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JFC454 posted:

New Vision Line Challenger back from Lionel after repairs and the articulated chuffing fix.  

Did Lionel take care handling the train in there repair shop? I want to send my ones in but I am concerned about scratches etc. I want the train to be scratch free when it comes back. So I am looking for feedback from people who sent their ones in

sahan posted:
JFC454 posted:

New Vision Line Challenger back from Lionel after repairs and the articulated chuffing fix.  

Did Lionel take care handling the train in there repair shop? I want to send my ones in but I am concerned about scratches etc. I want the train to be scratch free when it comes back. So I am looking for feedback from people who sent their ones in

I don't think it is Lionel you have to worry about, it's the shipping companies.  When my engine was returned it was packed in a very large box loaded with styrofoam peanuts.  Inside was the engine in the shipping box I had used to send the engine back.  That box had a 3" gaping hole in the side that caused the Vision Line box to be crushed.  One of the corners of that black box was crushed also.  There had been some sort of serious impact that the box had suffered on the way to Lionel.  Despite the rough treatment given by the shipping, there were no cosmetic damages that I could see.  Unfortunately two of the tender marker lights don't work anymore.  I do not doubt that they were working when Lionel shipped the engine back.  I believe that some of the damages we see in our trains are due to rough treatment during domestic shipping.

JFC454 posted:
sahan posted:
JFC454 posted:

New Vision Line Challenger back from Lionel after repairs and the articulated chuffing fix.  

Did Lionel take care handling the train in there repair shop? I want to send my ones in but I am concerned about scratches etc. I want the train to be scratch free when it comes back. So I am looking for feedback from people who sent their ones in

I don't think it is Lionel you have to worry about, it's the shipping companies.  When my engine was returned it was packed in a very large box loaded with styrofoam peanuts.  Inside was the engine in the shipping box I had used to send the engine back.  That box had a 3" gaping hole in the side that caused the Vision Line box to be crushed.  One of the corners of that black box was crushed also.  There had been some sort of serious impact that the box had suffered on the way to Lionel.  Despite the rough treatment given by the shipping, there were no cosmetic damages that I could see.  Unfortunately two of the tender marker lights don't work anymore.  I do not doubt that they were working when Lionel shipped the engine back.  I believe that some of the damages we see in our trains are due to rough treatment during domestic shipping.

I understand. That is my other concern. I am trying to find a box which I can use to double box these. Due to the size of the lionel shipping carton its hard to find one that would fit it. Do you know where to buy one? I looked at home depot and they don't have one. Not at UPS store and Fedex office either. 

sahan posted:
JFC454 posted:
sahan posted:
JFC454 posted:

New Vision Line Challenger back from Lionel after repairs and the articulated chuffing fix.  

Did Lionel take care handling the train in there repair shop? I want to send my ones in but I am concerned about scratches etc. I want the train to be scratch free when it comes back. So I am looking for feedback from people who sent their ones in

I don't think it is Lionel you have to worry about, it's the shipping companies.  When my engine was returned it was packed in a very large box loaded with styrofoam peanuts.  Inside was the engine in the shipping box I had used to send the engine back.  That box had a 3" gaping hole in the side that caused the Vision Line box to be crushed.  One of the corners of that black box was crushed also.  There had been some sort of serious impact that the box had suffered on the way to Lionel.  Despite the rough treatment given by the shipping, there were no cosmetic damages that I could see.  Unfortunately two of the tender marker lights don't work anymore.  I do not doubt that they were working when Lionel shipped the engine back.  I believe that some of the damages we see in our trains are due to rough treatment during domestic shipping.

I understand. That is my other concern. I am trying to find a box which I can use to double box these. Due to the size of the lionel shipping carton its hard to find one that would fit it. Do you know where to buy one? I looked at home depot and they don't have one. Not at UPS store and Fedex office either. 

Build your own - you have to go cardboard hunting - you can find large pieces of heavy cardboard behind tile/flooring stores and appliance stores.

