New engine arrived and broken

Hopefully They can send you new front and rear pilots, Shipping it back will just break them again.  Are you bothered that the presidential seal on it says George bush on if?

Well, that totally draws a vacuum! Not criticizing Lionel, but ALL manufacturers need to perform drop testing of their packaging to ensure that their product arrives safely.

Weaver and 3rd Rail immediately come to mind for their EXCELLENT packaging. 

Unfortunately, a common occurrence these days.  I hope you can get satisfactory resolution.

double  oops!

I’d see if Lionel responds but I’d hate to say this but glue will be your best friend here. It shouldn’t happen but I suspect you’ll be better off handling this on your own. The parts are overly delicate for the trip and as others pointed out the packaging has a lot to be desired. 

This is a recurring problem with this model Same thing happened to me Design flaw with the Styrofoam packaging. Lionel is aware of this but it continues to happen

I’d second Marty’s comment while it probably isn’t the best option I think it’s a issue with how these SD70ACe’s are packed I’ve had two with basically the same issue, one from a dealer and the other I bought on the forum. I’ve basically come to the conclusion that we just need to ask our dealers to double box these expensive engines for us. I had a new big boy show up unscathed but the box had a dent all the way through from the shipping carton through the Lionel box and damaged the foam. I was extremely worried and probably would’ve refused the package had I been home but everything worked out. 

Sounds like a common issue.  There was a now deleted thread a day or so ago from another member with an air hose that was separated in the box.

So we only made "x" of them, but only "y" of them survived the delivery packaging process unbroken, so they are now more rare (assuming you'd like a non-broken one and not  a"never removed from box"  "mint" one)......

I am probably too old (75) and probably have become a typical " grumpy old man" and I dont want to start a "WW3 ( of words) on this Forum, but I was at least born near NYC ( NJ) and so remember Howard Cosell admonishment to "tell it like it is". If you purchased the train from a "dealer" ( was it a brick&mortar place), and you are having difficulty dealing with the maker, the dealer should take the train back and try to get it repaired from Lionel. Clearly dealers have easier access to the folks at Lionel and the reason we purchase from dealers and sometimes pay a little "extra" is exactly for the reason(s) under discussion. Again, absolutely no disrespect intended ( to anyone)-just thinking about doing good business and starting a little good trouble.

From what I have read, they are all showing up broken! I called my dealer who is picking them up next week. He is going to check them,  I will not accept a broken unit. 

In the days before the internet we bought from local hobby shops. Most times they had a small section of track to test on, which most of the time eliminated returns. We would not have purchased anything with parts falling off of it.

Double boxing probably would not have prevented the OP's problem and would likely have added to the shipping cost. Expecting a bomb-proof shipping container will surely increase the overall cost. So until we go back to LHS purchases I think it will continue to be a problem.

turtle7: I agree with you 100%!  Looks like The World's Greatest Hobby was much more fun when you could visit your friendly brick and mortar train shop where the owner would gladly test run the locomotive he had ordered for you.  This doesn't make you a Grumpy Old Man, but makes you yearn to return to those carefree years when you gathered with fellow model railroaders on a sunny Saturday afternoon to talk trains plus grab the latest issue of O Gauge Railroading off the magazine rack!

As a matter of fact, there are still a few left today in the USA.  Please support the one near you when you can.  Paying a fraction more $$$ for any model can and will save you a lot of unnessasary frustration in the long run.  Remember, the Mom and Pop hobby shop is what helped make America one if not the most wonderful place on the planet it has become known to be.

Having grown up not far from Al I can tell you at one time there were a 1/2 dozen full service train stores in the area. Today the closest one is over 100 miles away. Consider yourself lucky if you still have a shop within an hour of you.

Pete

CSX AL, sorry to hear this, hopefully you can get this resolved soon through your dealer, and let the shipping company know about the damage. If USPS, UPS, FED X, File a claim. A friend of mine filed a claim upon receiving a Lionel Sante Fe Northern 3751, they paid him the $1K he paid as it was insured. So, one thing that I require when ordering any high end diesels or steam locomotives is Triple Packaging. Good luck my friend, your turntables, transfer tables are simply the very Best. Happy Railroading Everyone 

TRBB  Thanks for the  comments.  Reminds me of a verse from McLean's American Pie -something like "I went down to the sacred store- where I'd heard the music years before-but the man there said the music wouldn't play".  In the 50s-early 60s, one could go to a record store and ask that a certain 45 ( rpm) be played briefly to help deciding on a purchase. With the advent of LPs and tapes, that became burdensome and just didn't happen anymore. I do support my LHSs and they gladly "inspect" the things I purchase-and, you are correct again, that is part of the "music" of this hobby. Enjoy-and we do remember those poor folks out west. Spent part of my life in northern Maine and have seen spruce trees "explode" in forest firers. really scary stuff.  turtle7

This isn't a shipping problem, its a packaging problem. I have four MTH SD70s, all shipped without damage.

Maybe Lionel should send someone to the MTH auction and see if they can win some SD70 boxes. Alternatively maybe just buy a box and copy it assuming there isn't a patent on it. 

Pete

Al

I have the same engine and the bottom step on three corners was broken off and one air hose.  The broken steps and air hose were lying in the bottom of the box.  My feeling is that the broken parts were do to poor handling when placing the engines in the Styrofoam box. Probably late Friday afternoon and in a hurry to getting the engines shipped. 

I also have the Geo. Bush funeral Train and all is well with it. No broken steps or air hoses.

Thanks for the comments and input guys. Rattler21, I don’t have a local dealer. I purchased it from a well know dealer and they do not have any more units to replace mine with. They did offer me the option to send it back for a full refund, but I wanted this engine and why I PRE-Ordered it. I do believe this is a packaging problem. I have most engines I want nowadays and when I order a product NEW, I expect it to arrive in good condition. The outer box looked fine. Just disappointing to unwrap a brand new engine a get a bunch of broken parts in the box, then to call the manufacture and not get a return phone call, that’s all. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.

@MartyE posted:

I’d see if Lionel responds but I’d hate to say this but glue will be your best friend here. It shouldn’t happen but I suspect you’ll be better off handling this on your own. The parts are overly delicate for the trip and as others pointed out the packaging has a lot to be desired. 

I'd agree with this. Certainly wouldn't bother returning the engine for this small stuff. I'd just glue the step back on, and see if you can do the same with the hose. You could also order the step part from Lionel, if it's available, drill out the two broken pins, and glue the new one in. I've done both of these things before. Not a biggy. I just got a new Lionel C44-9W a couple weeks ago, and there were two loose hoses in the bottom of the styrofoam. The other hoses are all still in place just fine. I may glue the two of them back, or most likely won't mess with them at all, given that their absence really isn't noticable. I've seen these hoses fallen off on Atlas O engines, too.