What’s on the tracks?

Tonight, gremlins. Alfred

It’s not what’s on the tracks, but what has gone off the tracks. I have been using my KW to power trains. It does not seem to have enough umph to run heavy steamers with long freight consists. I rearrange connections on my Lionel B transformer to free up throttle A, and wired it into the layout via a SPDT toggle at NE and SE locations. Even though it is rated at lower Watts, and I am using it to power switches, I thought its higher voltage output would help with the heavyweights. Fortunately, that was right – my Lionel 2046 with 5 heavy boxes and lighted caboose ran well. Now about the ‘off the tracks’ part.
The train was roaring (not even at three-fourths throttle ) Eastbound on the Northside track – when there was a sudden change of sound, a delay, followed by a heart-stopping, sickening ‘thud’. The loco must have gone airborne and crashed to the floor. I was on my hands and knees at the location where I thought the separation might have occurred. The consist had gotten one-third the way through the long 72 radius section headed by the tender. I could not find the loco. I moved around the corner and started searching on the floor in the Westbound direction – no loco – all the time anticipating the mangled wreck, expecting bent rods. No luck – so I started at the separation point again, and followed the track around going West. I found the 2046 on its side past Switch 10. There was no damage to it or surroundings. I had it back on the tracks, and ran it more cautiously. Tomorrow, I will have to check out the track at the separation point. Alfred

Unfortunately, the track is having to be dismantled and relaid because I have the dreaded ground plane issue that surfaced in the lead #949 engine of this E8/9 A-B-A setup. Might be a bad connection to the track, or worse and more likely a bad receiver in the main board. I am not feeling very kindly toward Lionel at the moment as I know other people have had this same issue with products of the same recent vintage as these, and I had to bite the bullet and get a replacement RCMC from them. This was a big project (mainly to construct the B unit out of Lionel and MTH parts) and it all worked at first. Grrr!



It’s all meant to represent the original UP passenger engines of yesteryear, which are now in a museum.

Thanks - we'll see week after next when I can revert to this problem. It irritates me no end that this comes up from time to time and appears to be a vulnerability in Lionel's system that is made worse by component failures in the latest and greatest Legacy boards. Grrrr. 

I have been running a Lionel 2046 4-6-4 with tender with 5 box cars and lighted N5C porthole caboose. The smaller 9 1/4” Cattle car was being finicky, so I replaced it with a Lionel 3454 operating box car (11 ½”, PRR. The consist runs better now. With one less pair of driver wheels than the S2 Turbine (671), the 2046 runs better over O22 switches, but still not smoothly. I then switched to a GP7 (Lionel 2328, 1955-56, and the train ran like a charm. I then added a 6th car Lionel 3424 operating brakeman car (Wabash, 1956). The train had some hesitation, and difficulty negotiating “S” turn (031 tracks) through a switch; with derailment at moderate speed (14V). I then ran the diesel with hood forward to place the truck withMagnetraction next to the first box car – the train ran a bit better; none the less,, I am going to rearrange the cars, and lube the box car trucks and then re-run. In the meantime, I went back to the 5 car consist. Alfred

I am looking forward to hearing about your train runs.
The included 2-minute video is of Lionel Burlington GP-7 #2328 (1955-6; hood forward to have Magnetraction at the head of the consist). Box cars include, not necessarily in order: PRR Operating Box car (3484, 1953), B&O Sentinel (6464-325, 1956), D&RGW (6464-650, 1957-8), GN (6464-25, 1956-7), NH (6464-425, 1956-8). The train is running (at 15V) on the East side Inner Loop through switches 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. The Ringing Bell signal is activated when a train is going to pass under the elevated track. The sixth box car, Wabash (3424) was removed because there was a problem with its coupler spring. The caboose is a lighted SP 6357 (1948-1952)
. Alfred
youtu.be/P3Uw05Jw8k0