I happened to have a box from a new folding golf cart that was barely large enough for the Lionel shipping carton with the loco box inside (factory). I mean that it had enough room on all side for shipping peanuts. Something like 40" long by 12" x 12" or 14" x 14".

Moonman posted:
sahan posted:
JFC454 posted:
sahan posted:
JFC454 posted:

New Vision Line Challenger back from Lionel after repairs and the articulated chuffing fix.  

Did Lionel take care handling the train in there repair shop? I want to send my ones in but I am concerned about scratches etc. I want the train to be scratch free when it comes back. So I am looking for feedback from people who sent their ones in

I don't think it is Lionel you have to worry about, it's the shipping companies.  When my engine was returned it was packed in a very large box loaded with styrofoam peanuts.  Inside was the engine in the shipping box I had used to send the engine back.  That box had a 3" gaping hole in the side that caused the Vision Line box to be crushed.  One of the corners of that black box was crushed also.  There had been some sort of serious impact that the box had suffered on the way to Lionel.  Despite the rough treatment given by the shipping, there were no cosmetic damages that I could see.  Unfortunately two of the tender marker lights don't work anymore.  I do not doubt that they were working when Lionel shipped the engine back.  I believe that some of the damages we see in our trains are due to rough treatment during domestic shipping.

I understand. That is my other concern. I am trying to find a box which I can use to double box these. Due to the size of the lionel shipping carton its hard to find one that would fit it. Do you know where to buy one? I looked at home depot and they don't have one. Not at UPS store and Fedex office either. 

Build your own - you have to go cardboard hunting - you can find large pieces of heavy cardboard behind tile/flooring stores and appliance stores.

I happened to have a box from a new folding golf cart that was barely large enough for the Lionel shipping carton with the loco box inside (factory). I mean that it had enough room on all side for shipping peanuts. Something like 40" long by 12" x 12" or 14" x 14".

Fed Ex has a golf bag box (on their website) that is 48 X 15 X 15.

JFC454 posted:
.  Unfortunately two of the tender marker lights don't work anymore. T I do not doubt that they were working when Lionel shipped the engine back.  I believe that some of the damages we see in our trains are due to rough treatment during domestic shipping.

Make sure the marker lights are just not turned off via Cab 2 lighting menu. 

MartyE posted:
JFC454 posted:
.  Unfortunately two of the tender marker lights don't work anymore. T I do not doubt that they were working when Lionel shipped the engine back.  I believe that some of the damages we see in our trains are due to rough treatment during domestic shipping.

Make sure the marker lights are just not turned off via Cab 2 lighting menu. 

I wish it were something simple like that.  There is one rear marker light that is lit on the left side which responds to commands from the remote.  The high middle one and the right hand rear marker light are out.  All three worked when I sent it in for other repairs.  When I took the tender shell off it looks like both of the dead lights are on the same end of the circuit board.  The socket for the right hand light is barely attached to the board.

sahan posted:

I understand. That is my other concern. I am trying to find a box which I can use to double box these. Due to the size of the lionel shipping carton its hard to find one that would fit it. Do you know where to buy one? I looked at home depot and they don't have one. Not at UPS store and Fedex office either. 

As others have said, build your own. I have to do this regularly for Ebay shipping. Get an large/extra large box at Home Depot (or two of them and stack them for extra length, use a box cutter to crease the box (minimum depth crease) to the size you want, and start taping (including along the creasing cuts). I use a good quality wide masking tape. The process takes some time, but you'll get the size you need.

mashinter posted:
Moonman posted:
sahan posted:
JFC454 posted:
sahan posted:
JFC454 posted:

New Vision Line Challenger back from Lionel after repairs and the articulated chuffing fix.  

