My lionel Santa Fe engine when starting up will catch on fire where the smoking unit would be. Then it will blow out white smoke. But it doesn't have a smoking unit. What should i do????
God bless TCA 05-58541 Benefactor Member of the NRA, Member of the American Legion, Retired Boss Hog of Roseyville , KC&D Qualified
If it didn't have a smoking unit before, it has one now.
Just do what the Chief told you to do and get it repaired.
Celebrating 18 years on the CTT Forum.
Buckeye Riveter......... OTTS Charter Member, a Roseyville Raider and a member of the CTT Forum since 2004..
Jelloway Creek, OH - ELV 1,100 - Home of the Baltimore, Ohio & Wabash RR
TCA 09-64284
Sounds like repair time.I've seen pictures of real diesels with flames & smoke out the exhaust, they needed repair too.
Paul
Modeling the Baltimore waterfront in HO scale
Hopefully your SD80 is under warrenty because it needs repair NOW!! ANY further use could start a much bigger fire like your house!
Maybe that is why I keep away from the new Lionel products as you never know what it will do, reminds me of the CW80 transformer problems!
Lee F.
Lee, (phillyreading)
Agreed. That particular Santa Fe SD80 is clearly both a problem and a hazard.
That said, it is well known (or ought to be) that every electical appliance, toy or otherwise, has the potential for being a hazard.
Is it really helpful for certain forum-members to continue poor-mouthing the CW-80? Lionel has made improvements to that transformer and quality control seems to have improved, based on a non-scientific sample of recent postings. Do you avoid Amtrak because the "Best Friend of Charleston" blew up back in 1831? The "Best Friend" didn't have a UL certification. The CW-80 does.
The fact is that hundreds of parents are going to buy a Lionel starter-sets this season, and they will inevitably get CW-80's with them. Is there any point in scaring them to death, either by direct statements or implications?
Wouldn't it be better to remind them to read the owner's manual carefully and thoroughly, and to follow all instructions and cautions -- especially those pertaining to safe operations?
With all respect,
wolverine49 wrote:Is it really helpful for certain forum-members to continue poor-mouthing the CW-80? Lionel has made improvements to that transformer and quality control seems to have improved, based on a non-scientific sample of recent postings. Do you avoid Amtrak because the "Best Friend of Charleston" blew up back in 1831? The "Best Friend" didn't have a UL certification. The CW-80 does.
Had a firetruck shoot flames out of the exhaust one time, ejectors were stuck open. Hope your ejectors are working properly.
Dennis
TCA#09-63805
Not sure what would be smoking but get it fixed.
1033 should be in the trash. Never had any problems with CW-80s or new Lionel products..and I buy a lot of it. Not sure why everyones engine is smoking and transformers are blowing up.
LS1Heli wrote: Not sure what would be smoking but get it fixed. 1033 should be in the trash. Never had any problems with CW-80s or new Lionel products..and I buy a lot of it. Not sure why everyones engine is smoking and transformers are blowing up.
Send it to me, not the trash [I got several 1033's that are working great]. I've got CW80's that are not. I'm sure Lionel has worked on their earlier problems. In fact, send me all your PW KW's and ZW's too.
luther_stanton wrote: wolverine49 wrote: Is it really helpful for certain forum-members to continue poor-mouthing the CW-80? Lionel has made improvements to that transformer and quality control seems to have improved, based on a non-scientific sample of recent postings. Do you avoid Amtrak because the "Best Friend of Charleston" blew up back in 1831? The "Best Friend" didn't have a UL certification. The CW-80 does. Excellent analogy! Count me as a CW-80 supporter - mine replaced a 1033 that could not get the job done!
wolverine49 wrote: Is it really helpful for certain forum-members to continue poor-mouthing the CW-80? Lionel has made improvements to that transformer and quality control seems to have improved, based on a non-scientific sample of recent postings. Do you avoid Amtrak because the "Best Friend of Charleston" blew up back in 1831? The "Best Friend" didn't have a UL certification. The CW-80 does.
