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I received my Polar Express and 2 additional cars.  The set arrived ok.  I assembled it right away with a few issues.  

 

The first was that a connector pin on one of the fastrack curves was off but I was able to properly reattached it.  The second problem was with one of the two coaches that came with the set.  Whenever it hit a curve it would spark and stop the train.  I quickly pulled the coach off and noted that the side truck was bent and was ever so slightly touching the wheel.  I carefully bent it back and problem solved.  I was now able to run the engine with it's 2 cars at all speeds.

 

Next I added on the 2 additional cars.  I opened up the baggage car and the truck fell off.  Only the light wires kept it attached to the cars.  I found the washer and the pin lock in the box.  I disassembled the car put the washer on and attached the lock pin.  Eight screws later and the car was ready to run with the abandoned toy car.  Started them on the track and at slow speeds (Dial in the 2 o'clock position). I advanced to the 3 o'clock position still all was ok.  When I increased speed to the 4 o'clock position the engine shut down and restarted.  The stop and stop at this speed setting continued. I pulled the 2 cars off and the problem at that speed setting went away.  I put the 2 cars back on and it returned.  I thought maybe the problem was with the 2 cars I pulled so I pulled 2 others Cars. The problem went away. I was at a loss.  Then I had an idea.  Maybe the plug in power supply could not handled the power requirements with both the speed and the lighting power required for 5 cars.  I removed the supplied power and replaced it with my fastrack power straight and my ZW transformer.  Again I powered up the 5 cars with the supplied wireless controller and this time no problem at the 4 o'clock position.  I advanced to 5 then 6 o'clock and the train operated flawlessly.

 

Has anyone else tested this.  Do you have this problem or do I have a bad power unit?

 

Despite all the issues I overcame I do love this set and believe it is a great purchase.

 

--Rocco--

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I am assuming that you have the LionChief version.

 

You are correct. The supplied wall power pack would become insufficient with additional cars or track.

 

I prefer to run the train with AC power, but I use a modern Lionel transformer with a fast acting breaker. If you get a derail using the postwar ZW, the electronics can be fried.

 

I am surprised to hear that the set arrived with that many flaws. That's not typical.

 

There are several options for a power supply. Just find something recent.

Last edited by Moonman
Originally Posted by Moonman:

 

I am surprised to hear that the set arrived with that many flaws. That's not typical.

 

I'm not surprised at all.  For me it's typical Lionel Flyer.  Do you guys in O get special treatment?  It seems like it here in S land.  I'm just about done with Lionel.  Until they get things right (read made in the USA not China) I'm not buying anything else.  Wait until I post my comments on another thread here...

Last edited by poniaj

Yes I have the flyerchief version.  I used the ZW-L transformer and with the FlyerChief remote control it ran just fine with all 5 cars at full speed. Despite the various problems I had with the track and cars I am very happy with this set and would recommend this to anyone.  

 

If there is truly a power restriction with the provided wall unit, this should be noted by Lionel to avoid any confusion that it is defective.

 

i wonder if Lionel used LED lighting for these cars if the power issue would not have occurred.

 

--Rocco--

Jerry,

 

Don't give up on Lionel just yet.  I hope the Polar Express will be a good seller for them.  I think because they over produced by selling to many different engines in a 2 year period with the SD70's, the ES44's and the Y3 they were afraid that they did not know the Market.  On top of that they had the Cylindrical Hopper screw up which caused people off buying the 57" Mechanical Reefers and thus they were cancelled.

 

For some reason I believe some of these issues will be corrected in the 2016 American Flyer catalog.  I would hope Lionel will wise up and give us another chance at the 57" reefers and the Fastrack rail road crossing.  i think 2016 will be a turning point.  Either Lionel will reaffirm its commitment to Flyer or we will get a bunch of old tooling with just reprints.  I have faith.

 

--Rocco--

Originally Posted by logcruiser:

I tried to run with the wall pack on the fast track with the 2 extra cars. The pack appears to be overloading and shutting down.

 

I do not post my findings to bring this set down but to inform.

The supplied power pack only has a 31.5VA rating.  Doesn't sound enough to me.  That's why I use a post war Flyer 18B.  And to keep the lights from heating up the passenger cars I don't set the throttle at full, but around 14-15 volts.  Seems to work fine.  Smoke output is great, all sounds work fine, but like I posted before, the headlight is a bit dim.  Much dimmer than the tender back up light.  I can live with that.  After the warranty runs out, I'll dig into in and see what gives. 