Did Lionel take care handling the train in there repair shop? I want to send my ones in but I am concerned about scratches etc. I want the train to be scratch free when it comes back. So I am looking for feedback from people who sent their ones in

I don't think it is Lionel you have to worry about, it's the shipping companies.  When my engine was returned it was packed in a very large box loaded with styrofoam peanuts.  Inside was the engine in the shipping box I had used to send the engine back.  That box had a 3" gaping hole in the side that caused the Vision Line box to be crushed.  One of the corners of that black box was crushed also.  There had been some sort of serious impact that the box had suffered on the way to Lionel.  Despite the rough treatment given by the shipping, there were no cosmetic damages that I could see.  Unfortunately two of the tender marker lights don't work anymore.  I do not doubt that they were working when Lionel shipped the engine back.  I believe that some of the damages we see in our trains are due to rough treatment during domestic shipping.

I understand. That is my other concern. I am trying to find a box which I can use to double box these. Due to the size of the lionel shipping carton its hard to find one that would fit it. Do you know where to buy one? I looked at home depot and they don't have one. Not at UPS store and Fedex office either. 

Build your own - you have to go cardboard hunting - you can find large pieces of heavy cardboard behind tile/flooring stores and appliance stores.

I happened to have a box from a new folding golf cart that was barely large enough for the Lionel shipping carton with the loco box inside (factory). I mean that it had enough room on all side for shipping peanuts. Something like 40" long by 12" x 12" or 14" x 14".

Fed Ex has a golf bag box (on their website) that is 48 X 15 X 15.

Where do you see a golf bag box on Fedex website? I checked but could not find it. They have all standard size boxes from what I see there.

breezinup posted:
sahan posted:

I understand. That is my other concern. I am trying to find a box which I can use to double box these. Due to the size of the lionel shipping carton its hard to find one that would fit it. Do you know where to buy one? I looked at home depot and they don't have one. Not at UPS store and Fedex office either. 

As others have said, build your own. I have to do this regularly for Ebay shipping. Get an large/extra large box at Home Depot (or two of them and stack them for extra length, use a box cutter to crease the box (minimum depth crease) to the size you want, and start taping (including along the creasing cuts). I use a good quality wide masking tape. The process takes some time, but you'll get the size you need.

I guess this is the thing to do. Will take a lot of time since I have not done it before. As long as the train and visionline box is protected I don't mind.

sahan posted:
mashinter posted:
Moonman posted:
sahan posted:
JFC454 posted:
sahan posted:
JFC454 posted:

New Vision Line Challenger back from Lionel after repairs and the articulated chuffing fix.  

Did Lionel take care handling the train in there repair shop? I want to send my ones in but I am concerned about scratches etc. I want the train to be scratch free when it comes back. So I am looking for feedback from people who sent their ones in

I don't think it is Lionel you have to worry about, it's the shipping companies.  When my engine was returned it was packed in a very large box loaded with styrofoam peanuts.  Inside was the engine in the shipping box I had used to send the engine back.  That box had a 3" gaping hole in the side that caused the Vision Line box to be crushed.  One of the corners of that black box was crushed also.  There had been some sort of serious impact that the box had suffered on the way to Lionel.  Despite the rough treatment given by the shipping, there were no cosmetic damages that I could see.  Unfortunately two of the tender marker lights don't work anymore.  I do not doubt that they were working when Lionel shipped the engine back.  I believe that some of the damages we see in our trains are due to rough treatment during domestic shipping.

I understand. That is my other concern. I am trying to find a box which I can use to double box these. Due to the size of the lionel shipping carton its hard to find one that would fit it. Do you know where to buy one? I looked at home depot and they don't have one. Not at UPS store and Fedex office either. 

Build your own - you have to go cardboard hunting - you can find large pieces of heavy cardboard behind tile/flooring stores and appliance stores.

I happened to have a box from a new folding golf cart that was barely large enough for the Lionel shipping carton with the loco box inside (factory). I mean that it had enough room on all side for shipping peanuts. Something like 40" long by 12" x 12" or 14" x 14".

Fed Ex has a golf bag box (on their website) that is 48 X 15 X 15.

