Lionel up verandah

[Anonymous]

Hey model railroaders, my model railroad supplier has been in contact with me regarding the new Lionel up verandah, he says that it doesn't work properly and that my order for that is cancelled.
He tells me that several other dealers are also having problems with this loco, it's ok to cancel my order, I wouldn't want to be sent something that doesn't work, so has anybody out there had any feedback about this as well.
I also believe that there are some problems with the Lionel challenger, Lionel crew stop rushing to get these things out into the market before they are fully operational, nobody likes inferior products and what makes it worse is that these items are expensive compared to the likes of Kato and Athearn!!

Come on Lionel get your act together!!

[lupo]

I hope you are wrong because mine should be in the mail to europe since last monday, and I have still another few weeks ( 2 - 6 ) to wait before it arrives,
and I can check it out.
Do you have any info on what the problem is / was?

[censored] I thought Lionel stood for good old American Craftsmanship. . . .

[xx(] at least it has the somewhat right color for a $400,= lemon [xx(]

[AntonioFP45]

PhillipKeeley,

It is surprising news. [:0][B)]

Have you e-mailed Lionel and asked them what are the specific problems? Try it; and share their response with us. [:p][;)]

It stands to reason that Lionel is making efforts to correct reported problems. [4:-)]Manufacturers know that bad news about new products tends to travel fast! [B)]

[Anonymous]

Go right to the top. 586-949-4100. We don'.t need another kato AC4400 rumor.

CORRECTED to AC from CW. Thanks BB.

[Anonymous]

I couldn't wait.

According to Lionel Tech Support they are not aware of any problems.

What may be the issue is"out of the box in Diesel mode, DCC mode, the
diesel mode is set for 25MPH'.

For Diesel or Turbo operation one must refer to the quick start guide that
should have been enclosed.

586-949-4100, ext 1360, Deb.

You can also e-mail them at
[e-mail]
I have requested a hard copy print out of the Quick Start Quide for posting.

[Anonymous]

I don't know the specifics of the problem yet but when I do I will let you know, I ordered it from Tony's train exchange and they ran me saying that the first one they got for me don't work properly and they sent it back to the distributor, they got a second one and apparently it still didn't work so they said they would cancel my order for the verandah, I mean it look a beautiful loco but if it doesn't work what's the point!

[Anonymous]

There's always the possibility that the Quick Start Quide may not have
been in the box.
There's a written procedure to follow to fire this baby up.
Wonder if it was included in Tony's order??????????

[AntonioFP45]

PhillipKeeley,

Can you ask Tony's as to what exactly was wrong with the Verandas they had?

[AggroJones]

Holy crap! Really? It doesn't matter terribly to me, cause I have no plans attempting to get one. But I still would like to have seen one in person.

[Anonymous]

Mine seems fine other than having a broken rear coupler on the engine. A Kadee #5 replaced it perfectly. Sounds are good and the power up sequence from diesel to turbine is controlled by the #7 button on your DCC controller. As mentioned above, speed is limited to 25 smph while in diesel mode. I think it's a good locomotive. Slow speed is great but there is a rather abrupt speed jump when advancing the throttle. I haven't tried resetting any CV's except the ID# yet, so maybe that can be eliminated. The problem may be due to my Zepher not being on Lionel's list of recommended DCC controllers.

[Anonymous]

Hi cw

Can you post the Quick Start Guide Instructions that came with it?

There' are possibilities that they never made it into every box.

[Anonymous]

Here's the Veranda Quick Start:
http://img16.photobucket.com/albums/v47/Hobby/Veranda_QS.jpg

[Anonymous]

A big T H A N K S !

I suspect without this supplemetal addendum no one could succesfully fire this baby up.

[lupo]

thanks ! [tup]
but please keep in touch, those who have 'ïnside" information on any problems! or where to give special attention to when first firing up the engine!
I hope my veranda comes over in good shape and working order, because sending back and forth faulty locomotives from europe to the us is expensive and time consuming, and I allready spend a big part of my 2004 budget by ordering it.

[ndbprr]

Wait for the MR review. It will say great new loco and praise anything they can find positive with no mention of anything negative and you should buy five or six of them.

[Anonymous]

That's one of the reasons we have a sucessful forum.
Nice reporting & good responses.

