# Order from Trainz.



## Jeff T (Dec 27, 2011)

I recently won a Lionel Legacy Burlington F3 AA at their auction site.

Arrived today and and I stopped everything to get the box open and let them site in the house for a while to warm up. To get them rolling I ran them in conventional. Wow, sounds, Mars light... A few laps around the tree I popped open the panels and switched the smoke on. The fan in the dummy was louder than any fan I have ever heard.

In the paperwork with the train was paperwork from the original owner as he sent it back to Lionel for no smoke. 

Even thought the dummy A had the screaming fan the powered A was the one blinking. Is that correct? I assumed the unit with the bad fan would blink.

Anyway, I contacted Trainz, told them of the issue and they will return with a full refund.

Kinda bummed, but per the paperwork there were other issues as well...


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## BobS (Jun 18, 2015)

Did Trainz list the problems in their item description? Seems rather unfair to the prospective bidders if they did not.


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## Jeff T (Dec 27, 2011)

It was listed as like new, untested. I was offered a full refund or return on their dime and repair.

No complaints from me.


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## Guest (Dec 31, 2015)

Based on others from the MTF who have responded before about this vendor, I'll take a pass.


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## Jeff T (Dec 27, 2011)

Passenger Train Collector said:


> Based on others from the MTF who have responded before about this vendor, I'll take a pass.


They offered to fix it or refund what I paid so I can't complain. Just bummed that this unit was fixed once by Lionel for these issues and apparently their fan motors still are suspect.

That's more annoying to me. Oh well.


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## captaincog (Oct 7, 2012)

I just finished replacing another Lionel fan motor today. No, the problems are not fixed. After today I have a restock on fan motors now.


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## chipset35 (Sep 4, 2015)

Passenger Train Collector said:


> Based on others from the MTF who have responded before about this vendor, I'll take a pass.


Same here Brian, too much fine print, and mine fields to tread thru.


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## Jeff T (Dec 27, 2011)

chipset35 said:


> Same here Brian, too much fine print, and mine fields to tread thru.


Vince - I know they're not for everyone, but when they offer to repair or refund I don't see the mine fields you speak of. I look it at it as risk/reward!


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## chipset35 (Sep 4, 2015)

Jeff T said:


> Vince - I know they're not for everyone, but when they offer to repair or refund I don't see the mine fields you speak of. I look it at it as risk/reward!


Yeah, that is great they are making good for it.
But as Brian stated, I too will take a pass.
I used to deal with them a few years back, but stopped.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

While I've never been _burned_ by Trainz, a couple of times I had to jump through hoops to finally get satisfaction on a purchase. 

One time I bought something listed on eBay, but when I filed a case on eBay because parts where missing, they never responded. When eBay went to close out the case and issue the forced refund, they finally responded and told me I should have contacted them directly. HUH? That's a really bad idea, eBay doesn't have any record of the correspondence, so if you don't get satisfaction from the vendor, you have no recourse. If they sell through eBay, they have to be ready to deal with the eBay issue resolution process!

Then there was the 3rd Rail brass engines. I bought four of them over the space of a couple of years, I ended up only keeping one. The other three were all packed so poorly that they were severely damaged in shipment! They'd just toss them in a box with a few packing peanuts and ship them! I was told later that they were consignment items and they probably didn't really care, but I don't know that to be fact. The only interesting point was that the 4th one, the only one I kept, was packed like it was going to the moon!  I guess they got tired of getting crushed brass engines back. 

The whole set of experiences didn't leave a good feeling about the vendor.


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## chipset35 (Sep 4, 2015)

My issues with Trainz were as follows:

1) Purchased new MTH RealTrax turnout from their website (not auction), it was used.
2) Shabby packing, miracle nothing was broken in shipping.
3) Shill bidding on ebay.
4) Broken pieces on 75% of purchases
5) Unlike other major dealers, they operate in a "gray area" of quality.


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## Prewar Pappy (Jul 26, 2015)

Passenger Train Collector said:


> Based on others from the MTF who have responded before about this vendor, I'll take a pass.





Jeff T said:


> I know they're not for everyone, but when they offer to repair or refund I don't see the mine fields you speak of. I look it at it as risk/reward!


