MTH UP Veranda Turbine (updated 8/16 with fixes)

I can't get over this "Premier" locomotive has truck plates made of plastic  that are warped!!!

The rear one on ours is warped so much the third truck raises the wheels off the rail when backing up!

Waiting to hear from MTH; the brick and mortar store we purchased it from doesn't take them back, insists they be sent to MTH for warranty work.

The quality of these products is definately going down.  What were they thinking using plastic on a critical part like this unless it was just to save money.

MTH seems to be putting their quality efforts into the products for the European market and cutting manufacturing costs of products for the US market.

I think this last experience kind of kills the incentive to purchase more MTH products in the future .

Like some will comment, "your choice where you spend your money ..."

I am appalled to hear that.  I have the MTH Premier Challenger on Pre-Order which is scheduled to come out next month.  I hope they did not cut corners on the Premier Steamers.  I had decided to sell off my old MTH Premier Challenger (early PS2 with 5v) and upgrade to the latest PS3 Challenger which also has the controls on the top in the tender. 

When these companies are charging this kind of coin they better not compromise.  This market is limited and so are there customers.

I think the corporate suits are taking over at MTH.  Not a good sign.  Hang on to your wallet.

I have seen reviews on this model and it does not sound good. For the price I would expect better from MTH. I just may cancel my order but will give it till next week to see if others have better reviews, if not then I will not accept it.

Kerrigan,

  Are you talking about the plate where the two trucks and pilot are mounted?  There is one on each side. It is an 1/8 thick gray plate that holds the trucks and is connected to the underbody with one screw.  If you are talking about that part, it is NOT plastic.  I know, I just cut and shaved some of it when I lowered it.  Its all metal.  The silver side trucks are all metal also.  The main trucks themselves are all metal.  I just want to know which part is plastic and warped that you are talking.  If your right, that is not good.  But if you are wrong, then you are giving everyone an unjust bad impression of this great model.  Can you please take a picture and show us.  I would like to see the warp.  Also, are you sure its not the roller lifting the truck?  Just take off the roller on the third truck, your engine will not need it.  And see what happens.

Rich

Kerrigan,

Just so everyone's clear, I have no problem with people voicing their concerns etc. It's too bad guys can't enjoy showing their new gear.

Me, I just ordered a new 3.0 Premier scale wheels CP H24-66 Train Master, yesterday; I don't want my new deal "buzz" killed, either. Too many problems and people start getting gun-shy...

Rick

Well it seems the veranda's have been out for about ten days now and very few problems. We're the ones bought by Rich and Kerrigan just a two bad ones and not a conclusion for the entire run? 

It is true most people only post when things go wrong but rarely post when things go right. Lets hope it is the latter. 

I have talked to two friends who ordered the veranda and they both have positive things to say about it.  Of course the smoke unit is still a problem but they had no wobble when running.

Well I just came back from the club in California where I live, Angels Gate Hi Railers and I have nothing but positive news.  The engine ran great.  All motors are firing on all armatures, No warped trucks or eccentric wheels.  I ran the engine backward and forward on Ross Switches, our club uses Ross switches, no issues.  Both smoke units work fine.  Sound is fine, All Systems Go.  No issues other than the forward smoke stack not exhausting through the forward turbine exhaust.  I like the LED's.  This is my first PS3 engine.  The Mars Light is fantastic.  It is a keeper.  No need to return it for anything.  Even the cars in the set were flawless.

Don't forget that the 1998 PS1 version, as built, would not run through 072 curves without derailing. The trucks would hit the tanks on the underside of the frame, limiting the movement and causing the engine to derail. My quick fix was to just remove the 8 tanks. I believe MTH offered parts to raise it up to clear the tanks.

I believe this is why the later propane turbine and evidently this newest veranda has the "high water" look compared to the original PS1 veranda version.

Yes.  MTH did offer a free retrofit kit with detail step by step instructions on how to install the kit.  I did it myself to my PS1 Veranda.  No problem after that.

>>>I believe this is why the later propane turbine and evidently this newest veranda has the "high water" look compared to the original PS1 veranda version<<<

Yes, I remember it well... My Veranda ran good but could not make it around O72 curves backwards. The fix only made the engine look ugly. Never really solved the problem.

This UP fan ended up selling the engine and replacing it with the Lionel Veranda.

That engine ran great on straights and sounded even better, but like the MTH version it bound up on curves so badly it would just slow to a stop and shiver.  It's been on a shelf out of frustration for the past 8 years. I'll probably sell it.

The propane on the other hand has been perfect from the start.. Never had a problem in any way.

Joe

Seems like I'm always standing on the dock when the MTH ship sails ...

We purchased the PS1 Veranda new ... and never heard about the free fix kit from MTH ... it's a shelf-queen as a result.

The new Veranda will probably meet the same fate if MTH cannot fix the warped truck plate.

Don't have the patience to be spending all the time trying to figure out "is the just THIS locomotive that has the problem, is it the turnout, or the way the track approaches the switch .. or is it the ... and on and on ...

I just want to play with the darn things, not re-invent the product so it will work as advertised!