[lupo]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ndbprr

Wait for the MR review. It will say great new loco and praise anything they can find positive with no mention of anything negative and you should buy five or six of them.

IMHO
I think there is not going to be a complete review, in the may issue there was a small piece where was mentionned that is is available.
some members concluded some time ago that no review at all can mean that there could be something 'fishy"about that model

[ndbprr]

It's a shame that the reviews don't serve the customers. Way back when Al Kalmbach ran the show items were purchased from hobby shops to insure objectivity. Times have changed and now it serves the manufaturuers who send in hand picked samples.

[Anonymous]

Just got some info from Tony's about the problem and he says that they tested it and it went aound the track once and stopped, apparently not all the trucks are powered and that could have been the problem and for such a heavy loco you would think that all the trucks would be powered.
It's was also mentioned that another dealer had about twenty of them and half didn't work, not very good for such an expensive item......agree??
They just don't want to deal with a bad product!!

[lupo]

Thanks, Philip,
I take a close look at that and certainly brak it in as soon as it arrives.

lupo

[Anonymous]

I just received my Veranda yesterday and it runs like a swiss watch (so far). The sound is absolutely astounding. I've never heard any of the MTH O scale Turbines but listening to the Lionels diesel pony motor spin up the turbine and then fall off line as the turbine takes over is nothing short of fantastic. Likewise when you decide to shut the turbine down and go back to the diesel pony motor for yard movement. Very sweet! If Lionel will sell these modules I'm sure a lot of them will wind up in the numerous OMI Turbines out there.

Butch

[Anonymous]

Hi all

Could somebody record the sound of the Lionel Veranda as a sample ? I am so curious and impatient to hear it !
I have mine on order and I cant wait ! :)

Antoine

[Anonymous]

I'm not into it, but wouldn't it be on Lionel's web site like broadway does?

[lupo]

[#welcome] atom1301 !

I typed "lionel veranda sound" at yahoo, and next to a lot of our own posts on this subject I found this soundbite, so:this is how it should sound:

http://norm.beesky.com/sounds/ver.wav

I am waiting for mine as well!
Have fun!

Lupo

[Anonymous]

thanks Lupo !
It seems to be the O scale Veranda we can hear in this sample. Not the HO.

Antoine

[lupo]

The pictures show the O scale but do you know if they changed the sounds for the HO version? the digital chip inside could well be the same, only the sound has to come out off a smaller speaker.
BTW: I have no experience with sound equipped locomotives.
and looking at your profile I guess you also have to wait some time before you wil get yours, or did you choose the expensive UPS service?

[Anonymous]

I guess Lionel made a new sound system for the HO model. All the posts I read show people who are discovering this sound, saying it is very good (for the majority) . It would have not been such a surprise for everybody if it was the same system than the previously released O scale turbine. My 2 cents....

I bought mine on ebay (no way to get one in Europe in a hobby shop). The seller did send it via USPS. I have already used that before and it takes about 4 to 7 days to reach the french customs....when will they let my parcel reach my home ? ... it's another story (sometimes very annoying [xx(] )

If I have mine before you (if you have ordered one too) I will record it.

[lupo]

OK! so it will have new sounds! cool!
I ordered mine through www.firsthobby.com and they send it USPS last monday, from experience I know it could take between 7 days and 7 weeks, customs processing usually takes 3 days,
or as it has been sent from a private adress 0 days, and that also means: no tax (19%) in holland.

[Anonymous]

Remember how the Veranda's were used by the Union Pacific. In later years, most were run with two GP-9's to provide extra horsepower, as they only had 4500 horsepower. If this unit is lacking pulling power because of only two powered trucks, then add two GP9's. My Lionel Challenger runs, but it will not pull anything past 6 or 7 passenger cars on the 2% grades. I read about some changes to make to it, but have not had the time to modify the engine or tender to increase the pulling power.
I saw the unit at the Pomona show last month, and it looked fairly good. The older Overlands do not pull a train well and cost twice as much.
We should all email Lionel about the problems, as they may be thinking we are running them around the Christmas Tree at tull speed.
If that does not work, then we will not purchase any more of Neil Young's songs.
Larry

[Anonymous]

2 GP9 ?? Any pics of this consist ?
I read consist of Big Boy + Veranda was possible too !