*Jeff,
If you like the risk, why didn't you keep them and make the repairs yourself?*



gunrunnerjohn said:


> While I've never been _burned_ by Trainz, a couple of times I had to jump through hoops to finally get satisfaction on a purchase.
> 
> One time I bought something listed on eBay, but when I filed a case on eBay because parts where missing, they never responded. When eBay went to close out the case and issue the forced refund, they finally responded and told me I should have contacted them directly. HUH? That's a really bad idea, eBay doesn't have any record of the correspondence, so if you don't get satisfaction from the vendor, you have no recourse. If they sell through eBay, they have to be ready to deal with the eBay issue resolution process!
> 
> The whole set of experiences didn't leave a good feeling about the vendor.


John,
Trainz really went downhill after Scott turned everything over to a independent third party which does everything that his people used to do. It does appear that this outfit is doing nothing like Scott's people used to do. From what I understand Scott is still under contract with these people. His reputation is really taking a hit now days. I hope that he can salvage his company before it's too late.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Well, if he's sold the company, I guess he's kinda' stuck with their performance.


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## Jeff T (Dec 27, 2011)

Prewar Pappy said:


> *Jeff,
> If you like the risk, why didn't you keep them and make the repairs yourself?*
> 
> 
> ...


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

FWIW Jeff, I have fixed several smoke issues that went back to Lionel several times. For whatever reason, Lionel sometimes refuses to accept stuff like bad smoke motors. One local guy sent his Northern back twice for the same smoke error, got it back and it failed within a couple weeks with the same error. I replaced the Lionel smoke motor with an MTH motor, and it's never been back. I'm hoping that Lionel has finally figured out the smoke motor issue, that was giving them a serious black eye.


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## chipset35 (Sep 4, 2015)

Prewar Pappy said:


> Trainz really went downhill after Scott turned everything over to a independent third party which does everything that his people used to do. It does appear that this outfit is doing nothing like Scott's people used to do. From what I understand Scott is still under contract with these people. His reputation is really taking a hit now days. I hope that he can salvage his company before it's too late.


That explains a lot.
Always a reason.


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## davidone (Apr 20, 2015)

I ordered a passenger car from them and it took almost 5 weeks to get it to me. Poorly packed and many excuses later the car arrived. Never again will I buy anything from Trainz. 

Lesson learned.


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## captaincog (Oct 7, 2012)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> FWIW Jeff, I have fixed several smoke issues that went back to Lionel several times. For whatever reason, Lionel sometimes refuses to accept stuff like bad smoke motors. One local guy sent his Northern back twice for the same smoke error, got it back and it failed within a couple weeks with the same error. I replaced the Lionel smoke motor with an MTH motor, and it's never been back. I'm hoping that Lionel has finally figured out the smoke motor issue, that was giving them a serious black eye.


gunrunnerjohn,
Your post got me thinking about those fan motors that were on ebay several months ago. I had ordered a couple and I thought you did also. Did you ever try one to see how well they work?


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## Prewar Pappy (Jul 26, 2015)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Well, if he's sold the company, I guess he's kinda' stuck with their performance.


John,
He did not sell the company. Some production outfit made him a sales pitch. The flow charts, time and motion studies impressed him, I guess. It is a odd arrangement to say the least. This company brought in their own workers. The last time I spoke with Scott he is not a "Happy Camper".


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## Prewar Pappy (Jul 26, 2015)

Jeff T said:


> Prewar Pappy said:
> 
> 
> > *Jeff,
> ...


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## J. S. Bach (Sep 20, 2015)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> ...snip... The other three were all packed so poorly that they were severely damaged in shipment! ...snip...


That reminds me of a Max Gray/U. S. Hobbies PRR P5 electric that I won from them. When I received it all of the roof detail was wiped off and lying loose in the box.  The roof was intact in the auction photos, so I left negative feedback. Anyway, I kept it as it is not an easy motor to find and I should be able to repair it. I later won four NJ Custom Brass PRR MP54s; I drove the five hours to Atlanta to get them as I did not trust their packing. Note that also my travel expenses were less that the shipping for these.


