Lionel MPC #6-8702 Southern Crescent Limited 4-6-4 And Set - Repaired, Restored, and Ready To Run!!!

Lionel's #6-8702 Southern Crescent 4-6-4 steamer and its five-car passenger train were produced in 1977 and 1978. This stunning set has been part of my collection since I received it as a Christmas gift in 1978.
About a decade ago, the train developed a mysterious short circuit, and due to sudden changes in my layout and housing, the locomotive remained in a box in pieces from then until now.
After a few days' efforts and some replacement parts, the Southern Crescent is once again the queen of my passenger fleet.
*As an Amazon Associate and a member of the eBay Partner Network, I may receive commissions on qualifying sales generated from the links on this channel.**
Handy Links:
The Train Tender: www.ttender.com
GutReise 10pcs E10 Screw DC12V Warm White Spot Led Bulb: amzn.to/3DyiBfH
Video: How To replace Lionel Coupler Knuckles: • How To Replace Lionel ...
Video: How To Add Flicker-Free LEDs To MPC Passenger Cars (And Replace Pickup Rollers): • How To Add LEDs To Lio...
Toy Train Tips And Tricks is a channel devoted to the operation, repair, history, and collecting of classic 3-rail O and O27 gauge trains made by Lionel, Marx, K-Line, Menards, and other manufacturers.
Keep the trains running!
Music and Visual Effects Courtesy of Pixabay.com
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#Promotion #Lioneltrains #Trainset #Trainrepair #Traincollecting #Ogauge #Oscale

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

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[@cgeromi]

Fantastic video! In 1981, the year I was born, my dad went to a train show and bought this set for me. HIs goal was to someday hand this down to me when I had my own family. After running the train pretty hard in the 1980's and 1990's, and numerous derailments, my dad said, no more, I couldn't play with it until I was mature enough to appreciate it. Well, that day finally came in 2009, when I was 29 years old lol. He handed me the set and I restored it to her fully glory! Every year now since 2009, I have been running it around my train. My son absolutely adores this set, as do I! Just this past Christmas Eve, after 43 years, the sounds of steam finally went capoot. My diagnosis is the speaker went. I was lucky enough, for $99 to find a good condition 8702 locomotive and tender on ebay just 2 days and I will frankenstein the sound board and speaker into my original set. Having the like new locomotive for backup parts is a bonus! On a side note, can you tell me which paint pen from Hobby Lobby you got that closely matches the color? I have a few chips i'd like to repair as well. Thank you!

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Wonderful story!

[@plunkervillerr1529]

The old roller keeps going and going. See you soon!

[@TheCreativeMind]

I started work on my Crescent a few years ago (and I should finish it) and found I had to replace a gear or 2 because they had broken teeth. This was fixed when the Blue Comet came out. We have the same idea on LED strips, but I did away with the cardboard and painted the inside black. Glad you got yours running. I need those boxcars now.

[@TweetsieRailroader]

It's wild to me that Lionel's Baby Madison tooling has remained practically unchanged since the 1970's. Really goes to show you how much use Lionel's gotten out of it.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Got their money's worth!

[@greenbeacon394]

Starting with the blue comet they were greatly improve with a diecast six wheel trucks

[@daveyoung5445]

The 1977-1978 catalog was great I still remember seeing the southern & the Alton at a train store for the first time! My favorite was the Amtrak which I still have the passenger cars

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Good Times!!

[@Anthony8892]

Nice Job. Received for Christmas 1981 the Chicago and Alton set and it is still running.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

I've always loved my Southern crescent, but the Alton looks stunning.

[@genemanno1533]

All green train looks cool something different. Actually looks like something a kid could play with. Kids wouldn’t care what the line name is. Yes these were intended for kids to play with. Nice you got it all running again. Powerful vacuum will pick up almost everything even on magnets of engine. Parts can be adapted from other donor Lionel engines and cars. Nothing wrong with original lighting IMHO. This was a VERY INTERESTING VIDEO.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thanks for the feedback. There were two problems with the lighting. 1) The bulbs were burned out. 2) Original replacement bulbs are more expensive than switching to LEDs.

[@chrisresor1893]

Another great vid Mike! Thank you for keeping that beautiful piece of MPC history alive!

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

I'm glad you liked it!

[@huntercoleman460]

Amazing engine Mike.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

👍

[@johnandrus3901]

Excellent. I like the MPC era. Lots of nice trains were produced. Although I am mostly post-war, I do have some MPC sets and locomotives. My full sized passenger cars are 90% AMT, but I also have the MPC 20th Century Limited set with the extra car. I have the MTH version of this locomotive. It's my only MTH engine and it is conventional, which I prefer. Along with my Southern F3, it will pull my AMT Southern passenger cars. I would have liked to see the MPC version with streamlined passenger cars, but that set is very nice. Great video, as always.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

AMT cars are very nice!!!

[@johnandrus3901]

@@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks They are nice. A little lower slung and sleeker than the Lionel Super Speedliner cars. I have full sets of NYC and Santa Fe. I need a couple more cars for my Southern and Pennsy sets. All in all, I have just over forty AMT passenger cars.

[@donaldwiller9238]

Great video

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thank you!!!!!

