New Lionel FM

Oh, I forgot my favorite part, no goofy green marker lights.  The reds when trailing are livable.   

Picked up my Pennsy FM at Toms Trains yesterday. Great loco and I love the horn!  Watch that antenna, it is so fragile! When I was taking off the roof for the programming, I hit one of the stanchions, didn’t break but be careful.

@Cincytrains posted:

Picked up my Pennsy FM at Toms Trains yesterday. Great loco and I love the horn!  Watch that antenna, it is so fragile! When I was taking off the roof for the programming, I hit one of the stanchions, didn’t break but be careful.

Yea. So far I am keeping mine as Engine #1.

Thanks for posting this thread and the video. The instructions included with the engine regarding removing the roof hatch were terrible. I would have never figured it out without the video.

Im awaiting mine !

coming soon ....

A couple of notes:    First on the rear markers red, on an engine running light (no cars or caboose) which is defined as a train in the PRR and other rule books, a red marker must be shown to the rear.   

Second, by the time freight diesels were very common, ie when the trainmasters were delivered, all the lettering was "buff" which is basically a yellow.    Gold was used a little on the early passenger diesels but I think that practice ended fairly quickly and by the 50s even the passenger steamers were getting buff lettering.

Finally al  first generation pennsy diesels with the exception of the RSD 7 and RSD 15, were set up as long hood forward.     Second generation started with the low nose alcos, GEs, and EMDs such as the GP30.

Here are a few pics of the new Wabash FM. Sounds and runs great. Smokes very well.

My only complaint is one that has become far too common: either the gray on my nine other Legacy Wabash diesels is way too dark or the gray on the FM is way too light. I snapped a shot of it next to a Legacy Wabash geep (see below). The two grays aren’t even close. This stuff drives me nuts.  I just wish these color inconsistencies from release to release could be fixed. Admittedly, I’ve never built model train locomotives for a living, but it doesn’t seem like it should be that hard to make colors match from release to release (or even just be close), yet it’s gone on for three or four years now.

Otherwise, this is a very nice Legacy diesel.

Thanks to all who posted on how to get the switch cover off.  It made setup a breeze.  

It's been a gradual lightening.   This is the Legacy 6-28307 model from 2009, it seems to split the difference between the dark gray and the current light gray.  Maybe they're just mixing white in with the gray to stretch the paint supply.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

It's been a gradual lightening.   This is the Legacy 6-28307 model from 2009, it seems to split the difference between the dark gray and the current light gray.  Maybe they're just mixing white in with the gray to stretch the paint supply.

I believe my Wabash Legacy geeps, F-units, and Sd70ACEs were all produced after your FM, so I don’t think they’ve been gradually lightening them.  Having said that, I would definitely take your 11-year old version over my 11-day-old version!  Having a paint scheme that matches my existing fleet is more important to me than Bluetooth or ten different whistles and horns to choose from.....

Thanks for the pic, John.

I'd be glad to trade for the new one.

I'm guessing it was a different factory that did the latest model, and they don't talk to the previous production plant.

John, if you can vouch for the mechanicals and aesthetics of your engine, I’ll check in with you before the next York to coordinate a trade.

Well, it runs 100% and isn't beat up.  I'd have to look it over in detail to see if there are any minor imperfections.  I'm not quite as picky about the colors, so the whizzbang features would be cool to have.

Note that the next York could be a long time off.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Well, it runs 100% and isn't beat up.  I'd have to look it over in detail to see if there are any minor imperfections.  I'm not quite as picky about the colors, so the whizzbang features would be cool to have.

Note that the next York could be a long time off.

100% agree, we’ll trade in April or October, but we’ll figure it out. I’m pulling for April!

I have hotel reservations, but I'm not all that optimistic about it happening in April.  I did make sure I could cancel them right up to game time.   Hopefully, by the fall with the vaccine, we'll start to return to a normal life, but that's still in the air as well.

Santa just gifted me with the DL&W #854 version.  This is my first new engine in over 60 years, and it brings back some of the thrills I experienced with my first Lionel set.

Plus, I’m old enough to remember a pair of the real thing rolling by my home in Hackettstown NJ, pulling an evening commuter train westward.  Cab rearward, with those radiator fans slowly turning.  Fond memories.

Happier New Year to everyone in 2021!

PS> Thanks to John and others who verified previously that the fans on these Lionels don't spin.

This is a great thread and the new FM is a great runner, no fan noise or movements, the five horn options, the five bell options and mars lights on the Trainmaster units are fun to run. Mine needed couple attention, but an easy repair by my dealer. Happy New Year Everyone.

Just discovered the opening cab doors!