You have to pay attention to these forums to get the latest industry info.  That is how I found out back in 1999.  I called MTH and received the kit in a couple of days.  It was a major teardown of the engine to do it but it got the job done.  I could of also sent it back to MTH to get the kit done under warranty.  But I hate shipping engines due to the way the gorillas at UPS, USPS, and FedEx treat the boxes.  If I can avoid shipping I will.

Works great!  I have now had an opportunity to check out my new Veranda Turbine.  Am very pleased to report that it works great!  No wobble, smokes profusely, interesting sounds, tracks well on my 0-72 curves including switches.  Will look cool next to my other UP Turbines.

Exactly!

One issue with the original PS1 Turbine was the HUGE amount of wiring that was routed around inside the rather narrow carbody.  Even with the new span bolsters installed, the tightness never really went away.  After running mine for a few years with varying degrees of success, I decided to rip out the smoke and all the attendant wiring, including both generators.  This also included ripping out the wiring for the rear coupler on the locomotive itself.  With all that spaghetti now removed, the big chooch gained a flexibility it had never known before!  Since I don't have the new model to make a comparison with, I can't comment on the state of the interior, but you can be sure...it has to be cramped to say the least.

Glad to hear your turbine is running great, can't wait for mine to arrive. 

Guys,

i have shipped dozens of large steam engines and never had a problem. 

What you have to do is pack them correctly and by that I mean double box whatever your shipping.

i have found the for small shipments in the USA I use the USPS and for larger shipments I either use FedEx or ups. For intl shipments the best is the USPS. The others are way too expensive. 

Dave

Hi Kerrigan, Before you commit that MTH Veranda to a place of royalty on the shelf, would you consider selling it? I love a challenge and wouldn't be afraid to tear into one of these. Just askin'. Bill  partsguy.bill@yahoo.com

I have the PS-1 version and remember the truck plate issue discussed above.  As it turned out, the metal used in the original plate warped just enough that it would cause the assembly to bind in the curves as referred to in the posts above.  I contacted MTH and they sent the free replacement truck mounting plates.  It was not an easy task to change them out but once done, everything worked just fine...  One thing I have noticed is that the original version has gray painted handrails which I like better because they stand out.

Alan

Are there any vids out on this particular engine? Or would it be the same as the previous verisons which have vids on it?

No videos, somebody has to have a video

I just got a reply from MTH today. After many emails from people who bought the veranda turbine they now know of the plastic piece was left off.  They have not decided what to do yet but are working on a solution. 

Here is the MTH response to my complaint:

"Thank you for contacting MTH Electric Trains.  We appreciate your interest in our products.  I am sorry for the delay in responding to your email.  We have had a few other customers mention this issue and our service and product development teams are currently looking into it.  I am afraid I do not have an answer quite yet but I will let you know as soon as more information is available.  Please let me know if you have any questions or if there is anything else I can help you with.

Thank you,

Kirstin Martinez

MTH Electric Trains "

In response to previous query, my new Veranda turbine runs fine backwards thru Ross 0-72 switches - smooth as glass and no wobbles.  If we can get the adapter to funnel smoke thru the big outlet that would be great!  This is an impressive locomotive!

I'm going to get my Lionel Veranda turbine out and run 'em side by side.

Not understanding why there's an issue with truck plates, folks. These are the same part for any four wheel power truck in the MTH line, and will only differ when the wheelbase of the truck is shorter...ie. AAR type A switcher trucks.  The AAR "B" truck on the Turbine should be the same as any F-unit, GEEP, or Alco road loco out there.

Now Lionel made a big boo-boo on their CC truck plates for the F3...in that the spacer nubs were left completely off the rear truck on the powered A units. A cheap-O fix is available for this flub.  Kinda rare for a manufacturer to do something this dumb!

jaygee....the way the trucks are mounted on this model are nothing like F-units, etc.  This is a plate with some added detail that basically is between the chassis and the power trucks.  The power trucks are attached to the plate and the plate swivels with the trucks as they go through curves.

Alan

Let's hope MTH comes thru and helps people who are having these difficulties.   Also, it would be  really interesting to see how widespread this problem is.  Is this the kind of problem that MTH should catch in its quality control process?  Are locomotives inspected for these problems before they are shipped out for distribution to customers?  Do they check them all, a random sample, etc.?  If so, what fraction? Anybody know this stuff?

What it appears that yunz folks are talking about has nothing to do with the truck plates, but rather the span bolsters...which, BTW, are prototypically correct for all the 16 axle UP Turbine units. This is the part which the two trucks on each end would swivel independently....and which itself is attached at a single point to the frame, at a  point midway between the two trucks on each end.  On the old MTH unit, these were gray painted die-castings, and were subject to a factory revision, as has been noted.

The actual truck plates are steel stampings which usually hold the side-frames to the die-cast truck body.

Rich,

I might be tempted to get this fantastic looking engine. But on my current layout I only have O63 and O72 curve individual loops. So I would assume the O72 is the minimum requirement. As such, is there a large overhang due to the swivel of the trucks? 

Thanks