After not running my Lionel Docksider for two months I put it on the track today. It sputtered a bit, never getting beyond a crawl, then just died and sat there with the headlight on.
C’mon I bought this engine in January! My second modern engine in the last year and I swear “as god is my witness” (GWTW) I won’t buy another one. Heck I even thought buying a really base kind of engine like a Docksider would leave me without the problems that the others have with their thousand dollar engines…But No!!!.
You know the frustrating part is I can’t even do anything with it. Yeah, it’s under warranty but that’s a hassle. If it was a 2025 or the like I 'd open 'er up check the brushes, check for bad fingers, etc. I could get it going again using my parts surplus.
I seriously can’t imagine going through this with an Acela or something of that price. Don’t know how these tech train guys do it.
While I also love the bulletproof dependability of the postwar stuff, I am a sucker for all of the digital bells and whistles (pun intended [:D] ). DCS, along with all of the sounds and features built in to the engines make for a far more enjoyable experience for me. Fortunately, I have not run into any major issues yet with my gear.
Sorry to hear that your docksider isn’t working. I am curious to see how the warranty work gets handled.
Mike, it wouldn’t be good to do anything to void the warranty, but you might try “looking under the hood” so-to-speak, to see if there are any loose wires or something obvious of that nature.
I personally couldn’t tell a good circuit board from a bad one just by looking at it. But I’ve read a number of threads concerning modern locos made overseas that have loose wires upon receiving the loco, or wires that come loose due to poor solder or thin wire at the point of the connection.
I can certainly go along with the sentiments above on the topic of postwar reliability and the manner by which the stuff can be serviced by someone with some basic mechanical / electrical ability. I’m not big on all the electronic digital extras of today’s trains that so many seem to think are necessary to enjoy the hobby. For me, it’s driven up the prices in general and it’s also one more thing to go wrong, especially given the overseas manufacturing and the long, not-so-smooth journey to the US mainland.
But I also run a lot of the much cheaper types of locos (to which I make many improvements), many of which were made overseas (and most not made by Lionel because of Lionel’s excessively high prices for these kinds of products). It should be noted Lionel has had the lower end trains and starter sets made overseas long before they openly acknowledged it. And maybe because the stuff I buy is simplier by nature, I haven’t had trouble and can easily fix things myself.
Anyways, I’d like to hear the problem is nothing more than a loose connection. The new Lionel Docksider has gotten good reviews and straddles the divide between “027 traditional” and “scale” quite nicely. It is certainly one of the very few Lionel locos with some degree of quality (well, we hope) that is in the $100 price range… how many other Lionel locos are near that price? Not many. It seems the Docksider is selling well too and I’ve been hoping this would send a message to Lionel that this type of product is the dire
It sounds like you have a RF signal issue.
Check your wiring to the outside rails,
Check for interference, (ungrounded metal structures, other RF devices, etc.)
Check batteries in remote, Also try touching remote antennae to the hand rail of dock sider.
Look for loose or shorted connections between the board and the hand rails.
I like the new stuff just fine (including the three Lionel Docksides I currently have).
And everyone in the hobby today can thank their lucky stars that a lot of us do seem to like the new trains, despite probelms that pop up now and then, because it would be a VERY small hobby without us, and you likely wouldn’t even have these forums to spout-off on, not to mention the magazines and the wealth of related products that are made and offered ONLY because there is a decent-size market for them–a market created largely by the newer-train buyers.
I have lots of old trains and only a few new trains. The old stuff is cheerfully funky, well made, and cheap and easy to service. Plus I don’t have to worry about those %^*#%$ rubber bands flying off the wheels.
You’re absolutely right Allan, We postwar lovers have you guys to thank. If it wasn’t for all you guys buying this expensive, overseas, low quality stuff, Postwar prices wouldn’t have dropped at all. I’m stil waiting for it to drop even more so we can get really nice postwar pieces for quite a bit less. The more I can get, the more I can enjoy and pass down to my kids and their kjds. Cause you know this stuff will just keep running. Try passing this new stuff down…okay maybe they’ll make nice paperweights.
and by the way I don’t care if the hobby is big or small. I’m also am very happy with the “limited” postwar selection that’s available and really don’t care if every loco in the world is modeled. I love how Lionel made a handful of engine models and reused parts and design over and over. That’s the secret to this stuff and why it works so well.
“We postwar lovers have you guys to thank. If it wasn’t for all you guys buying this expensive, overseas, low quality stuff.”