[@DRCRailroard]

Nice set Mike. I have quite a few of the MPC era locomotives in my collection. Since I run conventional and the high end models were built to the early postwar standards they can be had for such a great value. Any one who doesn't own them and still shuns them are missing out in my opinion. I recently acquired the somewhat rare SantaFe Trainmaster produced 1 year only in 83 and is just as good in my opinion as the early postwar versions. It's unique in that it was the first SantaFe Trainmaster ever produced and with the first ever electronic horn. Very cool engine with dual pulmor motors.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Very nice indeed! I also like the MPC SP Trainmaster in the Black Widow scheme.

[@DRCRailroard]

@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks Thanks Mike, now I have another rabbit hole to pursue.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

@@DRCRailroard www.ebay.com/itm/394620956109

[@stevegilliam8712]

Nice episode Mike !

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thank you very much!

[@stevenmiller5696]

Great series of sets!

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Classics!

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

Great show today! It tells you something about these MPC sets when you see the Blue Comet and Crescent Limited sets bringing serious money at shows. Not "break the bank" money but the prices do reflect the demand. The set are STILL cheaper than a lot of the new high-end Lionel products! Oh yeah, I had a e-unit die in a shower of sparks and I did just what you did, removed it and wired the engine to run forward-only. Since I hardly ever back a passenger train (or any other for that matter) it's no big deal. However, I absolutely HATE the "Mighty Sound of Steam," or "Static," or sometimes "Scream!" I've got an REA Express car set up with a whistle unit and I let the REA car make the noise!

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

That's a great solution. I find some SOS units sound better than others. I love the nostalgia.

[@leverettrailfan5414]

A bit late, but regarding traditional Lionel 3-position E-Units with surprise shorts, one possible area of fault that isn't immediately obvious is that if the teeth got worn down *really badly* on the drum, the pawl might be able to touch one or both contacts on the drum, causing a short to ground. Another less obvious possibility is that the plastic pivots on either end of the drum are set up to space the drum away from the sides of the E-Unit so the drum contacts don't make contact and short to ground. It's not impossible that a defective or heavily worn drum could somehow allow the contact part of the drum to touch the side of the E-Unit and create a short. Contact fingers being bent such that they touch things they shouldn't is also certainly something to watch out for, but strikes me as a more obvious fault to catch. E-Units are great little devices when they work, but sometimes they can have unexpected issues that require a lot of patience and tinkering to resolve.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Good tip!

[@ronalddevine9587]

Great video. I bought brand new the Blue Comet, and by 1981 the Sound of Steam died. Do you know who may have replacement boards?

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

No one makes replacement boards. It's probably a dead capacitor or two. If you (or an electrician you know) replace the capacitors with new ones of the same value it should work. And don't forget to replace the insulation under the board that's probably turning to dust by now.

[@mypugsdad5366]

Thanks for the videos! Question, I see lots of MPC ENGINES and ROLLING STOCK you mentioned that parts are hard to find. Are there outside suppliers that have them or should I not by them?

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Most parts are still out there somewhere. You may have to try multiple suppliers or find a "close enough" part. There's also the option of scavenging parts from junkers. It's still easier to find postwar and MPC parts than many items from the 2000s forward, but it's not as easy as it once was.

[@mypugsdad5366]

Well, really thank you! I really to be honest can't afford the new stuff it is so expensive and when they need repair OH boy parts are expensive and very hard to fix. So thanks again1@@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

@@mypugsdad5366 You're not the only one cannot afford the new stuff!

[@Rob1_5]

I actually live about 1 hour and 30 minutes from the 4501

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Lucky!

[@FirefighterSEIN]

Mike, have you found warm white LED bulbs with the screw, or Edison base with the correct voltage for Lionel trains? I have some old 022 switches that take the screw-base bulbs and I’d like to change them to LEDs as I run constant voltage to them and the original bulbs get too hot and can melt the lantern covers/lenses. Thank you!

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

I'm looking for a precise match. The warm white bulbs I currently use are too tall for use in switch machines.

[@trainspa]

Hi Mike got a question about your link to the light bulbs. the link says dc12v, are the ones you use in the video dc or ac bulbs?

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

They WILL operate on AC. The diodes self-rectify to DC. The bulbs actually flash with the AC current, but too fast for the human eye to notice.

[@SOU6900]

So this locomotive wasn't built with a DC can motor then?

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Nope. Regular ol' open frame, 3-pole AC motor with a mechanical E unit - just like Postwar.

[@SOU6900]

@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks So do you know when Lionel switched to an electronic E-unit and DC can motor exactly? What all I'm finding on the web is all over the place kinda.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

@@SOU6900 There's no single switch date. It depended on product line. Starter sets switched to can motors first in the mid-1980's. Can motors didn't become standard on collector-type locomotives (except for the Postwar Celebration Series) until TMCC took hold in the late 1990's. Most collectors didn't trust the reliability of can motors and didn't want them in the premium products at first.

[@SOU6900]

@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks Alright then so buying anything modern era up to the 90s is hit or miss on whether it's an AC or DC motor then if I'm understanding what you're saying.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

@@SOU6900 Correct.