Well, today I called Lionel about the problems with “0-31” switches. The very polite gal told me that Lionel had no policy on exchanging the 0-31’s for 0-22’s. Being that I bought them in 2001, and just opened the box, does not matter. They are over a year old and not honored on the warranty. And, she had no further information for me after consulting with someone else.
Soooo, I thought I would share that with you guys. If anyone else has had this problem and found a solution to it, other than throwing them in the trash, I would appreciate a response. I will try to use them on sidings for now.
Chuck[:(]
Okay, that was one small step. Now the next step is to send a letter to the V.P. of Quality Assurance. E-mails are too easily ignored.
That’s a good idea, mickeyg
Thanks, Chuck
These switches were at least a year old when you bought them. They were first cataloged by L-T-I in 1995, and last cataloged in 2000, and replaced by the new “old” O-22’s by 2001 Book 1.
Having said that, I’ve found that if you get a good one, they will out-perform the O-22’s by a long shot, no maintenence needed. Problem is, about 30% of them were bad. I’m not sure if this was due to engineering or material cost cutting, but the result was a turn-out with a great concept and bad execution.
Jon [8D]
I bought a lionel diesel engine that was 2 years old. It was brand new and sat on a shelf. When I recieved the engine one of the trucks was not turning. I called the seller and told him. He told me to send it to lionel. So I called lionel and told them the problem. They asked when I bought the engine and I told them. She asked if I had the receipt and I told her yes.The did not just believe me and I had to send in the receipt. The receipt had the date I bought the engine. They gave me a return number and I sent the engine away. I included a copy of the receipt and a description of the problem. They fixed the engine and sent it back to me.
I’ve got about 10 of the "031’s"and use them in my current layout. They’re great for close spacing of tracks. Although I only use them for sidings and a small yard. Ive had problems with postwar rolling stock de-railing on them. I have over come the inherent problems with them by replacing the post-war wheels & axles with the modern “fast-angle” wheels . also I use gargrave switches for my mainline turn-outs.
I’m going to eventually go w/ross switches and Gargraves track all around. I do not recommend these finicky switches unless you can find a unbelievably low price on them, however.[V]