# Poor Poor Challenger



## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

My poor Challenger didn't survive it's journey. It's box looks like it was in a truck that rolled over 20 times and then went off a cliff!! you can see where the Post Office tapped it back shut but no til after all the pieces that broke off were lost to the mail room floor.

This Loco came well padded and in bubble wrap so the force must have been a bomb!!

so far as i can tally it will need a entire upper shell, new pilot, new hand rails, new bell, nose cone, and god know what else i haven't seen yet!

The Post Office was no help what so ever they said ":that shouldn't have happened at all!" funny it did and y'all taped the box back up and didn't even make note of it just sent it along on it's merry way!

If anyone else receives a box like this from the PO please go raise some hell at the PO and call the main office directly and raise cane. for me they will do nothing other than "i'm sorry there is nothing we can do" well guess what! ya already did plenty!!! now to TRY and find the parts for a loco that hasn't been made in 14 years!!!

on to the pics





















































































rant over


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

All that's missing is the boot print! Where was it shipped from?


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Someone know how to play the taps?hwell:
Looks like a postal employee went POSTAL  on your box and the poor challenger!


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

it was shipped out of Los Angeles.... apparently they had a riot in the post office!

it was nothing the shipper did, it was well cocooned. it was all the post office and i'm pissed


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

tried to get better pics but the camera won't focus enough. the stairs on both side messed up, there are a few cracks that wont focus on the pilot, the nose wont stay on. man i really hate the Post Office right now!!!!!


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## Kwikster (Feb 22, 2012)

Apparently they believe as Red Green says "Fragile is French for throw underhand". It's sad to say, but it's typical of the USPS these days.

Carl


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

Insurance? Please don't kill the messenger!


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## Ranger (Mar 4, 2012)

Sorry Sawgunner. That hurts just looking at the photos


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

Wow...almost as bad as my Big Boy. Looks like it got hit at a bad angle with a heavy tub or bucket of something, right on the mailing label. It will take time and patience but it can be rebuilt...sorry that happened to your model.


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

my only issue is parts availability. there are none on ebay at the moment so just have to keep looking til i find them


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

It took me a year and a half to fix my Big Boy, and that primarilly because I refused to pay what those sharks wanted for Rivarossi parts...take heart, this one came to me just as battered...










I just calmed down, accessed the damage, carefully fixed what I could, subbed in parts I had and pounced on what I could find cheap. The weathering was actually done to hide the mis-matched parts on the nose...


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

she looks absolutely stunning Shay!! I can only hope mine looks that good when/ if she get fixed


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

sawgunner said:


> she looks absolutely stunning Shay!! I can only hope mine looks that good when/ if she get fixed


Give it time...she will and, like me, it will be all the dearer a model to you for it. Always gives me a smile cracking the throttle on this one because of what it took to get it to this point...:thumbsup:

BTW...it is true, I only weathered it to hide the mismatched tender and other parts... Worked fairly well I think


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

YOUCH!!!! i feel pain just looking at the pics!!! poor engine  makes me glad I got my steamers in one piece...I had a similar incident with the DD40AX I got from another member here in a trade  box was banged up and it was wraped ok but still had a few issues, gonna try to sort them out too...


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

well shay you will probably see this one for the "cover up" process


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

well on to the good news!! the motor still works and she drives smooth. a good cleaning of the drive train and then she will be fine in that respect. now off to find parts!

she is also one of the later ones that has the motor hidden she actually has an engineers car not the back of a can motor!


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

That's a true bummer, I know how it feels when you get something that you were waiting for and it comes in like that! I got a new Legacy T-1 Duplex 4-4-4-4 that was still sealed in the master shipping carton, when I got it out it was totally mildewed! The manual was a black blob in a plastic bag! Talk about bummed out!

The good part was I could return it and get my money back, of course I was out the return shipping.


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

someone's getting naked!!!



























hey shay do ya see another 'boose?


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Gee, T-Man could probably fix that with some epoxy!


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

sawgunner said:


> someone's getting naked!!!
> 
> hey shay do ya see another 'boose?


....ummm...now that I'm not afraid to open my eyes....

Glad to see you're taking it on...you may not like how the trip started, but you'll enjoy the rewards at the end.:thumbsup:


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Gee, T-Man could probably fix that with some epoxy!



where is he anyways? he says seacoast, NH although small on the map there's a lot of people around here!!!


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

i saw another boose!!!!  and HOLY!!!! MY EYES!!! they just witnessed your engine getting.........NAKED!!!! !!!!!


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## Guest (Jul 11, 2012)

Reminds me of an incident I had with a trade with a guy on another forum a few years ago, but the box actually came back to me, missing some of the contents. Thankfully, most of them were just athearn blue box shells, but still they are getting hard to find too. It leaves a bad feeling between people when it happens, but ya can't control the post office.....