Where do you see a golf bag box on Fedex website? I checked but could not find it. They have all standard size boxes from what I see there.

www.fedex.com

shipping

packing and shipping supplies

get boxes packed by the pros, see pricing

specialty boxes

I used the telescoping box to ship a long locomotive box back to the manufacturer, but the manufacturer must have damaged the telescoping box when unpacking it and so returned it in the factory shipping box, which got beat up on the return trip. That's why I recommend the golf bag box.

RickO posted:
Duncan H W Foster posted:

Can you let us know if the other sounds like the steam whistle are the same.  My Challenger has the same sounds as the Big Boy and I like the effect.

It should sound like the bigboy.

FWIW, the real  UP Challengers, Bigboys ,and FEF Northerns, all use the same Hancock 3 chime whistle.

The Big Boys, FEFs, and Challengers all did have Hancock 3 Chimes, but having all of them sound the same is simply unrealistic. Lionel's Vision Big Boy, 2015 FEF, and now the most recent Vision Challenger all have the exact same whistle sound. If you were to run these engines all together, it would sound extremely unprototypical.

Check this out from the UP Historical Society. 12 recordings of Hancock 3 Chimes on FEFs, Challengers, and Big Boys. All the same design, but VERY different sound!

http://uphs.org/the-streamline...-whistle-recordings/

mashinter posted:
sahan posted:
mashinter posted:
Moonman posted:
sahan posted:
JFC454 posted:
sahan posted:
JFC454 posted:

New Vision Line Challenger back from Lionel after repairs and the articulated chuffing fix.  

Did Lionel take care handling the train in there repair shop? I want to send my ones in but I am concerned about scratches etc. I want the train to be scratch free when it comes back. So I am looking for feedback from people who sent their ones in

I don't think it is Lionel you have to worry about, it's the shipping companies.  When my engine was returned it was packed in a very large box loaded with styrofoam peanuts.  Inside was the engine in the shipping box I had used to send the engine back.  That box had a 3" gaping hole in the side that caused the Vision Line box to be crushed.  One of the corners of that black box was crushed also.  There had been some sort of serious impact that the box had suffered on the way to Lionel.  Despite the rough treatment given by the shipping, there were no cosmetic damages that I could see.  Unfortunately two of the tender marker lights don't work anymore.  I do not doubt that they were working when Lionel shipped the engine back.  I believe that some of the damages we see in our trains are due to rough treatment during domestic shipping.

I understand. That is my other concern. I am trying to find a box which I can use to double box these. Due to the size of the lionel shipping carton its hard to find one that would fit it. Do you know where to buy one? I looked at home depot and they don't have one. Not at UPS store and Fedex office either. 

Build your own - you have to go cardboard hunting - you can find large pieces of heavy cardboard behind tile/flooring stores and appliance stores.

I happened to have a box from a new folding golf cart that was barely large enough for the Lionel shipping carton with the loco box inside (factory). I mean that it had enough room on all side for shipping peanuts. Something like 40" long by 12" x 12" or 14" x 14".

Fed Ex has a golf bag box (on their website) that is 48 X 15 X 15.

Where do you see a golf bag box on Fedex website? I checked but could not find it. They have all standard size boxes from what I see there.

www.fedex.com

shipping

packing and shipping supplies

get boxes packed by the pros, see pricing

specialty boxes

I used the telescoping box to ship a long locomotive box back to the manufacturer, but the manufacturer must have damaged the telescoping box when unpacking it and so returned it in the factory shipping box, which got beat up on the return trip. That's why I recommend the golf bag box.

Thanks

sahan posted:
mashinter posted:
sahan posted:
mashinter posted:
Moonman posted:
sahan posted:
JFC454 posted:
sahan posted:
JFC454 posted:

New Vision Line Challenger back from Lionel after repairs and the articulated chuffing fix.  