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## chipset35 (Sep 4, 2015)

Prewar Pappy said:


> John,
> He did not sell the company. Some production outfit made him a sales pitch. The flow charts, time and motion studies impressed him, I guess. It is a odd arrangement to say the least. This company brought in their own workers. The last time I spoke with Scott he is not a "Happy Camper".


That is sad, because at one point they were pretty good and then one day they got sloppy and never seemed to recover.
Based on how much work and money they put into "everything", i.e. their auction site, web site store and the huge amount of ebay business they do, it is sad to see they somehow made a bad business mistake.
I can deal with most of the little stuff, but what got under my collar was their "Shill Bidding" on ebay.
it was so bad and also so obvious, I complained to both ebay and Trainz.


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## DennyM (Jan 3, 2016)

I am not happy with Tranz these days. I bought a few things I have had to send back for repairs or because they sent the wrong thing. Plus when I saw them at York, they were not as friendly as I thought they would be. I'm not real happy with Dash either.


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## L0stS0ul (Feb 6, 2015)

I've had the opposite experience when it comes to packaging. I've been bidding on things from the DASH site for about 8 months now and every item I have received has been extremely well packaged. Tons of bubble wrap on the non-boxed items and lots and lots of packing peanuts. It seems like there may be different shipping departments. A dash department, the website department, and the ebay department. 

The only shipping issue I have ever had from Trainz was one of my first orders from the website. I ordered some parts along with a few yard lights. The parts came within days but the yard lights were no where to be found. I called and was told it was coming from one of their other warehouses but it should have shipped. They couldn't figure out what happened so shipped me a new set. Finally I got them but it took 2 weeks.


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## Ricky Tanner (Sep 19, 2015)

I suppose I'm the odd man out. I've won/bought quite a few items from Trainz for several years. I've only had a couple of big problems and they were resolved quickly and professionally. Most of the locomotives were better than described. As far as packing goes,its been excellent,nearly overkill as of late.


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## chipset35 (Sep 4, 2015)

I am on my 5th Order from Mario's Trains since roughly 3 weeks ago.
They are my dealer of choice.


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## Ricky Tanner (Sep 19, 2015)

chipset35 said:


> I am on my 5th Order from Mario's Trains since roughly 3 weeks ago.
> They are my dealer of choice.


Me too! He's had some great sales lately. You cannot beat the shipping! I've been getting my items within 48 hours of shipment and I'm 950 miles away!


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## Jeff T (Dec 27, 2011)

My problem is I'm usually a couple years behind in what I'm looking for. Trainz has helped with that as have several of the sales forums.

I just grabbed a Legacy AA, powered it up and got the three blinks in the cab. Inside the box there was paperwork from the original owner with the same issue, and more, it's going back.


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## L0stS0ul (Feb 6, 2015)

It would be nice if they had a tuneup certificate for lionel like they do for MTH, Williams, Weaver, and Marklin engines. It's like a $25-35 insurance policy, and especially for MTH engines, is a no brainer for me.


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## DennyM (Jan 3, 2016)

As far as Dash, I don't like paying the 15% buyers premium when I win a bid that Tranz is selling. I can see if it was someone else, that's how they make their money, but if it's their product, I feel like I'm paying them to buy it. They will take care of you if they mess up and so will Tranz, but the screw ups are from people not paying attention to what they're doing.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I don't bid in any auctions where there's a "Buyer's Premium", that's just another way of trying to fool you into thinking you got a better price than you did. While I don't like the eBay margins when I sell, I think it's proper to charge the seller any fees for the auction, so I'll shop on eBay and not DASH.


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## thedoc (Oct 15, 2015)

L0stS0ul said:


> I've had the opposite experience when it comes to packaging. I've been bidding on things from the DASH site for about 8 months now and every item I have received has been extremely well packaged. Tons of bubble wrap on the non-boxed items and lots and lots of packing peanuts. It seems like there may be different shipping departments. A dash department, the website department, and the ebay department.
> 
> The only shipping issue I have ever had from Trainz was one of my first orders from the website. I ordered some parts along with a few yard lights. The parts came within days but the yard lights were no where to be found. I called and was told it was coming from one of their other warehouses but it should have shipped. They couldn't figure out what happened so shipped me a new set. Finally I got them but it took 2 weeks.


