' labor plus parts and shipping. That is approaching the cost of a new model, unless the labor cost is way below what your employer charges for your efforts.
I can see why Lionel refuses to deal with out-of-warranty items: it would be so expensive as to drive up the cost of new production, and probably lead to the actual demise of your favorite model train source.
I think the bigger issue is they have too many warranty repairs that they'd never be able to keep up.
Whoever Jada is, they must be a cottage industry - willing to work for $25/hr with zero overhead expenses. Good for them - tell them thank you as often as possible, because they are doing you a giant favor.
Jada is a one man operation. Alex seems to enjoy fixing these engines and also has a curiosity streak in him.
@Allegheny posted:Hello Tom Tee,
Sounds like you have a good system.
Could you please provide a couple example photos as it would go a long way to help visualize your packaging description/suggestions.
Thanks!
Instead of using this Lionel thread I posted cardboad box instructions under the Atlas general information forum because it involves shipping 10 free standing Atlas switches.