Did Lionel take care handling the train in there repair shop? I want to send my ones in but I am concerned about scratches etc. I want the train to be scratch free when it comes back. So I am looking for feedback from people who sent their ones in

I don't think it is Lionel you have to worry about, it's the shipping companies.  When my engine was returned it was packed in a very large box loaded with styrofoam peanuts.  Inside was the engine in the shipping box I had used to send the engine back.  That box had a 3" gaping hole in the side that caused the Vision Line box to be crushed.  One of the corners of that black box was crushed also.  There had been some sort of serious impact that the box had suffered on the way to Lionel.  Despite the rough treatment given by the shipping, there were no cosmetic damages that I could see.  Unfortunately two of the tender marker lights don't work anymore.  I do not doubt that they were working when Lionel shipped the engine back.  I believe that some of the damages we see in our trains are due to rough treatment during domestic shipping.

I understand. That is my other concern. I am trying to find a box which I can use to double box these. Due to the size of the lionel shipping carton its hard to find one that would fit it. Do you know where to buy one? I looked at home depot and they don't have one. Not at UPS store and Fedex office either. 

Build your own - you have to go cardboard hunting - you can find large pieces of heavy cardboard behind tile/flooring stores and appliance stores.

I happened to have a box from a new folding golf cart that was barely large enough for the Lionel shipping carton with the loco box inside (factory). I mean that it had enough room on all side for shipping peanuts. Something like 40" long by 12" x 12" or 14" x 14".

Fed Ex has a golf bag box (on their website) that is 48 X 15 X 15.

Where do you see a golf bag box on Fedex website? I checked but could not find it. They have all standard size boxes from what I see there.

www.fedex.com

shipping

packing and shipping supplies

get boxes packed by the pros, see pricing

specialty boxes

I used the telescoping box to ship a long locomotive box back to the manufacturer, but the manufacturer must have damaged the telescoping box when unpacking it and so returned it in the factory shipping box, which got beat up on the return trip. That's why I recommend the golf bag box.

Thanks

Wow check out all those nested posts

TrainMan1225 posted:
 

The Big Boys, FEFs, and Challengers all did have Hancock 3 Chimes, but having all of them sound the same is simply unrealistic. Lionel's Vision Big Boy, 2015 FEF, and now the most recent Vision Challenger all have the exact same whistle sound. If you were to run these engines all together, it would sound extremely unprototypical.

Check this out from the UP Historical Society. 12 recordings of Hancock 3 Chimes on FEFs, Challengers, and Big Boys. All the same design, but VERY different sound!

http://uphs.org/the-streamline...-whistle-recordings/

Fortunately for me, I have the 2008 FEF, JLC Legacy 4014, and now this one.  At least two should be different.

Very glad to see Big Orange stepping up here.  The OP's video looks and sounds great.  That's almost exactly what I was shelling out 1600+ bananas for.

RickO posted:
Duncan H W Foster posted:

Can you let us know if the other sounds like the steam whistle are the same.  My Challenger has the same sounds as the Big Boy and I like the effect.

It should sound like the bigboy.

FWIW, the real  UP Challengers, Bigboys ,and FEF Northerns, all use the same Hancock 3 chime whistle.

That is correct. Follow this link for a discussion of UP's usage of the Hancock Long-Bell 3-Chime whistle on all 175 of their "big" engines.

I want to draw everyone's attention to this paragraph from the article: "One of the interesting elements of steam whistles is the degree to which the sound produced can vary, even when of the same design and construction.  These tracks illustrate Hancock long-bell whistles operating properly and some performing very poorly.  Refer to the captions for related data."

I keep coming across erroneous comments on railfan sites about whistles on different locomotives and how they are not a "Daylight" whistle or a "Class J" whistle etc. 4449 currently carries a whistle from an SP GS class locomotive.  Since it is the flat-top version, it is pre-1938 which means it was on a GS-2 or GS-3. The 1941 GS-4s used the post-1938 step top type.  In the past, 4449 carried whistles from a NP Challenger and SP&S 700. Though they may have differences in tone, all three are Hancock Long-Bell 3-Chime whistles. (Note: it is said that the flat-top had a more mellow tone than the later step-top, although they sounded the same tones, equivalent to musical notes A-C-E, an A-minor triad chord.) Same goes for the current whistle on 611, purportedly from a UP 4000 class and the whistle she used in the '80s and '90s which came from N&W 600.

