So how do you make an MTH Aerotrain run better?

This dose not sound right to me. Of course I seen worst problems out of the box but MTH product line is usually pretty dependable, as is Lionel and all the rest.

Go on line to the MTH web site and in the talk to us pull down you will be able to send them an e-mail. It might take a few days for a reply but they should be able to help you. 

It sounds like a drive train binding issue to me.

Good luck

Plus, specified capabilities notwithstanding, tighter curves mean more stress, strain and tolerances-pushing. There may be a wiring harness issue inside the body - a friend had such a problem in one of his diesels a few years ago; as I recall, one of the wires was just too short and impeded the truck swing.

Yes I agree with GG1 Man.  What you describe does not sound right to me.  I have a MTH Aerotrain from back in 2008 and it ran great out of the box and still runs great!  I do run it on 042 curves, however, I've also run it on a friends layout with 036 with no problems at all.   Definitely contact MTH for help.

I ran mine on O-31 MTH track one Christmas season, set with one added car, no truck skirts, well oiled without any issues. Contact MTH....

Have a friend with one that pulls eight cars. If nothing visible is hindering the truck rotation maybe internally the motor or pick-up wires are hung on something? Hope it is an easy fix. Makes up a very nice train and more successful than the real one!

I have the PS/3 version of this item, I pull ten cars, including a 2% grade.

I had to work on the rear truck of mine to get it working properly.  Specifically, the small pilot wheels were binding, and they didn't turn smoothly.  I finally ended up with some very small shims under the axle screws to allow the wheels to turn freely.  I then did a little bending on the spring extension to get the proper tension on the truck.  After that, it runs pretty well.

You can't use the larger diaphragms on O36, they will bind.

Bradfish,  I just unboxed my new Aerotrain and have the same problems.  Very jerky operation, no power and no hope at all on 31 radius.  I oiled all the cars as well as the engine.  It totally stalls out on a curve with more than one car in tow.  It works some better on 42 radius but still jerky and no power.  Very disappointing.

Was this new from a dealer or from fleabay?   These are very smooth runners.

Brand new set from dealer, received from MTH and shipped Sat, I received today

Sounds like the tooling is wearing out and manufacturing tolerances are off.

I have an older Locosound version and it runs very smooth and pulls six cars just fine on 031 track.

Mine ran jerky at first but after I ran it on the layout at 55 mph for a few minutes, it runs perfect now pulling 9 cars. Minnimum curve is 042.

I contacted my dealer and he is swapping my engine for a new one. I will report back when it arrives. MTH specs says it runs on 031 curves.

It's a very short locomotive as are the cars, so O31 shouldn't be an issue.  Mine runs fine on O36, but it's usually running on O72.  I will say that the rear truck is a very hoaky design.  I have wondered several times if just securing the two wheels solidly in the frame and losing those little pilot wheels would be a better option.  Since the prototype only had two wheels in the rear, it should be a reasonable design.

Sorry I meant my minnimum curve is 042

BradFish1 posted:

So I bought a new MTH Aerotrain and it doesn't run smoothly at all. The rear power truck seems to bind on 036 Fastrack curves.  Does anybody have any other tricks other than break-in?   I didn't put them on but will the wheel skirts and larger diaphragms work on 036 or make it bind worse.

I have one of the original issue Aerotrains from at least 10 years ago.   The cars are 4-wheel, are heavy & don't roll well to begin with, even with the wheels oiled.   It is pretty much of a "lead sled!"

Plus, my loco gets warm to the touch on top after 10-15 minutes of running.   I think they were under-powered then.   I don't know if MTH has improved the newer editions.

Not sure about O-36, but I have O-31 & would say definitely don't put the wheel skirts on... they are pretty much for display only, in my opinion.  

It's pretty mandatory to properly lube the cars for proper running, they don't roll as freely as most passenger cars.  More than one person I know has taken the pickups off most of the cars and used tethers to power the lights for easier rolling, it makes a significant difference.

I used Labelle 102 gear oil to lube the wheels and they run fine. I did notice mine does run a little jerky when you start to reverse it. I think the ears wheels start to move before the front. It does run perfect on 054 but the small rear wheels did slip off on a S on 042. Maybe it's because I use the large diaphrams. I have a old Loco Sound version from the firsr run and it actully runs and pulls better than the new Proto 3 version.

I'm looking for one of the Loco Sound versions, I'd like to build myself a TMCC locomotive so I have one for each control system.

Well my dealer, forum sponsor Mario's Trains, sent me a new power unit and this one is a lot smoother no binding or wheel spinning. I guess I got a dud with the first one. This is why I buy from  Mario;  great price, great packing and most importantly great customer service.

