I have a chance to pick up a new first run Mikado. A few questions about it. I heard their were some problems with the first run? Are they a easy fix or do you have to send it in? Running on 4’ radius, do they look ok? What would be a good price?
Don & Craig Hofsheier said:Don,
I have a chance to pick up a new first run Mikado. A few questions about it. I heard their were some problems with the first run? Are they a easy fix or do you have to send it in? Running on 4' radius, do they look ok? What would be a good price?
Gearbox problems, needs to be fixed at the service center.
Two first run Mikes here.
One went back to the shop twice. Both times for the sound boards.
The other went back for gearbox stripping.
Both are fine now–knock on wood!
TOG
John Bouck said:
Two first run Mikes here. One went back to the shop twice. Both times for the sound boards. The other went back for gearbox stripping.Both are fine now–knock on wood!
TOG
TOG
And what about the front portion not straightening out after curves? Has that ever been fixed?
Hans,
Nope. The stupid things still won’t completely straighten out after exiting a curve, unless you run the thing in reverse. Go figger!
It’s a design flaw, I think.
TOG
John Bouck said:
Hans, Nope. The stupid things still won't completely straighten out after exiting a curve, unless you run the thing in reverse. Go figger!It’s a design flaw, I think.
TOG
WHAT! A design flaw?!?!?!?!
Good Lord, man, how can that be?
You would have thought the folks in charge in the US would have screamed bloody murder for proper product testing before it was shipped, right?
Oh, wait, they did that, did they?
And I wonder what the response was?
Curmudgeon said:John Bouck said:
Hans, Nope. The stupid things still won't completely straighten out after exiting a curve, unless you run the thing in reverse. Go figger!It’s a design flaw, I think.
TOG
WHAT! A design flaw?!?!?!?!
Good Lord, man, how can that be?
You would have thought the folks in charge in the US would have screamed bloody murder for proper product testing before it was shipped, right?Oh, wait, they did that, did they?
And I wonder what the response was?
Vee make no mistakes, nefer; vhen vee konstrukt it is perfekt!
I have an L?B Mogul with the plow and it always does the same thing. Sits canted to one side until you go through the curve the other way. I’ve never paid attention if it straightens out on an “S” curve or not.
I had the gearbox problems on one of mine. It was fixed and so was the problem of straightening out on the curves.
LAO
Larry Otis said:It needs to straighten out after the curve not on the curve or in the curve.
I had the gearbox problems on one of mine. It was fixed and so was the problem of straightening out on the curves. LAO
HJ,
It now does, poor description by me in my previous answer.
LAO
I have an LGB Mikado #21872 (PRR) equiped with an MTS II decoder. I just started running it last week and so far it seems to be operating OK. The discussion in this forum has me concerned. Is there any way to know which models have problems?
John
Usually the ones without the decoders and equipped with a capacitor bank for “standing sound”.
Those were the first run models. No decoders and they had standing sounds. When they improved them, they added the decoder and took away the standing sound.
You should be OK.
TOG
Gees! Is there any toy train maker what don’t gots no problems?
Someone remind me why I am in this hobby!
Steve Featherkile said:
Gees! Is there any toy train maker what don't gots no problems?Someone remind me why I am in this hobby!
So that you can pick and choose very carefully!
Ya know, my old e-unit equipped Lionels only needed oiling, occasional cleaning, 15-20 years an e-unit rebuild, one has needed two headlight bulbs in 67 years, and some need new brushes after a millenium.
All this modern techno-gizmo crap, everybody has to have can motors.
Hell, remember the open-frame Pittmans in our H0 stuff?
I’ve just rebuilt 14 die-cast units, all with Pittmans (or clones), ONE needed another armature, which I yanked out of the parts box.
One of them is pre-war with a post-war 12v motor upgrade.
Can motors are throw-away.
Remember steel worms and brass worm gears?
Or, steel worms and FIBER worm gears that have YET to fail, and one is in a 1938 ScaleCraft Santa Fe Mikado?
Zamac rot took DECADES longer to materialize than “plastic rot”.
And I don’t remember the designers and builders being prima-donas like we seem to have in some quarters now.
Remember sound systems?
Big honking AC motor and a fan in a chamber with a relay.
No freaking e-proms.
No 20 minutes on a programming track.
I got my basement emptied of crap this week, can finally see the spot along the walls for the benchwork to rest on.
Looked up in the attic of my shop and found all the hand-spiked 2-rail “0” track and turnouts…and I’m thinking seriously about putting the 2 and 3 rail back into operation, dragging the old engines and cars out, Scale Models and Monarch operating couplers…where you worked to have the quietest, smoothest running engines, not to mask your coffee grinder with a sound system.
Guys around here can’t understand sometimes when I take a unit out and run the volume all the way down.
I just have trouble sometimes with the “stuff” being more important than actually model railroading.
Hell, just to piXX off the enema-ray, I’m putting Mantua couplers on my H0 stuff.
And all, every one, open frame motors.
I rebuilt all the Hi-F Athearns for my brother, he has a Santa Fe warbonnet F-7, powered A and B, dummy A, same in yellow UP, and those things are QUIET.
I think I’ll rewire all of them left rail positive, loco moves forward, just to whizz the enema-ray off even more.
Can you imagine, 50-60 years ago, locomotives that were shipped that wouldn’t run?
Maybe. And maybe those companies disappeared.
Screws loose, oil holes missing, gauge so narrow it rips screws out of wormgears at switches, gearboxes that fail, wiring that smokes, hell, I remember a big brass loso with a whole bunch of lights on the loco, and one little bitty regulator board…carefully wrapped in shrink tubing.
10 minutes max and the lights went out.
I could write a book.
Maybe you should!
I was going to mention that my Lionels are as old as I am and are still going strong. I had one split the points the other day, then attempt suicide by jumping off a 48 inch high table onto bare concrete basement floor. A few taps with a soft hammer on the 100 lb rail anvil that my grandfather made when he was a lad and it was good as new, after a spritz of satin black paint. Try that with your K-27!
My 2055 and 2065 Hudsons make enough noise as they clatter down the track. Who needs a 2K2? And that Liones whistle in the tender? To die for. The 1:1 whistles tried to imitate the Lionel whistles.
If I put in an insulated pin every so often, I have block wiring to keep my trains separated. I can do return loops and not worry about making magic smoke. Speaking of Magic Smoke. Have you ever been in the same room with an MTH steamer? They issue gas masks when you enter the room it puts out so much smoke.
In O gauge, a 6 ft diameter curve is a moderately big curve. A 12 ft diameter curve is huge!
I’ll help you with that book, TOC.
madwolf
We live in a different world today…one where people don’t buy for quality. It’s buy it now, play with it til it breaks and buy a new toy. The value of possessions has not been taught to our younger generations. Thus manufacturers design their stuff to last only a couple years. By then there will be the “New and Improved” version with more electronic gadgets to replace it. It brings the masses back to spend more money. Welcome to the world of the greed driven capitalist economy. Me, a capitalist.??
Warren Mumpower said:
We live in a different world today...one where people don't buy for quality. It's buy it now, play with it till it breaks and buy a new toy. The value of possessions has not been taught to our younger generations. Thus manufacturers design their stuff to last only a couple years. By then there will be the "New and Improved" version with more electronic gadgets to replace it. It brings the masses back to spend more money.Welcome to the world of the greed driven capitalist economy.
So sad and yet so damn true.