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

unfortunately this isn't the first package i've had damaged by the PO and the strangest one of all is when they lost 2 wheels for my car? how in the world do you lose 2 16" black steel wheels?

she will be resurrected but just don't know when it will be complete again. if anyone has parts they can let go of or are willing to work something out it would be much appreciated.


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

i agree thats why I always put tracking and insurance on my packages, that way if they come to a person damage I can file a claim for lost/damaged goods, and I can get them either fixed or replaced...


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

ya i'm really nervous now cause i just sent out 8 boxes with them today to forum members and ebay buyers. god i hope my normal packing job is good enough to save them from this same experience!

ya know at this point i am thinking about giving up my Rivarossi 4-8-4 Grey hound so i can have the money set aside for when i do find the parts for this girl.


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

well personially I used to work at UPS (United Package Smashers) where things would kinda have a tendency to go "oops" yes forklifts were the worst LOL and I figured if I can pack apackage and have it survive a trip around the hub of united package smashers it will survive the PO (we were worse LOL) we wouldn't under hand the package, we would either hike it or fling it and if it missed the can (often) it would get punted into it bounced around on the back of trucks (and yes the occasional pick up (mine ) if it had to be rushed across the hub ground due to over night/next day and we were about to hit the limit, yes packages hitting the ground at about 70mph no fun LOL!!! but mine always survived those trips! so thats how i always pack my stuff, as if its gonna take a 90mph trip across grass and hit cement and skid across it....


as for your parts Ill keep an eye out for them local...


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

i used to work for USPS and what happened to this package should have never happened. also that when this does occur it is supposed to be pulled off the line and notes taken as well as operator machine line facility and given to the post master for inspection and a label attached to the package stating what happened. so ya this is complete BS on their part


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## THE TYCO MAN (Aug 23, 2011)

Good luck on the hunt for parts!


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## searstractorfan (May 30, 2011)

I bought a revell still model of a big boy, can you snatch parts from them to fix this? cause LTD sell that kit new..mom bought it for me as a birthday gift!


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

searstractorfan said:


> I bought a revell still model of a big boy, can you snatch parts from them to fix this? cause LTD sell that kit new..mom bought it for me as a birthday gift!


Bowser put out a conversion kit for the tender to give it power pickups and new wheelsets.


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

well here is another kick in the balls. turns out there are 2 generations of Rivarossi and the parts do not cross between them even though you have 2 big boys or challengers sitting next to each other. if the are different gens you can use 1 to fix the other.

dang dang dang!!!!!


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

I found that they had re-engineered their locomotives several times over the years...there were at least 4 in the Cab forward over the first 15 years it was made. Fortunately, most of the changes were in the drive...

Think of it as a treasure hunt...


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## lears2005 (Feb 26, 2010)

How much do you want for that 4-8-4


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

'Gunner,

Just catching up on this news / thread. My sympathies on the crushed loco, and my best wishes to the patient for a healthy recovery (at some point).

Regards,

TJ


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

Thanks TJ the parts will show up sooner or later hoping sooner. there is a guy in Nebraska that use to be a full line rivarossi repair shop he thinks he might have some. if not back to the drawing board


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

sawgunner said:


> i used to work for USPS and what happened to this package should have never happened. also that when this does occur it is supposed to be pulled off the line and notes taken as well as operator machine line facility and given to the post master for inspection and a label attached to the package stating what happened. so ya this is complete BS on their part


I do agree with you on that, but after seeing what things happen at UPS main hub (any packages you send UPS will always route through the Louisville hub, so if they say to get a package from point A to B now you better get to it, they do not puts around here...but I do agree about the package, but that's why I also started taking extra measures to protect the cargo in my packages...I'll talk to my contact and see if they may have spares that I can buy for you and send your way...


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## Lee_R (May 30, 2012)

Just now getting caught up here... OUCH, man! My feet didn't even look as bad as that box did!!! I don't run across many train parts, but if I do I'll try and snag them and send them your way - and I'm looking forward to seeing progress reports on how the rebuild goes!


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## wilson44512 (Mar 4, 2012)

Next time you see the mailman. give him a piece of your mind. And a kick in the ***


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

wilson44512 said:


> Next time you see the mailman. give him a piece of your mind. And a kick in the ***


AMEN!!!! He (they?) should feel the pain your poor loco felt


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

ya know i could replicate it in scale! borrow 3985 from UP and they become the box


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## jjb727 (Apr 13, 2012)

sucks that they gave you poor service. next time you may want to try to have them send it to a better post office?