I have the same issues.  I just received mine today and the back truck was loose.  It appears someone tried to tighten it.  Grease everywhere .  Silicone beads were broken open and all through the engine.  I cleaned it up but if I run it at 20 scale miles or less it slides and there is very limited traction.  Almost like the motors are not working at the same speed.  Did a reset with no change.  Emailed the dealer I got it from.  We will see what happens tomorrow.  I have a friend that  bought a prior model and his runs great.  I hope I could just get a new power unit.  This is the first MTH I have bought with problems.

The rear truck design on those is, shall we say, questionable at best.  I had to do considerable tweaking to get mine running 100%.

GRJ, What kind of tweaking did you do?  On my set the cars pull the rear of the engine off the track in O31, mainly on the curved section of the switches.  They will stall the engine out or cause it to slow considerably on a O31 curve.  After considerable break in, it seems to run ok on O42 but I must advance the DCS throttle to 12 mph before it starts to move.  I have attached 4 aerotrain cars to a legacy GP and they run just fine.  I have attached 4 regular freight cars to the aerotrain engine and all is well.  I have added some weights to the rear of the engine - no help.  It seems that the engine is underpowered for the weight of the cars & something is amiss in the rear allowing it to slide off the rails.  I talked to MTH sales to see if anything has changed on this new run.  She said she would check and get back with me but have not heard anything yet.  Would appreciate any advice.  Thanks, Harry

I am a half hour in to a one hour break in of this set I got 2 days ago.  So far, so good.  Runs like a champ on my O31 Lionel tubular with a PW ZW for power.  I had some trepidation given the above comments.    I did the lube thing and let it sit upside down for 2 days.

I had trouble early on with a PS 1 Burlington Zephyr by MTH.  Ended up taking the rear motor out completely.  Runs fine 15 years in.  I love that set!

To those experiencing difficulty with the Aerotrain, either send it back or take it to an authorized MTH station for repair.  I myself have had it with poor QC from the PRC.

If the engine isn't running smoothly at 4-5 scale MPH, it's broken!  If it doesn't move at all by the time you get to 3-4 MPH on the remote, I'd be very worried.  That is NOT normal!  That's the FIRST thing I'd be looking into.

Mine all had to do with the rear truck, I had to put some very small shims in to allow the rear truck pilot wheels to turn freely, and I had to adjust the bend in the truck part with the pilot wheels on it so it would run properly and not jump the tracks.  I've run it a few times since, several times for several hours, and so far it's run fine.  Oh, it's pulling ten cars, so it's capable of pulling them if it's working properly.

Mine is a PS/3 locomotive, but I bought it used in August of 2013.

GRJ, just to be clear.  My engine will start rolling at 3-4 scale MPH with no cars.  With 4 cars it takes 12 to start moving.  Is yours the same?  Thanks

Nope, if I dial up 4-5 MPH with all ten cars, the consist is moving.  That's supposed to be the beauty of cruise control.

It sounds like you have cruise control turned off, but I'm not even sure if you can do that under command.  Did you try a factory reset?

Just a follow up.  The dealer I bought it from has another and he will test it so if it works he will replace mine.  This was definitely a manufacture issue since the truck came loose with grease on the outside of the truck.  Thanks Legacy Station for standing behind what you sale.

Did a factory reset.  The engine sort of lurches for an instant a 4mph but doesn't move until 14 mph now.  Will be calling dealer in morning.  Thanks

Something is very wrong there.

I agree.  It's now on way back to dealer

The prototype didn't run well either.

Bogie

645 posted:

Do as the prototype did - replace the Aerotrain with an E8 and conventional passenger cars! 

And park the Aerotrain on an unused overgrown siding.

Bogie

I guess you guys should take all your steam stuff and do the same with it, right?

I sure love all the useful comments...

I got the first one a few years ago. I have run it many times and have not had a problem with it. I really am glad they made this set and am very happy with it. I run it on 072 and larger. I added figure to the cab and all the cars.

I received the new engine and it works 50% better then the one I received with the loose back truck and grease on the outside.  It will still need to be tweaked to run better at slow speeds.  It runs great over 20 scale miles but likes to slip in areas on my layout when running at slow speeds.  It seems the back truck needs additional weight.  It also runs better without the additional 4th car I purchased.   MTH would have been better off having the tack on the front motor instead of the back which has a tendency to loose traction at slow speeds.  Not the smoothest running engine but I like the style and will keep it.  Maybe it needs some running time to break it in.  It will get some run time on our TCA, Fort Pitt Division Kids Club Fast Track modular layout.  We set up for the Pittsburgh Home and Garden Show for 10 days from March 4th through the 13th.