E-Bay doesn't have a shipping dept, the seller packs and ships the item.


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## Laidoffsick (Sep 20, 2015)

Any time I buy from TRAINZ, I expect the worse. I just don't do it much any more. I learned the hard way. They offer a refund no hassle for a reason. I sent stuff back to them they said they could fix..... they couldn't. Offered a partial refund because I really wanted the 3 pack of tank train cars. When they tried to fix it, they did more damage than good, and it showed up in worse shape than it started off.

Even on pre-orders of brand new stuff. I wanted all 3 different road numbers of MTH Dash 8's. They said we can send you 3 but can't guarantee which numbers... forget it, order cancelled.

Where is Cindy anyway.... she's not on the tv commercial any more. She probably quit because of all the returns


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## DennyM (Jan 3, 2016)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> I don't bid in any auctions where there's a "Buyer's Premium", that's just another way of trying to fool you into thinking you got a better price than you did. While I don't like the eBay margins when I sell, I think it's proper to charge the seller any fees for the auction, so I'll shop on eBay and not DASH.


I think I'm going to start doing that. I have bumped heads with Ebay in the past, but I'll try again. These days on Dash I only buy fixed price items. I emailed them and told them what I thought about their Buyer's Premium. Naturally they didn't respond and I'm surprised they did cancel my account. Not that I would lose any sleep over it.


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## DennyM (Jan 3, 2016)

Laidoffsick said:


> Any time I buy from TRAINZ, I expect the worse. I just don't do it much any more. I learned the hard way. They offer a refund no hassle for a reason. I sent stuff back to them they said they could fix..... they couldn't. Offered a partial refund because I really wanted the 3 pack of tank train cars. When they tried to fix it, they did more damage than good, and it showed up in worse shape than it started off.
> 
> Even on pre-orders of brand new stuff. I wanted all 3 different road numbers of MTH Dash 8's. They said we can send you 3 but can't guarantee which numbers... forget it, order cancelled.
> 
> Where is Cindy anyway.... she's not on the tv commercial any more. She probably quit because of all the returns


I bought a Weaver from them that didn't run. They did fix it so I'll give them that. You right about Cindy I'm guessing


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## L0stS0ul (Feb 6, 2015)

When I buy stuff I just factor in the premium before hand and adjust my bidding accordingly. I have gotten better deals than anywhere else, even evil bay. Seems prices are a lot steeper on evil bay.


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## L0stS0ul (Feb 6, 2015)

thedoc said:


> E-Bay doesn't have a shipping dept, the seller packs and ships the item.


I wasn't talking about ebay shipping the item. I was talking about possibly 3 separate groups within trainz dealing with the different services.


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## Jeff T (Dec 27, 2011)

I just bought a set of Legacy Burlington F3's. When the box arrived I noticed an RA # on the outside, uh-oh.

I bet my wife they wouldn't work. On track, added power, 3 blinks, already shipped back...


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## Guest (Jan 5, 2016)

*"I just bought a set of Legacy Burlington F3's. When the box arrived I noticed an RA # on the outside, uh-oh.

I bet my wife they wouldn't work. On track, added power, 3 blinks, already shipped back..."*

Jeff, can you share with us who sent you these gems.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Brian, since this is the thread about Trainz...


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## DennyM (Jan 3, 2016)

Jeff T said:


> I just bought a set of Legacy Burlington F3's. When the box arrived I noticed an RA # on the outside, uh-oh.
> 
> I bet my wife they wouldn't work. On track, added power, 3 blinks, already shipped back...


I got a Weaver. It wouldn't go at all. I sent it back and they fixed it. I got lucky that time considering the stories I've been reading.


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## Jeff T (Dec 27, 2011)

Passenger Train Collector said:


> *"I just bought a set of Legacy Burlington F3's. When the box arrived I noticed an RA # on the outside, uh-oh.
> 
> I bet my wife they wouldn't work. On track, added power, 3 blinks, already shipped back..."*
> 
> Jeff, can you share with us who sent you these gems.


As John said... Normally I would have had them fix it and keep it but there was a letter in the box the original owner sent Lionel about wires being loose and him soldering them.

