A comparison between Challengers

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by andrechapelon

QUOTE: Originally posted by jwaldo

QUOTE: Originally posted by nfmisso

QUOTE: Originally posted by jwaldo
Besides, I need a challenge from a challenging challenger [:p] If it keeps me happy and busy for a day or three it's good [8D]

It will keep you busy a bit longer than three days <G>. Bowser has several choices for further detailing, for example do you want journal bearing or roller bearing side rods?

Good. Should be fun... [8D]

Where is a good place to order these from?

Try The Train Shop in Santa Clara, CA. The phone is 408 296-1050.

Generally TTS sells at about a 20% discount to retail and is always well stocked.

Andre

Do they have a website?

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by andrechapelon

QUOTE: Originally posted by jwaldo

QUOTE: Originally posted by nfmisso

QUOTE: Originally posted by jwaldo
Besides, I need a challenge from a challenging challenger [:p] If it keeps me happy and busy for a day or three it's good [8D]

It will keep you busy a bit longer than three days <G>. Bowser has several choices for further detailing, for example do you want journal bearing or roller bearing side rods?

Good. Should be fun... [8D]

Where is a good place to order these from?

Try The Train Shop in Santa Clara, CA. The phone is 408 296-1050.

Generally TTS sells at about a 20% discount to retail and is always well stocked.

Andre

Do they have a website?

[andrechapelon]

QUOTE: [Do they have a website?

Unfortunately, no. I've asked owner Vern Cole about it and he says they have no plans for one. Despite the lack of a website, they do mail order all over the country. I've threatened to take my business elsewhere, but Vern says that what the store saves from no longer providing me with free coffee will actually mean the store's bottom line will improve. [(-D].

You'd think that a store in the middle of Silicon Valley would have the best website around. I don't think it's technophobia, I think it's the fact that The Train Shop is doing very well and that there's no desire to become the Walmart of train shops. IOW, Vern, et. al,, would like to have lives outside the store.

Andre

[andrechapelon]

QUOTE: [Do they have a website?

Unfortunately, no. I've asked owner Vern Cole about it and he says they have no plans for one. Despite the lack of a website, they do mail order all over the country. I've threatened to take my business elsewhere, but Vern says that what the store saves from no longer providing me with free coffee will actually mean the store's bottom line will improve. [(-D].

You'd think that a store in the middle of Silicon Valley would have the best website around. I don't think it's technophobia, I think it's the fact that The Train Shop is doing very well and that there's no desire to become the Walmart of train shops. IOW, Vern, et. al,, would like to have lives outside the store.

Andre

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by andrechapelon

QUOTE: [Do they have a website?

Unfortunately, no. I've asked owner Vern Cole about it and he says they have no plans for one. Despite the lack of a website, they do mail order all over the country. I've threatened to take my business elsewhere, but Vern says that what the store saves from no longer providing me with free coffee will actually mean the store's bottom line will improve. [(-D].

You'd think that a store in the middle of Silicon Valley would have the best website around. I don't think it's technophobia, I think it's the fact that The Train Shop is doing very well and that there's no desire to become the Walmart of train shops. IOW, Vern, et. al,, would like to have lives outside the store.

Andre

Ah, okay. Do they have a mail-order catalog? [;)]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by andrechapelon

QUOTE: [Do they have a website?

Unfortunately, no. I've asked owner Vern Cole about it and he says they have no plans for one. Despite the lack of a website, they do mail order all over the country. I've threatened to take my business elsewhere, but Vern says that what the store saves from no longer providing me with free coffee will actually mean the store's bottom line will improve. [(-D].

You'd think that a store in the middle of Silicon Valley would have the best website around. I don't think it's technophobia, I think it's the fact that The Train Shop is doing very well and that there's no desire to become the Walmart of train shops. IOW, Vern, et. al,, would like to have lives outside the store.

Andre

Ah, okay. Do they have a mail-order catalog? [;)]

[AggroJones]

twhite, you mentioned you have 2 brass DM&IR 2-8-8-4s. In what color boiler? Green, gray, or black?

[AggroJones]

twhite, you mentioned you have 2 brass DM&IR 2-8-8-4s. In what color boiler? Green, gray, or black?

[twhite]

Aggrojones: My Missabe 2-8-8-4's aren't painted for the DM&IR, they've been converted into a ficticious Rio Grande L-148 3900 series. Seems that the Rio Grande borrowed them for several winters during WWII, and the Grande REALLY liked them! I'm just stretching the truth a little and supposing that the Rio Grande went to Baldwin for duplicates. They're the only "never was" locomotives on my roster, except for an F-81 2-10-2 that I kitbashed from an old PFM Santa Fe junker that I got for $25 years ago at a swap meet.
Tom

[twhite]

Aggrojones: My Missabe 2-8-8-4's aren't painted for the DM&IR, they've been converted into a ficticious Rio Grande L-148 3900 series. Seems that the Rio Grande borrowed them for several winters during WWII, and the Grande REALLY liked them! I'm just stretching the truth a little and supposing that the Rio Grande went to Baldwin for duplicates. They're the only "never was" locomotives on my roster, except for an F-81 2-10-2 that I kitbashed from an old PFM Santa Fe junker that I got for $25 years ago at a swap meet.
Tom

[Anonymous]

Bangert1, I have no way of privately contacting you so I'll do it here.

