How does this engine run, is it smooth and quiet?
Is decoration and detail very well done?
Thanks,
Dave
The detail is very nice for its time.
Running wise, its the biggest piece of junk you will ever find . The Lionel model was build by Bachmann using the tiny pancake motor and the infamous plastic axle hubs which will not hold quarter.
I have the Bachmann version and mine was a paper weight until I picked up this chassis kit from Bowser:
The Bowser kits are bullet proof but have been discontinued .
Jim
I had one way back. I agree with the detail description, but I never had any problems with it running back then. It and some of their other HO offerings, from what I and a friend had at the time, seemed to be pretty good runners. I had mine from the mid 1970s to the mid 1990s.
All my HO stuff went to a cousin back in the mid 90s aftter a move put my model railroad stuff into storage. I have no idea how that, or any of my original (mostly Athearn) items aged.
Jeff
Well it looks like I picked a loser to even think about buying. That's why I post here and ask.
Ok then what would be the best not counting brass?
I worked on a Lionel/Bachmann GS4 from the late 70's. The pancake motor drive was honestly pretty smooth and had good torque, but the problem was that the wheels were pressed into plastic center axles. The axles would split, and the wheels would go out of quarter. I managed to get it going with some careful eyeballing and super-gluing, but there was always a slight thump from imperfect quartering.
The latest Bachmann GS4 appears to be well designed and should be much more dependable. I haven't seen any besides the Lionel that had the paint scheme you want, but since the shells have been practically unchanged for 40 years, you might be able to get both and swap them.
_________________________________________________________________
David,
I worked in a hobby shop when the AFT was released by Lionel. We sold quite a few of them and never had any returns. They were not of the caliber of today's engines like Spectrums, BLI or MTH but they were not terrible runners. The detail wasn't what we have come to expect now but it was at least equal to the other engines of the period. As to longevity I can't say but we never had any returned like the Tyco or basic Life Like crap being sold at the time.
Like another fellow said...Bowser made a very nice power conversion for them and I would look at train shows as I have seen them before at fairly reasonable prices.
Roger Huber
Deer Creek Locomotive Works
The Bowser conversion kit is very rare, even on Ebay. If you do a search on the topic on this forum, you'll see that most recommend the later Spectrum model. The Lionel is definitely toy grade.