Since I didn't know this person that caused some concern and the biggest reason they ent back.


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## puffrbelly (Jan 17, 2016)

Greetings Everyone,

After discovering that a lot of the fine folks from OGR were posting over here I decided to check it out. So, here's my TRAINZ tale of woe.:eyes: Not once, but twice I ordered items from Trainz that were theoretically in stock and both times I had to request my money back because the "Stock" items weren't in stock. The first time was a direct order and the second time was through Flea Bay. I got a bit of "Run-A-Round" regarding the Flea Bay purchase so I filed a complaint through Flea Bay and promptly received my refund. I will not conduct business with Trainz in the foreseeable future. Hopefully they'll get their act together.hwell:

Chief Bob (Retired)


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## chipset35 (Sep 4, 2015)

puffrbelly said:


> Greetings Everyone,
> 
> After discovering that a lot of the fine folks from OGR were posting over here I decided to check it out. So, here's my TRAINZ tale of woe.:eyes: Not once, but twice I ordered items from Trainz that were theoretically in stock and both times I had to request my money back because the "Stock" items weren't in stock. The first time was a direct order and the second time was through Flea Bay. I got a bit of "Run-A-Round" regarding the Flea Bay purchase so I filed a complaint through Flea Bay and promptly received my refund. I will not conduct business with Trainz in the foreseeable future. Hopefully they'll get their act together.hwell:
> 
> Chief Bob (Retired)


Hi Bob, Welcome to MTF!


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## phillyreading (Aug 25, 2015)

I have not dealt with TRAINZ but from what I am reading on here I will stick to Choo Choo Auctions for my train purchases, they only charge the seller a small listing fee, however the buyer pays shipping & sales tax. Another place I use is the OGR forum buy & sell section.

I have dealt with ebay and I don't like it because of; 1) higher fees for the buyer, 2)people don't know what they are selling(what scale an item is, H.O. or O gauge).

Lee Fritz


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## J. S. Bach (Sep 20, 2015)

phillyreading said:


> ...snip... 2)people don't know what they are selling(what scale an item is, H.O. or O gauge). Lee Fritz


That can sometimes be a good thing!  :laugh:


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## 86TA355SR (Feb 27, 2015)

Don't normally say negative things on public forums about a business, but this was my experience...

Trainz blows. Haven't had a good experience with them in several different purchases.

Items not as described (5 times), wrong items in sets (3), and several wrong items delivered (3 different times-I got someone else's order) are why I buy elsewhere.

15% buyer's fee on auction items is another reason I don't use them. Though I'd pay that with other auction companies, I won't with Trainz because the items are never as described.

Then there is the overpriced shipping they include. 

Good luck, your experience may vary...


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## DennyM (Jan 3, 2016)

86TA355SR said:


> Don't normally say negative things on public forums about a business, but this was my experience...
> 
> Trainz blows. Haven't had a good experience with them in several different purchases.
> 
> ...


That pretty much covers it. They did fix a Weaver that wasn't working when it came, but that's about it.


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## phillyreading (Aug 25, 2015)

J. S. Bach said:


> That can sometimes be a good thing!  :laugh:


All depends on what scale you model in. I mainly do O gauge & some S gauge with a little bit of H.O. as well. But when you order something from an auction site like "flea bay" it's buyer beware! I bought an H.O. caboose one time on "flea bay" and it turned out to be an O gauge caboose so I was not taken totally but not 100% happy but kept the item as it was something I wanted regardless of size. Another time I bought a Williams SD-45 engine(O gauge) on "flea bay" and the weights were missing but the engine ran great so I kept it and added some weight to it.

I am very satisfied with Choo Choo auctions in Cape Caveral FL, they don't charge a buyer's fee just a small listing fee usually less then a dollar per item. 