I have only run the engine and tender so far.  I am running it on my existing layout with A/F tubular track and the Locomotive keeps loosing power and cycling into neutral.

 

I am still playing around with it to see what is going on, it seems if I just push down on the locomotive, it picks up power again and takes off.

 

That power supply is a little lame, the catalog pics led me to believe the set was going to include something like a CW-40.

 

As far as the set goes I like it a lot, for an entry level RTR set with remote control, I think they have a good product. 

 

Aflyer

The wall packs are easily topped out with any additional draw. Such as extra cars with lighting.

For me it became obvious of the wall packs limitations when I purchased an LC+ GP7 and it wouldn't even fire the electro couplers when the smoke was on.

I emailed Lionel and this was their reply.

 

 

Hello,

 

Although you have enough power to go around the track you do not have quite enough to run the engine fully with the smoke on and fire the couplers.  The transformer you are using only puts out about 2 amps and you are hitting that threshold with everything on.  We suggest you change the power supply to a CW-80.  One of the first things to go out when you are exceeding or reaching the max amperage is the sounds and you will see the light flicker like it is.  Here is a video that should help:  http://www.lionel.com/Customer....cfm?documentID=6486 .  The wall packs on the lionchief sets are not designed for expansion. We would not suggest adding any additional accessories or lighted cars to this set because you will exceed the available amperage.

 

Thank You,

 

 I bought myself a 180 Powerhouse Brick and haven't had a power problem since.

Last edited by Swanny
Originally Posted by Swanny:

The wall packs are easily topped out with any additional draw. Such as extra cars with lighting.

For me it became obvious of the wall packs limitations when I purchased an LC+ GP7 and it wouldn't even fire the electro couplers when the smoke was on.

I emailed Lionel and this was their reply.

 

 

Hello,

 

Although you have enough power to go around the track you do not have quite enough to run the engine fully with the smoke on and fire the couplers.  The transformer you are using only puts out about 2 amps and you are hitting that threshold with everything on.  We suggest you change the power supply to a CW-80.  One of the first things to go out when you are exceeding or reaching the max amperage is the sounds and you will see the light flicker like it is.  Here is a video that should help:  http://www.lionel.com/Customer....cfm?documentID=6486 .  The wall packs on the lionchief sets are not designed for expansion. We would not suggest adding any additional accessories or lighted cars to this set because you will exceed the available amperage.

 

Thank You,

 

 I bought myself a 180 Powerhouse Brick and haven't had a power problem since.

One would think that a power supply with enough "beef" to provide for basic operations plus a little extra load would be supplied.

 

I can't think of anything more discouraging to a first-time, non-experienced purchaser that things stop working when an extra lighted car or two brings everything to a grinding halt.

 

Rusty

Last edited by Rusty Traque
Originally Posted by Aflyer:

I have only run the engine and tender so far.  I am running it on my existing layout with A/F tubular track and the Locomotive keeps loosing power and cycling into neutral.

 

I am still playing around with it to see what is going on, it seems if I just push down on the locomotive, it picks up power again and takes off.

 

That power supply is a little lame, the catalog pics led me to believe the set was going to include something like a CW-40.

 

As far as the set goes I like it a lot, for an entry level RTR set with remote control, I think they have a good product. 

 

Aflyer

I was having some issues going across the switches on my tubular track. I was cleaning the rear trucks on the engine and noticed I was only getting ware marks on the front set. I set the engine down on the track and noticed that the rear set of wheels did not touch the track. I moved the spring from on top of the draw bar to in between the draw bar and the truck frame. Problem solved. Not sure if this will cause future problems but it runs flawlessly now.

What in the world would motivate the innovators and planners at Lionel to do something so asinine as including an insufficient power supply in a starter train set? Are they that uncaring, indifferent, or oblivious to their customer base?

      I understand how they initially powered the first o gauge PEs with an undersized motor insufficient for powering additional cars as they likely never had the foresight of how popular the series would become with its accompanying demand for additional cars which Lionel has met during the ensuing years. But now that its a fact folks will add additional cars to their sets and Lionel even debuted this s gauge set with two additional sets -- they don't included a power supply suitable for such expansion is simply inexcusable. Enough of this stupid nonsense, Lionel, stop being so callous to us consumers. 

Last edited by ogaugeguy

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