Celebrating 18 years on the CTT Forum.
Buckeye Riveter......... OTTS Charter Member, a Roseyville Raider and a member of the CTT Forum since 2004..
Jelloway Creek, OH - ELV 1,100 - Home of the Baltimore, Ohio & Wabash RR
TCA 09-64284
To me its almost worth buying a southern train set I found listed for $109.99 I almost had second thoughts but then remembered its kline by lionel not lionel and the parent company still has a say in the products so its not as cheap looking its the Southern Executive Inspection Train set.
The main thing I had against the train set from target was the fact I heard the passenger cars didn't even have lights then I heard about the engine so it was a for sure no thanks . I still see the set for sale on ebay from time to time and they want more thqan what target was originally selling them for . I believe they originally sold for like $199.99 and I see them with a starting price of like $249.99 lol
Life's hard, even harder if your stupid John Wayne
http://rtssite.shutterfly.com/
OK, this thread has gone on for a bit and aside from the guy who bought this loco for his kid, and then me, I'm curious....
Who would truthfully consider buying this kind of locomotive???
Aside from the obvious easy target of criticizing Lionel (and Lionel made it soooo easy with this one), I don't think many of you are looking for this kind of product. Now, if I heard Lionel was making a new Alco or anything that was non-scale, non-Legacy, non-TMCC, conventional and ran on 027 track, I'd be excited. Especially if Lionel woke up to smell the coffee, and put a current modern roadname on it!!! I'd love to see a well made dual motored Alco in both the normal black and the new executive Norfolk Southern schemes!
You guys know I think the K-Line S-2 ranks as the best locomotive in the past 20 years.... that's my kind of locomotive!!! This new Alco from Lionel is absolutely a goof, and I think I'm entitled to say so since this is my kind of loco.
So seriously, aside from the high-riding trucks, how many of you actively buy this kind of low end product for yourselves???
brianel, Agent 027
"Praise the Lord. I may not have everything I desire, but the Lord has come through for what I need."
Bob Keller
Jon
So many roads, so little time.
Jes' stirrin' the pot......
I am the monster in your head...And I thought you'd learn by now, It seems you haven't yet.I am the venom in your skin --- Breaking Benjamin
God bless TCA 05-58541 Benefactor Member of the NRA, Member of the American Legion, Retired Boss Hog of Roseyville , KC&D Qualified
Thanks DJ, I AGREE WITH YOU 100%!!!
PS: Mopars Rule...
Buckeye Riveter wrote:Chief....I told you Bob liked me best!!!!!
I believe it. Even OGR did not lock it or delete it. HUMMM.
I really think he saw my comment about starting a new thread when I talk to MTH and hopefully will get results. I am using your email to go with my "trails" with MTH switches when I talk to MTH. Both threads were getting out of hand and off the subject about our switch problems.
OK, I'm looking at the Lionel catalogs from 1996 and 1997 right in front of me. It's been years, but I did see the Reading Alco apart at a Lionel dealer and remember how cheap and thin the new plastic frame on those locos was. The dealer called it "garbage."
The catalog copy makes note of the new lower profile to match Lionel passenger cars. I never did a comparison between body shells at the time I saw the Reading frame, but it does appear from the catalog photos that no changes were made to the body. The nose on the lowered locos rides much closer to the track rails than previously when a sheet metal frame was used.
Obviously the plastic frame at that time was designed to allow the shell to fit lower. The shell on the sheet metal frames locos rides on top of the frame, but there are downward folds in the sheet metal frame that obscure the space between the truck tops and the locomotive frame.
My educated guess is that Lionel thickened the plastic frame of this loco without really giving too much thought to it. As a result the space between the truck tops and the body is glaringly obvious.
And I am NOT a sophisticated buyer: I will never buy full scale, I will never buy command control of any kind, I have no interest in fragile details, precise rivet counts or accurate digital sounds. This is the sort of product type that makes up my collection.
And as I said before, there are a number of locos out there that look, run and are priced far better than this Alco being discussed. And the BEEP, for all it's problems, is a MUCH better looking loco and if it ran good over 027 switches without shorting out, I'd probably have several of those too.
"Will not be able to find them as Neil will have bought all of them."
Nope, I'm focusing on cornering the market for King Tut cars :).
Blueberryhill RR wrote: Didn't they say the same thing about Marx trains. Ugly.50 years from now, people will be trying to collect the Lionel engine.
Didn't they say the same thing about Marx trains. Ugly.
50 years from now, people will be trying to collect the Lionel engine.
Will not be able to find them as Neil will have bought all of them.
RIP Chewy - best dog I ever had.
philo426 wrote:The Edsel wasn't so bad it just had teething problems(like most new models)and an unfortunate front "Horse-collar "grill.Now they are collectors items.
At first I thought this was the real car... LOL... then I saw the washing machine dials behind it... My nieghbor bought an Edsel, found it sitting in a barn.... man they are ugly... I don't know, just because something is ugly looking does not mean it will be rare and collectable... I think I will stick with the good looking scale stuff...
Actually, I think geedub has the right idea...
"I am thinking of converting my entire collection of postwar engines to this highwater model......."
Go ahead and make fun of it, you guys. Nobody liked the "girls" pastel-colored Lionel set when it came out, either.
Personally, I'm going to run right out and buy as many of these monster truck Alcos as I can find! Some day they'll be "unique", "rare", "hard-to-find-in-this-condition", "highly collectible", (insert your own favorite eBay exaggeration here), auction items! I'll make a fortune on them and have the last laugh!
Note: All above statements made with tongue implanted firmly in cheek!
-Cooper
RMT doesn't make starter sets, just rolling stock and locomotives. Their locomotives are about $70.00, not usually available discounted, which is about what the equally goofy looking Lionel will cost at a typical 20% discount. Anyhow, we don't know that the final product will look as goofy ;). RMT makes goofy looking stuff and everyone's drooling, and Lionel does it, and everyone's fuming.
MTH, Atlas, Williams and Weaver have no comparables to speak of. Williams probably comes closest.
A typical nice Brio set retails for about $130 or so.
nblum wrote:I don't know that the cost is much different than other similar toys. RMT Beeps are in that ball park cost, and they have virtually no tooling or marketing costs, and very low overhead compared with a larger company like Lionel. Have you priced any Brio trains recently? So I'd say this little specimen is right in the ball park cost-wise. There aren't any Weaver, Atlas or MTH locos in that price range, for example, so it clearly is the economy version not being provided by others, filling a market niche, however ugly it seems to more sophisticated folks here.
yeah but its 89.00 just for the engine! At least with the above don't you get a starter set for this price?!
Yeah but I still rather have a Tucker Torpedo
Have fun with your trains
Sure, it's a cute toy, but the point here is that Lionel has made this same exact engine in the past (in a cheapened version) and it looked much better than this. They should have left well enough alone.
- Clint
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