 

Last edited by Nick Chillianis

Too add to what Nick just posted, above; a lot depends on the steam supplied to the whistle. Many railroads chose to have the whistle supplied with superheated steam as compared to saturated (cooler) steam.

Also, many railroads had an air operated control cylinder to open and close the whistle steam supply, thus all the Engineer had to do was press down on a small brass lever, which controlled the air supply to the whistle operating cylinder (SP cab forwards and GS class 4-8-4s had such arrangements). 

Hot Water posted:

Too add to what Nick just posted, above; a lot depends on the steam supplied to the whistle. Many railroads chose to have the whistle supplied with superheated steam as compared to saturated (cooler) steam.

Also, many railroads had an air operated control cylinder to open and close the whistle steam supply, thus all the Engineer had to do was press down on a small brass lever, which controlled the air supply to the whistle operating cylinder (SP cab forwards and GS class 4-8-4s had such arrangements). 

Jack, the N&W J Class were equipped with the Viloco whistle actuators, however they also had pull ropes on both sides of the cab. It appears from the bulk of N&W audio from the '50s that the crewmen eschewed the valve and preferred to "play" the whistles manually. New York Central was a big time user of the Viloco valve and in virtually all the recordings in my collection the whistle is either fully on or fully off (no quilling or feathering possible).  Recordings of the Niagaras feature mostly the air horn, although the whistle is blown once or twice. K-11 Pacifics used in the New York and the West Shore commuter zones and on the Adirondack Branch were equipped with Hancock 3-Chimes and were manually operated. From what I've read, the mellow Hancocks created less of a disturbance than the more shrill NYC 6-chimes to residents in the bedroom communities where the commuter trains operated. 

 

 

Video of Lionel VL Big Boy #4014 and VL Challenger #3985 Whistle Sounds

Here is a short video of the whistle sounds.  

I noticed the steam generators on the 1931260 Challenger losing smoke after 15 minutes.  The steam generators worked perfectly when I first started the engine.  I have not been able to get them to work again.  The 1931250 Greyhound Challenger that I returned also lost the steam generator smoke.

The 1931260 Challenger engine is extremely HOT (not warm, Hot)  to the touch after 20 minutes of run time.  I never noticed any other Lionel steam engines get so HOT.  The VL Big Boy #4014 is fine.

The Challenger whistle smoke and stack smoke work perfectly.  I have an RA to send the engine to Lionel Service to have the new Articulated Sounds added and the drivers put Out-of-Sync.  I will add the Extreme Heat of the engine shell and the Steam Generators to the list.  The Inspection Label was over the tape on the engine shipping carton.  I will add a video of the repaired engine when it returns. 

My Western Allegheny is also going back to Lionel for a burned out Cab light.  The cab light is needed to interpret cab blinks that indicate problems with the engine.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

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Last edited by John Rowlen
Nick Chillianis posted:

Jack, the N&W J Class were equipped with the Viloco whistle actuators, however they also had pull ropes on both sides of the cab. It appears from the bulk of N&W audio from the '50s that the crewmen eschewed the valve and preferred to "play" the whistles manually.

 

While there is a drawing of the air operating trigger in the archives, I am not aware that they were ever installed.

Last edited by Big Jim
John Rowlen posted:

Video of Lionel VL Big Boy #4014 and VL Challenger #3985 Whistle Sounds

I noticed the steam generators on the 1931260 Challenger losing smoke after 15 minutes.  The steam generators worked perfectly when I first started the engine.  I have not been able to get them to work again.  The 1931250 Greyhound Challenger that I returned also lost the steam generator smoke.

 

You might have missed this since I posted it in a separate thread, but I had the same problem with the dynamo steam generator smoke.  I put a lot of smoke fluid in, but could never get it to work after it initially had worked.  When the engine came back the technician wrote that the smoke unit was dry.  He indicated that he owned two of the Challengers and found that in order to get the fluid into that smoke unit he needed to tilt the engine forward.

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