You mentioned after 10 hours of running, the Lionel has gear box problems. What kind of problems? The pins getting loose? Are the gear teeth extremely worn down? Is the whole gear train much looser than when the unit was new? Please fill in the blanks buddy.

[Anonymous]

Bangert1, I have no way of privately contacting you so I'll do it here.

You mentioned after 10 hours of running, the Lionel has gear box problems. What kind of problems? The pins getting loose? Are the gear teeth extremely worn down? Is the whole gear train much looser than when the unit was new? Please fill in the blanks buddy.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by BoRockhard

Bangert1, I have no way of privately contacting you so I'll do it here.

You mentioned after 10 hours of running, the Lionel has gear box problems. What kind of problems? The pins getting loose? Are the gear teeth extremely worn down? Is the whole gear train much looser than when the unit was new? Please fill in the blanks buddy.

The front engine has a lot of play in the gears now. The whole gear train is much looser, but the engine actually run fairly well. It has not failed in any way, but I believe the engine will have gear box problems in the future.

I cannot say if the gears are actually worn as it has not been taken apart since it was new, but something is going on with the front gearbox. It had a slight hitch in the running and I looked at the box when I first got it. The running on the staionary rollers really improved the running qualities and the way I use it, the running qualities is more important than long life.

I have many Challengers and got this one just to verify what Lionel was selling. The detail is well below what I expected, but it is a good engine to use on a club layout. A friend of mine was running his Lionel and it dropped to the floor and it still ran as good as it did before the drop. I have to admit the metal casting are fairly well built. My engine came with several problems and it should have been sent back, but I did not send it back. Lionel would have replaced it, but I choose just to display it instead of shipping it back.

I believe under normal running, you would not have many problems with the engine and some of the dealers are listing them for 239.

I have just moved to Northern California and have everything in boxes or I would get it out and check the gearbox to verify what is going on. I do remember that I did not lubricate it before the running in, and that might be a clue to everyone to check the lubrication first. I have read that all BLI engines need lubrication before they are run and Lionel might be the same. I normally run all engines on the rollers for a short time to see if they run well before the lubrication phase, but did not do that for the Lionel., since it had several other problems.

The Trix Big Boys running qualities have really impressed me and I probably should not compare it to the Lionel engines. However, The Trix sound is a single channel unit and is subpar to even the Lionel sound module. My new Trix Big Boy has to stop the bell ringing to blow the whistle and then the bell starts up after the whistle blows about six or seven times. The Loksound system is toy like and does not allow you to give whistle signals. The puffing on the Big Boy is eight or chuffs per rev, but does not go in and out of sync like the Lionel. The Soundtrax sound unit is the only one to go for the Big Boys if you want sound.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by BoRockhard

Bangert1, I have no way of privately contacting you so I'll do it here.

You mentioned after 10 hours of running, the Lionel has gear box problems. What kind of problems? The pins getting loose? Are the gear teeth extremely worn down? Is the whole gear train much looser than when the unit was new? Please fill in the blanks buddy.

The front engine has a lot of play in the gears now. The whole gear train is much looser, but the engine actually run fairly well. It has not failed in any way, but I believe the engine will have gear box problems in the future.

I cannot say if the gears are actually worn as it has not been taken apart since it was new, but something is going on with the front gearbox. It had a slight hitch in the running and I looked at the box when I first got it. The running on the staionary rollers really improved the running qualities and the way I use it, the running qualities is more important than long life.

I have many Challengers and got this one just to verify what Lionel was selling. The detail is well below what I expected, but it is a good engine to use on a club layout. A friend of mine was running his Lionel and it dropped to the floor and it still ran as good as it did before the drop. I have to admit the metal casting are fairly well built. My engine came with several problems and it should have been sent back, but I did not send it back. Lionel would have replaced it, but I choose just to display it instead of shipping it back.

I believe under normal running, you would not have many problems with the engine and some of the dealers are listing them for 239.

I have just moved to Northern California and have everything in boxes or I would get it out and check the gearbox to verify what is going on. I do remember that I did not lubricate it before the running in, and that might be a clue to everyone to check the lubrication first. I have read that all BLI engines need lubrication before they are run and Lionel might be the same. I normally run all engines on the rollers for a short time to see if they run well before the lubrication phase, but did not do that for the Lionel., since it had several other problems.