Lee Fritz


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## DennyM (Jan 3, 2016)

phillyreading said:


> All depends on what scale you model in. I mainly do O gauge & some S gauge with a little bit of H.O. as well. But when you order something from an auction site like "flea bay" it's buyer beware! I bought an H.O. caboose one time on "flea bay" and it turned out to be an O gauge caboose so I was not taken totally but not 100% happy but kept the item as it was something I wanted regardless of size. Another time I bought a Williams SD-45 engine(O gauge) on "flea bay" and the weights were missing but the engine ran great so I kept it and added some weight to it.
> 
> I am very satisfied with Choo Choo auctions in Cape Caveral FL, they don't charge a buyer's fee just a small listing fee usually less then a dollar per item.
> 
> Lee Fritz


I just looked at Choo Choo Auctions. There is a lot of stuff, but the pictures are too small and I don't see where to enlarge them.


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## suzukovich (Sep 24, 2015)

For me its been hit or miss over the years. Either they have repaired at no cost, refunded money or have come to an agreement on adjustment of price and repaired myself. Also I have bought engines that were listed as not running or conventional that actually ran and or were either TMCC or PS2. Case in point. just bought a Alcoa RSD7/15 DL 600 Demonstrator that I needed for for a CBQ U28C Ph1 and Weaver N&W C630 projects. 

http://marketplace.collector-modeltrains.com/offer/details/4351162

Below is from the listing

This item has been graded per TCA standards C-6: Very Good. This item has some dirt and dust spotting. The overall appearance of this item may be improved with a gentle and thorough cleaning. Check the photos for a detailed look at this item. Overall condition is Very Good. 

Condition: Very Good (C-6)
Operational Status: Functional. Right!!!!

Issues on delivery:

Motors and trucks binding not listed Essentially did not move. or maybe that what they considered functional 
No Sound
Screws missing
front Pilot missing Pictured but not noted in description.
Other minor issues like loose wiring and 
en off pieces from the shell.

The surprise: It had TMCC and was working.

The fix The grease had hardened and was crusty Used WD40 rust penetrating spray and let it soak for an hour. This loosened up all the caked on and hardened grease.












At this point I put it back on the track and powered it up. After a minute it started moving and ran it for 5 min to insure the crud was loosened up. (that's when I discovered it had a TMCC and was functional). I then removed from the track and dissembled the engine and the truck assemblies. Removed the crud and regreased the trucks and worm gears, tightened the screws for the common and power pick ups , reconnected the plugs to the TMCC board, cleaned all contacts with electrical contact cleaner, and removed the corrosion in the battery compartment and replaced the battery. Engine ran like a clock. Ran it for about an hour pulling about 17lbs worth of rolling stock to insure there were no other issues.

So now I have a fully functional engine that just needs a pilot 













if I so choose to source or use as planed for projects( Frame, Motors, trucks ,now electronics for the CBQ project. For the N&W C630 the nose and cab to correct the weaver shell to a high hood. This also now frees up a PS2 system to also start a CBQ U28B project from a Weaver U25B. So for a little time invested in repairs (3hrs) I now have a donor that helps complete 3 possibly 4 projects


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## Rlahaie (Oct 29, 2015)

I have bought lots of things from Trains over the years and never had a bad experience. I just took delivery of the new WBB FA-2 in UP from them at a GREAT price.

Rolland


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## suzukovich (Sep 24, 2015)

Rlahaie said:


> I have bought lots of things from Trains over the years and never had a bad experience. I just took delivery of the new WBB FA-2 in UP from them at a GREAT price.
> 
> Rolland


Don't get me wrong about my post. Overall It's been pretty good and have gotten some good deals. The key is in the photos. But when things go wrong, it has always worked out. Almost everything is fixable. Except zinc rotted parts on Atlas rolling stock.


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## DennyM (Jan 3, 2016)

suzukovich said:


> For me its been hit or miss over the years. Either they have repaired at no cost, refunded money or have come to an agreement on adjustment of price and repaired myself. Also I have bought engines that were listed as not running or conventional that actually ran and or were either TMCC or PS2. Case in point. just bought a Alcoa RSD7/15 DL 600 Demonstrator that I needed for for a CBQ U28C Ph1 and Weaver N&W C630 projects.
> 
> http://marketplace.collector-modeltrains.com/offer/details/4351162
> 
> ...


Wow, you lucked out. It's a good looking engine. I got a Weaver U25B Southern Pacific. When it arrived it wouldn't run. I sent it back and they fixed it, but in the long run I had a board put in it which allows me to run it with TMCC if I ever decide to get a CAB1L.


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