You’re very welcome, I’m sure! But I’m not buying the expensive stuff–preferring the lower-end items instead–and I’m just luckier than some of you guys because quality control hasn’t been a major problem for me. Overseas production doesn’t bother me a bit. Some of the best trains I have are Marklin HO and #1 gauge, LGB, and others, including some very fine MTH Standard Gauge repros that are, in my opinion, superior to the originals in a number of ways.
Postwar or any other era is fine, if that’s what you enjoy. But the range of trains available today far surpasses anything done in any prior era, and it’s easy to understand why the tremendous growth the O gauge market experienced in the 90s is largely attributed to those more recent offerings.
Allan, I think they are just scared of modern electronics. Probably too complicated. [;)][:)] Personally, I like them both. Converted some of the 70’s/80’s stuff and love it.
Without starting a war, there are certainly plusses and minuses to both sides of the modern versus postwar eras. As Mike S. pointed out, there was a real ingenuity from Lionel’s engineers (and MARX included here too) in utilizing components and parts to create new products. Not only was this a cost-cutting measure for the companies, but was also a convenience for modelers too.
I heard it once said that postwar/prewar Lionel products were over-engineered. If that’s the case, then the MARX products were under engineered. Either way, most are reliable products, that are easily fixed and tinkered with by someone with some basic knowledge. Most to this day, still have original or preproduction parts readily available - something that cannot be said for some of the newer current trains. When one reads about how the original Lionel’s were manufactured, you realize that these really were the premiere toys of their day.
But for me, on the down side, the paint and graphics capabilities of years ago just cannot compare to what can be done today. Even the MPC-era Lionel trains had distinctly better paint jobs and graphics than their earlier counterparts. Despite the criticisms of the MPC-era, I find it is a nice compromise between the postwar and modern eras. I have MPC locos over 30 years old that are still running just fine. Considering that the MPC stuff was not quite up to the same par as most postwar stuff, that’s quite a statement in itself.
One area of trains where I do think the newer stuff surpasses the older stuff is the basic more affordable stater trains. Even the Lionel dealers of years ago knew the Scout locomotives were a major headache to work on, and I’ve read where many wondered why Lionel took such a backwards step. Of course, it was cost-cutting, but as one older dealer said to me, it was more that Lionel cut their own throat inorder to cut costs.
Although many of the MPC and modern era cheaper trains really are cheaper, I have found many (like the pasti
I don’t think so !! I see new people getting started & I don’t hear of too many starting with POSTWAR. They may cross over to it later, but with all the Companies making the new stuff & millions of dollars being spent by customers & Manufacturers, how can Postwar be the # 1 trains out there ? Kids now days say soundless engines are boring. Then they can’t wait to get back to their video games that have sound. I like both, but I like sound the best !!
just depends on your personal perspective. For me, the hobby has always been post war trains. My personal enjoyment of the hobby ios equal parts train running, layout building and for lack of a better word, nostalgia.
I took the plunge and bought a modern train last year - a Polar Express Set with the two add-on cars.
The loco is nice, as is the tender. It has some heft to it, runs very smoothly, smokes pretty nicely and is generally an enjoyable loco. The passanger cars are sub par at best. When comparing these to my post war passanger sets, there pretty much is no comparison.
One negative on the loco. Stamped beneath it are the words “Made In China”
Scared? No. Too complicated is right…For nothing. With new stuff, you turn cab 1 round thing which sends a signal to command base which sends signal to decoder in engine which throttles current to motor. Engine goes.
With postwar, you turn transformer handle which directly throttles current to the motor through the track. Engine goes.
New stuff is like that Mouse trap game.
The answer is simple. All this new stuff works on POSTWAR tubular track powered by POSTWAR AC transformers and mates with POSTWAR knuckle couplers. Many of today’s new engines use POSTWAR style coil couplers.
When a child breaks the rubber bands off the wheels of his new Hudson on XMAS morning, where is he gonna get new ones? Walmart? LMAO!!!
Have you ever seen a child’s face light up when he gets a wiff of that hot grease smell and ionized air that only POSTWAR produces? Does he get that smell with new stuff? Not on your life. He only gets that raunchy burnt electronic smell when he fries the reverse board after plowing his hudson into Fido.
I have a feeling that somebody, sometime down the road, is going to have a very successful business converting our new locos over to conventional operation when the friggin’ electronics in them get fried and parts are no longer available. I sort of like all the features in the new trains, but there is no way they are going to hold up for a half-century or more.
I have to side with the postwar guys on this one; bells and whistles are nice, but the new trains just aren’t as durable as pre-or-postwar trains. There isn’t any denying that fact. All of these new trains are just one blown resistor away from being dead on the rails.