The Trix Big Boys running qualities have really impressed me and I probably should not compare it to the Lionel engines. However, The Trix sound is a single channel unit and is subpar to even the Lionel sound module. My new Trix Big Boy has to stop the bell ringing to blow the whistle and then the bell starts up after the whistle blows about six or seven times. The Loksound system is toy like and does not allow you to give whistle signals. The puffing on the Big Boy is eight or chuffs per rev, but does not go in and out of sync like the Lionel. The Soundtrax sound unit is the only one to go for the Big Boys if you want sound.

[Anonymous]

Just bought a new Lionel Challenger from Internet Trains.Com on 10-13-2004 for, can you believe; $199.95 !!!! Special Sale to Previous Customers. Hopefully this Train will last many years as I only have time to run my layout about 10 hours a week. If its a clinker, I can always sell it for more on eBay.

[Anonymous]

Just bought a new Lionel Challenger from Internet Trains.Com on 10-13-2004 for, can you believe; $199.95 !!!! Special Sale to Previous Customers. Hopefully this Train will last many years as I only have time to run my layout about 10 hours a week. If its a clinker, I can always sell it for more on eBay.

[nfmisso]

QUOTE: Originally posted by bangert1
<snipped>
The Trix Big Boys running qualities have really impressed me and I probably should not compare it to the Lionel engines. However, The Trix sound is a single channel unit and is subpar to even the Lionel sound module. My new Trix Big Boy has to stop the bell ringing to blow the whistle and then the bell starts up after the whistle blows about six or seven times. The Loksound system is toy like and does not allow you to give whistle signals. The puffing on the Big Boy is eight or chuffs per rev, but does not go in and out of sync like the Lionel. The Soundtrax sound unit is the only one to go for the Big Boys if you want sound.

With the direction Challenger pricing, it may be worth getting one just for the QSI® module to use with a BigBoy........

[nfmisso]

QUOTE: Originally posted by bangert1
<snipped>
The Trix Big Boys running qualities have really impressed me and I probably should not compare it to the Lionel engines. However, The Trix sound is a single channel unit and is subpar to even the Lionel sound module. My new Trix Big Boy has to stop the bell ringing to blow the whistle and then the bell starts up after the whistle blows about six or seven times. The Loksound system is toy like and does not allow you to give whistle signals. The puffing on the Big Boy is eight or chuffs per rev, but does not go in and out of sync like the Lionel. The Soundtrax sound unit is the only one to go for the Big Boys if you want sound.

With the direction Challenger pricing, it may be worth getting one just for the QSI® module to use with a BigBoy........

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by nfmisso

QUOTE: Originally posted by bangert1
<snipped>
The Trix Big Boys running qualities have really impressed me and I probably should not compare it to the Lionel engines. However, The Trix sound is a single channel unit and is subpar to even the Lionel sound module. My new Trix Big Boy has to stop the bell ringing to blow the whistle and then the bell starts up after the whistle blows about six or seven times. The Loksound system is toy like and does not allow you to give whistle signals. The puffing on the Big Boy is eight or chuffs per rev, but does not go in and out of sync like the Lionel. The Soundtrax sound unit is the only one to go for the Big Boys if you want sound.

With the direction Challenger pricing, it may be worth getting one just for the QSI® module to use with a BigBoy........

That's a good idea, Nigel. Do you think it could be done?

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by nfmisso

QUOTE: Originally posted by bangert1
<snipped>
The Trix Big Boys running qualities have really impressed me and I probably should not compare it to the Lionel engines. However, The Trix sound is a single channel unit and is subpar to even the Lionel sound module. My new Trix Big Boy has to stop the bell ringing to blow the whistle and then the bell starts up after the whistle blows about six or seven times. The Loksound system is toy like and does not allow you to give whistle signals. The puffing on the Big Boy is eight or chuffs per rev, but does not go in and out of sync like the Lionel. The Soundtrax sound unit is the only one to go for the Big Boys if you want sound.

With the direction Challenger pricing, it may be worth getting one just for the QSI® module to use with a BigBoy........

That's a good idea, Nigel. Do you think it could be done?

[sparkingbolt]

kbfcsme, Student: Good call. We don't hear enough about Bowser, I don't recall ever seeing a Bowser Challenger featured in Model Railroader, Although I went a few years without buying any.

When I saw Student's reply, my question was going to be what feedback do those on the forum have about Bowser's Challengers? When I saw kbfcsme's photo, WOW!

Still, more feedback from those experienced with Bowser's Challengers would be welcome. Maybe a topic for a new thread. Dan

[sparkingbolt]

kbfcsme, Student: Good call. We don't hear enough about Bowser, I don't recall ever seeing a Bowser Challenger featured in Model Railroader, Although I went a few years without buying any.

When I saw Student's reply, my question was going to be what feedback do those on the forum have about Bowser's Challengers? When I saw kbfcsme's photo, WOW!

Still, more feedback from those experienced with Bowser's Challengers would be welcome. Maybe a topic for a new thread. Dan