Problems re NY Central Legacy # 2231550

Arnold, have you confirmed the tether is indeed coming unplugged when it enters your curves?….if you reseat it, does it go again at least for a moment?..

Pat

I have one of these. Part of the problem with the tether is the fact that the female receptacle isn't deep enough.

When plugging it in , it's as though it's only in part way.

I suppose it's designed this way so it can disconnect easily to minimize damage to the wires considering there is nothing to grab onto to remove.

Mine would drop into conventional and I would lose the front coupler until the plug was fully seated. This engine is flip flopped from every other Lionel legacy/tmcc steamer produced. All of the electronic goodies are in the tender. Including the antenna.

I put my thumbs on the front side of the cab and use the nails on my middle fingers on either side of the back edge of the plug and give it a firm squeeze.

Also be sure you have the drawbar connected to the slot at the end of the drawbar. Otherwise the deck plate will bind on the front of the tender on tighter than o-48 curves.

Either way between the large tether and the deck plate imo o-31 is tight for this engine.

Lionel never mentioned such a complex tether when this switcher was announced. I was under the assumption it would be comparable to the b6.

It may have been better to give us an updated 0-8-0 if the boards could have been put in the engine where they belong.  Then it could have the traditional bullet proof Lionel i.r. drawbar.

Had I known sooner than a couple of weeks before delivery about the 20 pin tether,  I probably would have passed.

Those Russian decapods folks have on order use the same tether. There's sure to be more threads with issues

O.k. now a little lemonade.

On the bright side. These appear to have a better quality gearbox with a ball bearing worm and a larger horizontally mounted motor than one would expect. Maybe this is originally an Mth design?

Once the tether is secure. This 0-6-0 will run slower than just about anything else in O guage, so it certainly makes a good switcher.

IF and only IF this all falls on deaf ears at the ol’ L, ….and there’s more repeat offenders…..let’s see some pics of these offenders and design a fix …

@RickO out of curiosity, what curves are on your road?….and are you experiencing issues same as Arnold now?….is this tether system just pure junk?…

Pat

I purchased an Atlas 0-6-0 after a few years ago. I had read about the tether arrangement being a pain. I think it’s 16 pins. You plug the engine into the tender and they plug straight up into it. One on each side of the drawbar. So any strain is really on the wires not the plug. The fact that there are 2 tethers is what makes it a pain. Once they are attached I just leave them coupled even when moved off the layout.

Atlas may have been on to something with the 2 tethers. I don’t care how flexible the wires are. When you bundle 20 of them together there is bound to be some strain.

Truth be told. All my steam switchers. Never leave the yard. Which is mostly straight with numbered turnouts. But if you are going to make a nice small, scale engine loaded with feature and advertise it to work on smaller layouts. It should work without this issue. Automotive connectors just simply plug on. Everyone I have ever encountered requires some trick to get them released. They should have looked into that arrangement on a smaller scale.

I have some O-36 turnouts by the ice platform that won't be there on the next layout. .

After the second or 3rd time replugging the tether. I've had no operating issues on these tight turnouts.

I can't stress enough about the drawbar-deckplate arrangement. On the closer coupling slot. The deck plate can rest on the tender but turns need to be O48 or greater.

Less than O48 . You need to use the farther coupling slot/ end slot on the drawbar. However in this position it's better to let the deck plate hang below the tender floor. At this distance it only overlaps at the very edge and risks dropping and jamming against the tender.

If you look at the tender from the side there is a slot just below the tender floor where the deck plate has room to pivot back and forth.

Folks with 048 and greater curves can run the closer coupling with the deck plate on top of the tender , and should have much less risk for tether issues.

I'll see if I can add some photos later if I get a chance.

@Dave_C posted:

I purchased an Atlas 0-6-0 after a few years ago. I had read about the tether arrangement being a pain. I think it’s 16 pins. You plug the engine into the tender and they plug straight up into it. One on each side of the drawbar. So any strain is really on the wires not the plug. The fact that there are 2 tethers is what makes it a pain. Once they are attached I just leave them coupled even when moved off the layout.

Atlas may have been on to something with the 2 tethers. I don’t care how flexible the wires are. When you bundle 20 of them together there is bound to be some strain.

Truth be told. All my steam switchers. Never leave the yard. Which is mostly straight with numbered turnouts. But if you are going to make a nice small, scale engine loaded with feature and advertise it to work on smaller layouts. It should work without this issue. Automotive connectors just simply plug on. Everyone I have ever encountered requires some trick to get them released. They should have looked into that arrangement on a smaller scale.

