polor express locomotive

[Anonymous]

I would like to replace locomotive& tender with a command control locomotive & tender. Any ideas on a good replacement for around $400?,something that would closely match.

[dougdagrump]

Check out www.electricrr.com I believe they hace the components to convert the Polar Express to TMCC but if memory serves me correctly there isn't enough room for the sound board.

[Anonymous]

You should be able to replace the air whistle with a RS board and speaker. I don't know if the loco has the modular chassis style e-unit. If so, it should be replaceable by an R2LC board assuming there is room and you can figure out a way to get an antenna. Most diecast steamers have special insulated stand offs and use the hand/guardrails as antenna.

[Anonymous]

thanks for the responce, however I should have mentioned that I sold the polor express engine & tender & would like to replace it with an upgraded version with TMCC. Any ideas on what locomotive & tender would make a good match?

[Anonymous]

I have the SP Overnight Express set. It comes with a consist, but not track or a transformer, so you're not paying for a lot you don't need. It lists for $449, but it easy to find one in the mid to low 300's. The engine is an O-27 2-8-4 Berkshire, same as the Polar Express. It has TMCC, electrocoupler on the tender, & railsounds. I'm happy with the engine/tender, and the accompanying cars are pretty nice. It was listed in the Lionel 2004 Vol. 1 catalog under Premium Sets

The railsounds are generic steam sounds (meaning they say "You are now cleared to leave the station" instead of something like "Engine 2409 you are now cleared to leave the station".

My only complaint is the smoke unit. I've never gotten more than wispy smoke out of it, despite trying Mega-Steam and any othere applicaple advice I've been able to find.

Good Luck!

[Anonymous]

Thanks Dave sounds good! I'll check it out.

[Anonymous]

hey Dave, have you checked the steam unit to see if it's operating well?

[Jumijo]

QUOTE: Originally posted by plasticlizard

hey Dave, have you checked the steam unit to see if it's operating well?

Does the Polar Express have a fan driven smoke unit?!!! I thought it was a puffer type.

Jim

[1688torpedo]

Hello All ! The Polar Express Engine has a smoke unit with a piston that is connected to a cam which makes it go up & down like the postwar smoke units, However. here is a Caveat. The cap on top of the smoke unit does not fit as tight as the postwar originals and as a result smoke fluid can leak out and get onto the front truck & cylinders of the engine.The repair guy at Stewart's(who restores my 1688's)Showed a smoke unit from the P.E. Engine to me & showed how loose the cap fits and he has a hard time trying to get the cap to fit tight if a customer has a smoke unit that leaks fluid.So,this is a problem that Lionel needs to address and it would be better if they changed the tolerances for a tighter fit just like the old postwar versions. Hopefully they will take care of this problem and soon. This is also why some of the engines do not smoke as well as they should.

[Anonymous]

Sorry it took a while to respond, but 1688torpedo's reply is just what I found. I tried a couple of things to tighten the fit of the cap, but none was much help. Actually, even if the cap had a good seal, I'm not sure the air volume from this design would result in a lot of smoke. The "valves" (two very small ball bearings that allow air to plow past from the bottom on the down stroke, and force it out the top on the up stroke) don't allow for a lot of air flow.

I looked breifly at replacing the smoke unit with a TA Studios fan driven unit, but as I read the measurements, I don't think it would fit.

There is some smoke, but as I said above, it's wispy, not voluminous. If a lot of smoke is important to you, this engine is probably not a good choice.

[Roger Bielen]

I had the same lack of smoke problem with a Lionel 2800 series Hudson with a piston smoke unit. Thanks to the chat and suggestions in other posts I replaced the fiberglass packing with pink insulation and removed the sleeve from the heating elemet, the engine now smokes better but still not great. As to the seal, if its the seal between the smoke unit and the stack my Hudson, and much older 2020, have a felt? ring/gasket ontop of the smoke unit. If its the cap to cylinder joint maybe you can pack it with thread or something similar.

[Anonymous]

Well, it's pretty clear that the smoke units on the Polar Express and the SP Overnight Express are the same, so to answer jerseyjoea's original question, the SP Overnight is a TMCC engine that is a close match to the Polar Express.

Roger - I believe the problem is the cap-cylinder seal, but any fix would have to be done with VERY little increase in friction, or you would just introduce new problems. I think what I said above is accurate - If a lot of smoke is important to you, this engine is probably not a good choice. That said, I'm very happy with the engine. It's an excellent choice for someone who wants to get started with TMCC at what I think is a very reasonable price.