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## Nolackofwanna (Mar 10, 2011)

Hi
I had the same thing happen with a set of taillights, it looked as thought the box had been run over by a forklift! So is it any wonder why FED-EX and others are getting so much business!


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

Nolackofwanna said:


> Hi
> So is it any wonder why FED-EX and others are getting so much business!


USPS, UPS, & Fed-Ex over the years have had stuff delivered by each one that the box and contents were damaged. I don't think one is any better or worse than the others. One of my son's freinds worked at the UPS sorting facility over the Christmas holiday. He has stories about how packages are handled.


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

*As a Taxpayer....you have rights!!!*



sawgunner said:


> i used to work for USPS and what happened to this package should have never happened. also that when this does occur it is supposed to be pulled off the line and notes taken as well as operator machine line facility and given to the post master for inspection and a label attached to the package stating what happened. so ya this is complete BS on their part


Hey Sawgunner...Keep shaggin the PO about this and keep it up til you get some satisfaction. do the three steps...1. You already did that with a vocal complaint..2. Start bombarding them with letters of complaint(especially your Postmaster)...3. Go to the distict Postmaster and let him have it...yeah its only a toy train...that you have placed in the hands of the United States Post Office who have neglected to fullfill their obligation to get your package to you in one piece..GOOD GOD LOOK AT THAT DAMAGE...and thats just the box!! Go getem tiger!! RRROOOAAARRR!!


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

Amen, lets go get them!!! makes me concerned that stuff I am getting in the USPS system will get damaged too


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

ya i've been on the phone with HQ and such to no avail. so i just now know to ship with insurance on them and forgo the risk.

anyways back onto part needed.....

smoke box cover from Big Boy or Challenger
tender from Big Boy or Challenger
front pilot top piece that holds headlight

if anyone has any of this lying around in their parts bin or know where i can get i'll pay ya for them. really want her back in her glory


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

ok now im concerned, a kit that should have arrived TODAY (tracking info) is not here yet...checked tracking and it seemes to be stuck some where in our USPS system...but delivery date says its supposed to be here today so who knows....


as for the tender not sure if I got spares laying around but I may have one for a Berkshire if that might fit...


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

Thanks Berlin is it a centipede tender?


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

sawgunner said:


> Thanks Berlin is it a centipede tender?


honestly not sure what it is, I just know its with my berk shire (1222 i think), looking for a pic


EDIT: found a pic of the tender, will look at tender to be sure its what you either need or at least its all there...I do not like sending things that are missing parts...it just looks bad LOL!!


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

the top looks close but would like to find this exact one in black. thanks for trying Berlin


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

ok so far i have found almost all the front end pieces to fix her in Brass. how would i go about adding the brass? the class lights are simple but the bell and # board combo and the front pilot may be above my skill


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

np, some parts are missing from the tender so i dont want to send it out, i need to do some rehab on it also!!!


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

well so far i have been able to get her pilot somewhat back together. and would ya lookie there her flip coupler actually works


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## Lee_R (May 30, 2012)

Good deal! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: At this rate, you'll have her out of the ICU ward in no time!


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

yup should have the brass parts next week. then on to figuring out how to mount those. then on to a tender


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## Mr.Buchholz (Dec 30, 2011)

If that was my loco that got wrecked, I would have gone and strangled everyone at the post office.

-J.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Mr.Buchholz said:


> If that was my loco that got wrecked, I would have gone and strangled everyone at the post office.
> 
> -J.


I think "going Postal" is a Federal offense.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> I think "going Postal" is a Federal offense.



He better watch out, for a while it was the postal workers going bananas and shooting up everyone.


http://potifos.com/postal.html


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

well at least I know one thing, my RPO's will get the mail through as they are my models so I know they will do what I want, and if they don't well the car gets set to the side and pulled off the layout...as I will dictate how the mail rolls in my layout!!!   they can go postal but I will always have the last letter...


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## petey (Aug 12, 2012)

Hello, 
Try Bonanazle, or something like that for parts.


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## wvgca (Jan 21, 2013)

did you get the parts that you needed? and get it on to your layout?


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## D&J Railroad (Oct 4, 2013)

wvgca said:


> did you get the parts that you needed? and get it on to your layout?


you realize that last post was 4 years ago.


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## wvgca (Jan 21, 2013)

D&J Railroad said:


> you realize that last post was 4 years ago.


yes, it just seemed too nice of a loco just to leave sit needing parts...
that's all


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## time warp (Apr 28, 2016)

wvgca said:


> yes, it just seemed too nice of a loco just to leave sit needing parts...
> that's all


You'd think after 61 posts and 7 pages of discussion there would at least be some follow up.


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