Has anyone purchased the recently released Lionel Trackmobile [got mine as a Christmas gift] and discovered that it only handles one, or maybe two cars at a time? I certainly didn't expect it to pull a long train, but the wheels spin with 2-3 empty coal hoppers attached; especially on curves or through switches [my layout is all Fastrack].
I called Lionel support to ask about the traction tire referenced in the Trackmobile manual, and they said it was a misprint, and that the Trackmobile needs all four wheels on the track for "grounding" purposes, so no traction tire was issued with the product. When I asked for any kind of suggestion, they offered me a refund if I "wasn't happy with my Lionel purchase". Kinda lame, and hard to accept since I have "all" Lionel product in my train room.
Another thing that occurs, is that it stalls if stopped over a switch. Given that none of my Legacy locos do this [ever], that I have all track powered every 4 feet on the whole layout, and I only run Lionel TMCC/legacy products powered by a 180Wt Powerhouse with the lockon, I'm suprised that it stalls.
On the bright side, I like the little loco a lot. It has great detail, and lighting. The absence of sound kinda bums me out, but I realize that sound takes up a lot of space, and this product simply doesn't have a place for the board. I wish Lionel could figure out how to put legacy control into this product; that seems to always work and be more stable. TMCC seems to be flaky, at least to me.
Thoughts? Comments?
Hi DANNYBOY6,
I too have just seen this little guy at my LHS. I really liked it. It was demoed to me pulling a Lionel smoking boxcar and another box car with ease. Going over a fasttrack switch it did not stall. I had all 0-42 Lionel tubular switches and my Legacy CNW switcher stalled out replaced them with K-line switches now it works great. I have changed my bigger layout to all Fasttrack and haven't had any problems. Thanks for your insights on this little Trackmobile, I hope to purchase one in the future.
laz57
I have not yet seen the model, but I remember watching a prototype Trackmobile switching cars at a paper mill here in Wisconsin about ten years ago. I was in the construction industry at the time and at a job site so I did not get a real good look at it, but I was able to make a few observations. This particular unit was only moving two to three cars at a time. Of course this could simply have been due to the length of the sidings rather than the actual pulling capacity. In regards to sound, there really were no unique sounds to speak of. From the engine noise that I could hear, it sounded to me like it was powered by the old 2-stroke Detroit Diesel. This particular unit sounded like a typical crane or semi truck--nothing like the earth shaking sounds produced by a locomotive. I think the only reason I noticed the sound at all was the fact that I was curious about this critter and made it a point to look at it better.
I realize this information is more or less irrelevant when it comes to the appeal of the model, but I just thought I would share this small bit of information in case someone was interested. Although this model does not fit my layout time period, from the pictures I have seen, it certainly looks like an excellent model.
Karl
I wonder how that little guy would do going through the very long Gargraves 100 series switches.
Bill T.
Thanks to all for your comments.
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