I managed to tinker with the rear truck and get mine to a place where it can drag all ten cars around, even on the 2% grade.

I suspect you might be able to move the tach if you were so inclined, that might be an interesting exercise.  You just extend the three wires and use a printed tach strip for the front motor.  You'd probably have to bond the tach reader to the motor with spacers and CA adhesive instead of the bulky motor mount.

Good afternoon, I apologize if this a stupid question, I am kinda new to this. Question related to the new(2016)MTH Aerotrain. I am having issues with the power up sequence with conventional transformer. Sometimes the engine powers up and responds to the button commands of the MTH transformer. Other times it doesn't power up at all. At times when the engine is powered up it  still does not respond to the commands of the transformer, remaining in neutral. I read the manual, but am still stumped. Any idea what I am doing wrong?

Thanks

OldBogie posted:

645 posted:

Do as the prototype did - replace the Aerotrain with an E8 and conventional passenger cars! 

And park the Aerotrain on an unused overgrown siding.

Bogie

And give it to the museum near Chicago after RI used them in commute service!

As you can see from these posts, there are several reported problems with this engine.  Unless one of the wiser gurus pop up the best advise I could give is call your dealer and let him walk you through the start up.  I returned mine as it just had too many problems. 

Thanks for the response and info. I will give them a call,  thank you again. Its a shame it is a nice  looking piece.

BLOMMER88, did  you  get your Aerotrain working?  I just heard from my dealer.  MTH repair said the one I returned had a short and needed to order a part for it.  At least  they found a problem.  Don't know what part or if there is any commonality to the problem engines.  fwiw

Lionel 046, thanks for the response, I did get it working a couple of days ago without tinkering with it.  I have not run it since then though. It seems to have a mind of its own, but a short could account for unreliability of it starting up. I will definitely keep that in mind.  When it runs it runs great. Thanks again.

PRR Joe I was thinking similar but MTH could have tired all 6 power wheels and had a tether to the first car to use the cars 4 wheels for the ground or add power to the first car but that would have raised the price. My PS3 version is ok with about 6 cars but my old Locosound version pulls all 10 with no problem. 

My PS/3 Aerotrain pulls ten cars without a problem.

Aerotrain Aficionados:

My Aerotrain set is the Rock Island version with PS-3. I bought if on eBay from a hobbyist who placed weights in the loco and  provided three add'l coaches (total of six) with figures installed in all of the coaches. When I placed it on my layout for a test run, I quickly discovered that the Aerotrain is "fussy" about trackwork and switches, especially its rear truck. The loco derailed at seven trackwork sites on my Lionel O-gauge O42 tubular tracks with K-line O42 switches (due to snags at the swivel rail).

Other locos in my collection ran OK on the trackwork, so I considered the issues with the Aerotrain as "Lessons in Trackwork 101" for my continuing education as a hobbyist/collector. Tips from GRJ at the OGR FORUM helped; however, he has applied more "tricks of the trade" to his Aerotrain set than I have done so far. However, I'm "walking in his moccasins."

My young helper and I fixed the trouble spots in two afternoon work sessions -- an exercise in humility for me from previously-laid trackwork and clearance spacing errors along my right of way. That adventure was the reason I wrote an article for publication in THE LION ROARS magazine. It's scheduled for publication in the October issue.

Later, I found and purchased three more Aerotrain RI coaches; now I have nine coaches. At the next operating session, I'll  find out if the loco can pull them all. I expect the greatest challenge to the loco will be pulling this consist around the O42 curves and through O42 switches (especially when set to the curved path). I kept the "wide" diaphragms in place, but I have the "narrow" diaphragms on hand -- just in case.

I'm willing to persevere with the Aerotrain because I was a teenage passenger when it was assigned for a while in the mid-1950s to Rock Island's PEORIA ROCKET route as "The Train of Tomorrow."  That was a memory-maker!

Mike Mottler     LCCA 12394

I predict the wide diaphragms will be a problem with O42.  They make it on O72, but it's fairly close.  I know that they derailed on O36 when I was running on Fastrack.

There is the PRR option:  pull the train with a GG1 into and out of NY Penn!

@Mike H Mottler posted:

Aerotrain Aficionados:

My Aerotrain set is the Rock Island version with PS-3. I bought if on eBay from a hobbyist who placed weights in the loco and  provided three add'l coaches (total of six) with figures installed in all of the coaches. When I placed it on my layout for a test run, I quickly discovered that the Aerotrain is "fussy" about trackwork and switches, especially its rear truck. The loco derailed at seven trackwork sites on my Lionel O-gauge O42 tubular tracks with K-line O42 switches (due to snags at the swivel rail).

