I will say that I REALLY want an Amtrak work train set similar to the ones done by Lionel & MTH in the late 1990s (at least that is the last I know of them being made).

Please give me that Amtrak work train set.

Got both engines back today. Ran them a few minutes and the squeaking began again.

Spoke with Larry Harrington today as well and he is sending me a new motor for the turbine.

I hate to start another topic but my S2 was running great earlier until I stopped to add more smoke fluid.

3rail - Thanks for the reply. I've been running it a lot this afternoon (got everything important done early this morning) and have noticed that after I swapped the cars out it has been running MUCH quieter. I guess those heavy MTH Railking cars with 6 wheel trucks are a little too heavy for the engine. With cheapo Lionel 0-27 cars (all plastic with plastic trucks and couplers), I can't hear the motor across the room.

Tomorrow I'm having a get-together for my modular club. I'm planning on running this puppy and will post back on its performance.

Thank you as always!

Got my replacement turbine last Sunday and have been running it pretty much everyday for an hour or more. When I put my ear somewhat near the engine while running, I hear a noise similar to the whining/grinding type noise model motors make when you get them up to a high speed. Naturally, I cracked it open and shot some grease in it and oiled around. I'm still getting the noise and I'm starting to think the engine needs a good break in period. Does anyone agree or is this just the nature of the beast? Bach-man? I opened the shell of the WBB GP9 and I don't get the noise even with two motors and that engine is well broken in.

Could I be pulling to much (5 MTH Railking Rugged Rails baby Madison cars)?\\

Thanks!

You can always upgrade the engine to MTH's Protosound 2.0 or Lionel's TMCC and get louder sound, command control, and more sound features than WBB's TB2 offers.

If Bachmann did this I would truly buy it without any questions...

Decorate the GP-38, FP-45, and E units (preferably the GP) as MARC along with matching passenger cars (The Amtrak streamliners will work for me) and I'll be the happiest guy around.

Come on Bachmann!!!

YOu can always convert the engine to MTH's DCS/Protosound 2 system or Lionel's TrainMaster Command Control system (Legacy is an option once upgrade kits are available) and RailSounds, however it is in NOT going to be cheap. With parts and Labor, the price get get close to $500 after everything is said and done.

Your smoke unit is operating normally. There is no secret however if you don't want to keep filling it up, that kind of smoke unit can be run w/o fluid in it. My 671 turbine acts the same as your Hudson and while it is messy, I live with it and clean it off after I'm done running.

There is no chuff. That was a typo in the catalog (as well as the website and box).

Good luck with it. They are beautiful engines and still are a great deal even without the cuff.

3rail - Thanks for the reply. It is on it's way!

As some of you know, my 671 needs a replacement sound board. I have some questions that I hope to have answered before I send it out.

1) Return RA? I spoke to a tech but he said I didn't need one. Is this true?
2) I assume I should write a letter stating my problem, expectations, return address, etc. correct?
3) Turn around time? What is Bachmann's turn around time for repairs?

Thanks and if I happen to think of others I'll post them. Thanks again!

The problem showed up again and I then called Bachmann and spoke to a GREAT service guy. I can't remember his name but after we talked over my issues with my 671, we spent a good 10-15 minutes just talking trains. This guy really was terrific. Now I wish the people with at the Apple store were just as good  (I'm also experiencing issues with my computer).

Speaking of my issues, I've opted to send the engine and tender back to Bachmann. It is something I would rather NOT do, but I hope to either have a new sound board (that is what the tech and I figured the issue was) or a new tender. I had to make numerous modifications to the engine so I HOPE the engine isn't replaced as I do NOT want to make those mods again. The mods I did were not customization but modifications to the wiring (shortening wires, moving them, etc) as if I didn't do it, I would have even more issues than I do now.

All in all, I hope this one comes out okay. Thanks for the help.

CandO - Thanks for the reply. I have yet to open it up to have a peek since the issue has yet to pop up again and I've put a good amount of run time and whistle blowing on it these past few days. I may open it up but if not, I will wait until it happens again.

Thanks again!

Picked up a 671 turbine a few weeks ago from Justrains. The whistle originally was loud and full. Last week, I ran it and when I blew the whistle, it was pretty much inaudible. Once I killed the power and then reapplied power, it worked fine. Today, I ran it and it sounded quite lower in volume once again and as barely audible over the track noise and other trains.

As anyone heard of this problem? I hope I don't have a bad sound board. The bell seems to work fine. I'm using the recommended transformer (MTH Z1000).

Thanks!

Thanks for the reply Bill. I had originally bent the tube opening a little but I managed to carefully open it back up. I will try cleaning it as well after I get some run time on it as it is now sitting on my bench waiting to get some minor adjustments and modifications.