Rayman4449

Thank you for sharing this! I want to see more about the wheelsets and bushings...

Look at that... That will definitely peek some interest here in the States. I've never owned a Piko engine, any thoughts on build quality? Are they built like LGB? The detail actually looks pretty good!

Will be a great project to follow! Haha can understand on not wanting to strip it, that F7 looks pretty good doesn't it?

Thanks for sharing Joe I hadn't heard the news yet but am passing it on. Very sad news..

Anytime Yes that would work perfectly. I would suggest switching to the Bridgewerks.

I'm honestly not sure in this case as I'm not that familiar with Lionel and AC operation fundamentally though given that you are just running simple analog track power there can't be too many variables causing problems. Is it possible you have polarity incorrect as far as the wires connected backwards either to the power supply or to the lock-on? Can you get direction to work with the engine right at the lock-on track section? I don't believe your issue is lack of voltage or amps as your engine won't suddenly need more power just because there is more track, the same power supply should work ok. The only possible issue with larger layouts you might run into is voltage drop due to resistance of the rail and relatively poor track joints but again I dont think that is at play here either with only 23' of track.

Thanks Rigo and I do hope it helps some How many feet of track is your layout? I haven't tested the MTH Z4000 but in every test I've performed with any AC power supply I have gotten significantly lower track signal with AC power compared to good quality DC power. At some point in time if you can afford it, maybe consider selling the Z4000 and go with a Bridgewerks DC power supply like a Magnum SR-15 (15amp) or 20SRM (20 amp) throttle type supply. Nothing tops the track signal I get with their line of power supplies. One thing I will note is the 20SRM has a voltage indicator that goes up to 24 volts which is good for G scale because we can run up to 24. The SR-15 indicator goes up to 20v. SR-15: 20SRM: Also another note with AC power when you apply power and the power polarity is incorrect (ie the polarity switch is set the wrong way) you will hear two 'clicks' (relay clicks) from the PS2 board inside the same as if it is set correctly. So you can't go off of the audible clicks to know the power polarity is right. With DC power you hear the two clicks if polarity is right and three or more clicks if it's wrong. So with DC power you have an audible indicator of polarity status. Hope that helps and good luck. Raymond

On my Modifications and Repair page on my website I have photos of the location of the polarity switches on the Big Boy, Triplex, GS-4 and Hudson. http://www.rayman4449.com/gardenrr_mods.htm

Hi Rigo, all of the current production MTH one gauge engines have Protosound 2 which have a polarity switch on the engine so if you decide to run the engine the other direction you can flip the switch so the remote will recognize the engine. If the polarity is incorrect to the engine, the engine will recognize the 'watch dog' signal from the TIU on power up and still stay still but you won't be able to control that engine. (The engines do not just auto-start up in Conventional mode because the polarity switch is incorrect.) Just flip the switch on the engine and go. The first production run One Gauge Challengers did not have polarity switches but all other engines that I'm aware of do. All of the new production engines from the 2013 catalog will have Protosound 3 installed which don't require a polarity switch. Are you running with AC or DC power? -Raymond

Hi there, is this a Lionel O gauge engine set? My guess is that one power supply should be enough, the only question I have is 12v output enough. Did that 12v power supply come with the set or is it something separate you had?

If you applied AC power to the HO DCS engine then you may have damaged the board as you suspected. My guess is the PS3 board needs to be replaced. See the bottom of Page 3 of the owners manual: http://www.mthtrains.com/sites/default/files/download/instruction/80dl17612i.pdf CAUTION: M.T.H. HO engines DO NOT OPERATE ON AC VOLTAGE. Applying AC power to your locomotive could cause permanent damage and will void your warranty. O and G gauge does run on either type of power for HO is DC only. Next step will be to decide on where you want to send the engine in to have the board replaced. (either MTH directly or to an Authorized MTH Dealer like myself. I should have one of those in-stock but would need to double-check on the cost. -Raymond

Is the damage to the paint on the silver areas on the side?

Leonard, very nice smooth gradual curves and very nice track work on your layout! Engines look good cruising at higher speeds

Looks great Jerry. As Ive noted in the past, the control is all about power supply and if having occasional control issues about deploying a light or two or SSBRDs(that I have) at the track level especially if you have an older TIU. If you are having occasional control issues contact me and we can get them sorted out.

The main question I see would be where would this be run, inside with level track or outside with possible steep grades. If the track will be fairly level then you can likely expect most of the motive power out there should be able to pull it except for the smallest engines. Little 0-4-0, 0-6-0 steam engines may not pull it well, but depends on the engine and it's weight. Engines like MTH Hudson, Aristocraft Pacific/Mikado should do ok. Any diesel should as well. In any case I would try and get an engine with some weight to it like the noted Hudson, pacific/mikado. Hope that helps some. Raymond

Very nice Larry.

Thanks Jerry. So has anyone heard exactly how they plan to get it on the mainline track? Can they do this without constructing a turnout?

Great image of the crew:

Updates with photos being posted on the Trains website: http://cs.trains.com/trn/f/111/t/225121.aspx

Here is an overhead photo of the move path: Also an overhead view that you can scroll of the area to see the start and end destination. Going to be interesting to see how they chose to get the engine on the nearby track. Will they construct a temp turn-out or can they lift/merge the engine without doing that... http://wiki.worldflicks.org/up_4014.html

Kevin, thank you for the thoughtful reply.

Yes and the underlying reason for the other sites to have been the way they were was profit motive for increased traffic for ad revenue. Nothing drives traffic to a website when you have multiple people going after each other in a forum. Can also likely be certain that there will be even less motivation for that to change in the future. That I do find interesting on your photos. Probably a smart move for them to save all your personal photos in another safe location so they can't be deleted then also update all the links to point only to that secure location. I would have to assume the photos are not just in your cache on your computer so your pics must have been copied. Remember, 'you own what you post'.

Logging in isn't necessarily what's going to get you Nick, the advertisers that appear on the main webpage save cookies to your computer that they use for tracking. Those cookies are automatically saved to your computer just by visiting the main forum website and does not require you to click on the ad itself. Each and every advertiser can do that. The only way to get control of that is to go into your settings in your browser and ask that you be prompted anytime a cookie is requested to be saved to your computer and you can then either accept or deny each one. Some cookies are needed on some sites for them to function correctly, the rest are for tracking your information. Now again with the site being sold to a company that has admittedly nothing to do with or inherent interest in our hobby you can expect that any and all methods to enhance their revenue will be their first consideration, not user privacy. Effects could include who they chose to use for advertising groups/pools etc. There are certain arenas of websites out there that if you visit you are far more likely to get hit with viruses, trojans etc and that has largely to do with the type of advertisers they have/allow and how they have their website setup to get you to click (likely accidentally) on an ad link that brings you to those ad sites. Not saying this will be a significant issue with that site now but given that the underlying motive for the website will be profit only, there is more of an inherent risk. I would expect the website operator to have some concerns about reputation (ie if their users are getting hit with viruses right and left) and thus be compelled to put restrictions on the advertising pools allowed, but who knows. Will any of this matter to the majority of users at that site? My guess is probably not.

You know hard to say. The bottom line with it being sold to a marketing company is it's all about money, they will care even less now about the community but not sure how that will be any different than from what it was before. The only reason a marketing company would want to take it over is to exploit the traffic and user info for every bit of revenue they can get out of it. That's why their terms and conditions are worded the way they are.

Cool project Jerry, keep us posted