Other locos in my collection ran OK on the trackwork, so I considered the issues with the Aerotrain as "Lessons in Trackwork 101" for my continuing education as a hobbyist/collector. Tips from GRJ at the OGR FORUM helped; however, he has applied more "tricks of the trade" to his Aerotrain set than I have done so far. However, I'm "walking in his moccasins."

My young helper and I fixed the trouble spots in two afternoon work sessions -- an exercise in humility for me from previously-laid trackwork and clearance spacing errors along my right of way. That adventure was the reason I wrote an article for publication in THE LION ROARS magazine. It's scheduled for publication in the October issue.

Later, I found and purchased three more Aerotrain RI coaches; now I have nine coaches. At the next operating session, I'll  find out if the loco can pull them all. I expect the greatest challenge to the loco will be pulling this consist around the O42 curves and through O42 switches (especially when set to the curved path). I kept the "wide" diaphragms in place, but I have the "narrow" diaphragms on hand -- just in case.

I'm willing to persevere with the Aerotrain because I was a teenage passenger when it was assigned for a while in the mid-1950s to Rock Island's PEORIA ROCKET route as "The Train of Tomorrow."  That was a memory-maker!

Mike Mottler     LCCA 12394

This set sounds identical to a set I sold to a member a few months ago.  Are the weights black.  If yes, I did the work with help from Gun Runner John.     I sent them the shorter diaphrams.  I also put figutes in all the cars.  That is why this sounds so familiar.  FWIW, he had a tighter radius but was more for getting back in the hobby nand replacing the cars.    It ran flawless on 72 and larger atlas track and switches.  Even with the fender skirts on.

Tighter curves will challenge the Aerotrain locomotive more, the rear truck gets squirrelly on tight curves..  If I ever get time, I want to take my second Aerotrain locomotive and do some mods to the rear truck to see if I could increase the reliability of running.  However, that's in the list of 100 other things I want to find time to do!

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Tighter curves will challenge the Aerotrain locomotive more, the rear truck gets squirrelly on tight curves..  If I ever get time, I want to take my second Aerotrain locomotive and do some mods to the rear truck to see if I could increase the reliability of running.  However, that's in the list of 100 other things I want to find time to do!

I think it is my set I sold John.  Everything you suggested here was applied when I had it.  If the same, the diaphrams should be the only issue.  Actually weighted like a Premier and ran like one also.

Yep, weight and making sure the rear truck has the right balance and freely pivots was key in getting mine running better.  I've found that weight helps 98% of the diesels, a vast majority of them don't have sufficient weight.  The Aerotrain just has other liabilities that have to be addressed as well as the light weight.

I'm sure you remember my picture of my Lionel Amtrak HHP-8, the difference after adding the extra pound plus of weight had to be seen to be believed.  It went from struggling to pull four SuperLiners to pulling ten of them with no problem!  I marveled at the difference at the time, I really didn't believe that much improvement could be obtained!

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Yep, weight and making sure the rear truck has the right balance and freely pivots was key in getting mine running better.  I've found that weight helps 98% of the diesels, a vast majority of them don't have sufficient weight.  The Aerotrain just has other liabilities that have to be addressed as well as the light weight.

I'm sure you remember my picture of my Lionel Amtrak HHP-8, the difference after adding the extra pound plus of weight had to be seen to be believed.  It went from struggling to pull four SuperLiners to pulling ten of them with no problem!  I marveled at the difference at the time, I really didn't believe that much improvement could be obtained!

Well Gunrunner, At least that loco is legal in NJ. It isn't carrying Hollow Points!

BTW, HAs anyone attempted to add Ball Bearings to the coach cars for lesser resistance?

@prrhorseshoecurve posted:

Well Gunrunner, At least that loco is legal in NJ. It isn't carrying Hollow Points!

Boy, I dodged a bullet on that one!

@prrhorseshoecurve posted:

BTW, HAs anyone attempted to add Ball Bearings to the coach cars for lesser resistance?

I think that would be a major task and require extensive mechanical modifications.

In any case, if you really want to reduce the rolling resistance of the Aerotrain cars, there's a much simpler way.  Just run a one-wire tether between the cars for track power and remove the center track rollers from most of the cars.  The difference is astounding, about 50% of the rolling resistance is the center track rollers.  I did that for one customer for the four car set and just ran everything from the engine power.

This one doesn’t run very well either. 😜

Green Bay?

@JDFonz posted:

Green Bay?

National Museum of Transportation, Kirkwood Mo. (St. Louis County)

Got it, we have one in Green Bay but I haven’t been there in a while.