Some sort of locking connector would be good, ….just not the VAG style, ( VW, Audi, Germany ) …..those have to be the fiercest connectors ever,….😉….

Pat

I believe that Lionel acquired the tooling for this engine from MTH. My MTH version with PS2 works fine, although I don't run it on anything less than O-54. The deficiency with the MTH version is that there are two pickup-rollers under the tender but none under the engine. Could an MTH drawbar be adapted for the mechanical connection? Might that improve things?

MELGAR

@MELGAR posted:

I believe that Lionel acquired the tooling for this engine from MTH. My MTH version with PS2 works fine, although I don't run it on anything less than O-54. The deficiency with the MTH version is that there are two pickup-rollers under the tender but none under the engine. Could an MTH drawbar be adapted for the mechanical connection? Might that improve things?

MELGAR

The PS2 drawbar only has 10 conductors. I believe Lionel’s has more than that. My PS2 version has had zero issues as well.

Pete

@RickO posted:

I have one of these. Part of the problem with the tether is the fact that the female receptacle isn't deep enough.

I put my thumbs on the front side of the cab and use the nails on my middle fingers on either side of the back edge of the plug and give it a firm squeeze.

Rick, you are the greatest!

It's early in the game, so I don't know if your above solution is a long term fix, but so far, so good.

Soon I shall post photos and videos of this wonderful locomotive with such a delicate and fragile tether arrangement which includes numerous very fine wires, tether plug with numerous pins and locomotive receptacle with numerous tiny sockets for the tether plug pins to be inserted in.

This tether arrangement is so delicate, I'm going to give this very cute little steam switcher a female name, to wit: Sally. I'm naming the locomotive after our now deceased family pet, Sally, who was  a very cute German Shepherd Beagle mix, who was a real B . . .!.

LOL, Arnold

Below are photos of Sally's tether arrangement. It's hard to see it well and if it continues to run well, I will never disconnect it.

Here is a video of Sally, notice the swinging bell:

My plan is to make Sally a yard goat, permanently ensconced in my yard with 4 sidings and a passing siding, rarely riding my main line rails.

She will get plenty of yard goat action, shuttling train cars between sidings and on to the passing siding and occasionally onto a main line.

Arnold

@Norton posted:

The PS2 drawbar only has 10 conductors. I believe Lionel’s has more than that. My PS2 version has had zero issues as well.

Pete

I was wondering whether having Lionel's multiple wires remain and be loosely fastened to the MTH drawbar.

MELGAR

Oops, here is a better video of Sally in action:

Arnold

And one more short video of Sally navigating 031 curves:

This locomotive has problems but IMO it's worth fighting for. Arnold

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Rick, you are the greatest!

It's early in the game, so I don't know if your above solution is a long term fix, but so far, so good.

LOL, Arnold

Greatest might be a bit of a stretch, LOL! I just try to help with whatever information I can ,just like alot of folks on the forum.

I've certainly gotten plenty of help from others here along the way. Glad I could help, and hope it continues to run well for you Arnold.

The only way mine will get disconnected, is if an asteroid hits the layout

One more thing. It might be better to have the deck plate ride in that narrow opening between the tender floor and the bottom of the tender shell. Seen just above the deck plate in your photo, but if your content and it ain't broke don't fix it.

If the problem is the deck-plate, it seems to me that it just could be shortened or slightly rounded at the corners to improve operation on smaller radii.

MELGAR

@MELGAR posted:

I was wondering whether having Lionel's multiple wires remain and be loosely fastened to the MTH drawbar.

MELGAR

I wonder if the above could be a long term solution to the problem. I, for one, would never attempt it, but believe repair experts could do it.

@MELGAR posted:

If the problem is the deck-plate, it seems to me that it just could be shortened or slightly rounded at the corners to improve operation on smaller radii.

MELGAR

Under warranty, Lionel extended the tether, which helped,but I still had the problem this morning.

@MELGAR posted:

I believe that Lionel acquired the tooling for this engine from MTH. My MTH version with PS2 works fine, although I don't run it on anything less than O-54. The deficiency with the MTH version is that there are two pickup-rollers under the tender but none under the engine. Could an MTH drawbar be adapted for the mechanical connection? Might that improve things?

MELGAR

Gorgeous locomotive and layout!