Well sir, you can count me out. The only reason that I own one is becuase I havent been able to sell it or trade it yet.
Lionel collector, stuck in an N scaler's modelling space.
wolverine49 wrote: Do you avoid Amtrak because the "Best Friend of Charleston" blew up back in 1831?
Do you avoid Amtrak because the "Best Friend of Charleston" blew up back in 1831?
I have been trying to find a good reason why Columbus is the largest city in the U.S. without passenger rail service. I believe this must be the reeason.
RR Redneck wrote: luther_stanton wrote: wolverine49 wrote: Is it really helpful for certain forum-members to continue poor-mouthing the CW-80? Lionel has made improvements to that transformer and quality control seems to have improved, based on a non-scientific sample of recent postings. Do you avoid Amtrak because the "Best Friend of Charleston" blew up back in 1831? The "Best Friend" didn't have a UL certification. The CW-80 does. Excellent analogy! Count me as a CW-80 supporter - mine replaced a 1033 that could not get the job done! Well sir, you can count me out. The only reason that I own one is becuase I havent been able to sell it or trade it yet.
Gentleman,
Well, at least a few people have spoken up in support of the CW-80. The rest are doing just what I don't consider helpful -- posting vague complaints without details. Perhaps this isn't the right thread, but I'd like to see more specifics in these complaints.
Perhaps they don't have the time. Maybe they are standing on a platform in Columbus waiting for a passenger train....
wolverine49,
It just seems strange that most of the problems are coming from one company; LIONEL!!!!
I agrree that almost all appliances do have the potential to catch on fire but not near as often as a Lionel product!
Due to what I read & what experiance I have had with modern Lionel products I am staying away from new Lionel completely. The 6-23011 switches were a total failure for long term! Bought a lower priced Lionel diesel a few years ago & it would not pull more than four quad hoppers at a slow pace, a GP-7 Illinios Central, sold it on ebay to get rid of it.
Not trying to bash Lionel just give an accurate report of things that have happened!!
Funny, I never seem to have any more than a minor problem now & then, wheather it from Lionel or the other manufacturers. By reading the forums, a hobbyist soon learns what to buy or what not to buy. I don't know of many products sold today that aren't subject to having a possible problem. Lionel may sell more than other companies. I don't know the figures. I say anyone who has all these problems as they say, should now know to stay away from buying them ! Leave therm for the rest of us to get a good deal on ! My TMCC system has worked flawlessly & I'm on my 2nd. set, due to selling everything out some years ago & starting over. My Lionmaster Challenger has worked perfectly since I got it. everything else is still working perfectly also. I wouldn't buy a CW-80 or those switches, since I use Gargraves track & will add Ross switches.
csxt30 wrote: Funny, I never seem to have any more than a minor problem now & then, wheather it from Lionel or the other manufacturers. By reading the forums, a hobbyist soon learns what to buy or what not to buy. I don't know of many products sold today that aren't subject to having a possible problem. Lionel may sell more than other companies. I don't know the figures. I say anyone who has all these problems as they say, should now know to stay away from buying them ! Leave therm for the rest of us to get a good deal on ! My TMCC system has worked flawlessly & I'm on my 2nd. set, due to selling everything out some years ago & starting over. My Lionmaster Challenger has worked perfectly since I got it. everything else is still working perfectly also. I wouldn't buy a CW-80 or those switches, since I use Gargraves track & will add Ross switches.
Their % of problems is probably less than 10%. That is good with electronics and those coming from overseas. I think Lionel and all the companies are doing pretty good.
