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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by trainschnick74 Hi everyone. I know this topic hs been beat the death.......but I am looking for poeples' opnions as to the running quality.......sound quality of the the Lionel Challenger. Also....how is it on regular DC as far as sound goes? Can you only control one function at a time? Or can you have multiple sounds at the same time? Please be brutally honest and as specific as possible as I am thinking about purchasing a unit. Thank you. Appreciate it. Jim [/quote] Jim The sound is multi channel and is good. You can blow the whistle and hear the bell at the same time, unlike the Trix sound. The chuffing sound is great and the sound simulates the in and out of sync sounds like that of an articulated engine. Some of the problems from my point of view are: Poor detail, poor to fair running qualities, incorrect detail and the weight of the tender prevents the engine from pulling many cars. The tender weight can be reduced by removing the lead weight in the tender floor, but the cast tender still is to heavy. It could be fixed by replacing the shell with a RIV or maybe one of the new Athearn shells. The tender shell has a vertical line running down each side that looks like a pipe instead of the row of rivets that should be there. That is the most detracting feature about the tender. I am aware of several of these engines in my area and all have been poor runners when they were new. My front headlight never worked and the number board lights are done poorly. The actual detail of the engine is fair to average for tinplate type, but the overall running qualities make the engine just acceptable. However, my thought is the Lionel Challenger will be worth the money at 250 or so like some of the dealers are quoting. I just read the engine is being offered for 199. At this price, it is worth the money for the sound and basic engine. One more article you should read is located on Tony's Train Web site. It is a good article about the tender weight problem and how to solve it. I would recommend reading that article also. I hope this input helps.
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