ChiefEagles wrote: csxt30 wrote: Funny, I never seem to have any more than a minor problem now & then, wheather it from Lionel or the other manufacturers. By reading the forums, a hobbyist soon learns what to buy or what not to buy. I don't know of many products sold today that aren't subject to having a possible problem. Lionel may sell more than other companies. I don't know the figures. I say anyone who has all these problems as they say, should now know to stay away from buying them ! Leave therm for the rest of us to get a good deal on ! My TMCC system has worked flawlessly & I'm on my 2nd. set, due to selling everything out some years ago & starting over. My Lionmaster Challenger has worked perfectly since I got it. everything else is still working perfectly also. I wouldn't buy a CW-80 or those switches, since I use Gargraves track & will add Ross switches. Their % of problems is probably less than 10%. That is good with electronics and those coming from overseas. I think Lionel and all the companies are doing pretty good.
Most of the time when I have had an electrical/electronics problem, it is because I'm not following the instructions supplied by the manufacturer. (It is the same problem as not asking for directions when lost!)
The worst quality control problem I have had was not with the electronics but with a standard die cast coupler on a MTH car. It was cast completely wrong and would not work with other couplers by any manufacturer. I would call casting a low tech process. I had to throw away the trucks/couplers and replace them. The other two dozen or so of MTH cars have had no problem and work flawlessly.
I have now had my TMCC in place for almost 7 years and I have not replaced any of the components due to malfunction. I did change to a TPC 300 that makes everything work better. And yes, I had to replace the batteries in the CAB-1s. My MTH track and switches have been great. The K-Line Diesel Engine has been working fine for over 15 years. Seven of those years it has been running a TAS TMCC. My K-Line, MTH, and Lionel accessories work flawlessly, but again I read the instructions and hooked them up just as the books indicated and did not try to cut corners.
The one Lionel engine that did act up after six months was repaired under warrenty by Lionel. Great service, but I again followed their instructions for returns.
My brother just found his old American Flyer Train in the folks attic. It is over 50 years old, but it is not running right. I suppose I should just tell him to put it in the trash since it obviously has a defect.
cr6479 wrote:Kooljock1. I was thinking the same thing. I WAS talking about Lionel SD 80 and most of Lionel O27 scale doesn't come with a somking unit. Ok this thread is NOT about CW-80 transformer and please read what this thread name is thank you.
Thank you very much !! I was going with the flow !! When the subject changed, I changed with it ! I must have missed where it says " you have to stay on topic.
Sorry, John
HUH ????
If you pour a lot of smoke fluid into an SD - 80, will it catch on fire ??
It doesn't come with a smoking unit. When it starts up you will see a 1 inch flame coming from where the smoking unit would be and then a ball of white and gray smoke, but the software some how is fine which is very odd.
Is this the model we are talking about except in Santa Fe paint? If it is, it has always been advertised with fan driven smoke units. My CSX SD 80 can smoke you out of the room, but it has never caught fire.
After I posted the above, photo and verbage, I went and looked on Lionel's web site for SD-80 locomotives in Santa Fe Paint schemes. Lionel definitely sold SD-80s, but their on line catalogs do not show a Santa Fe Paint scheme.
Kooljock1, cr6479, cxt30, et al,
I apologize to whatever extent I hijacked the thread. If you go back to the beginning of the thread, and page down to the sixth post, you will see that Lee F. (phillyreading) introduced the CW-80 into a discussion of something entirely different. That pushed my button, as it always does.
It's just that with all the gratuitous jabs at the CW-80, the constant ringing of the bells inside my head, an entire afternoon of football teams huddling-up and talking about me -- well, it just got to be too much.
I'm only glad that it is perfectly clear that a CW-80 did NOT catch fire. Do carry on.
Buckeye Riveter wrote: wolverine49 wrote: Do you avoid Amtrak because the "Best Friend of Charleston" blew up back in 1831? I have been trying to find a good reason why Columbus is the largest city in the U.S. without passenger rail service. I believe this must be the reeason.
Wolverine, I am still glad you posted the reason to avoid Amtrak. It will give me something to say at the next All Aboard Ohio meeting in Novemeber.
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