National Lionel Train Day boxcar

I am fortunate enough to have several stores within easy driving distance who will have the special boxcar to order on December 5th.  However, for those who aren't as lucky, I'm very glad to see some stores have been advertising they will take phone orders this weekend if you can't physically visit the store.  Nice to see some stores stepping out of the "dark ages".    The good will generated by making this offer will do so much more for the store's bottom line than Lionel's original "requirement" that stores only take orders in person -- however well-intended that requirement sounds in their ivory tower.

David

Lionel Grandpa posted:

I normally am not interested in these types of special cars, but this one will be an exception. Am thankful that I have will have a short 25 minute drive to the closest participating dealer.  

 

Is there a limit of one per customer?

I attended the National Train Day at Brady's Train Outlet in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.  It was the first time I visited that shop, which is about 1 hour and 15 minutes from my home.  John Brady and his staff put on a very nice show for a small town shop.  There were lots of trains running, a new layout under construction, lots of Christmas sets and individual rolling stock on display, besides what I assume is the usual products.  Santa  was there on this unseasonably warm day talking with children and giving out gifts.  During a slow time for him, I greeted him and asked how it was going.  He said it was hot in his suit on this warm day.    I picked up a Railking Greyhound bus specially decorated for Brady with Greensburg on the marker for a great price.  Also I got a new in box Religious Christmas Railking boxcar from about 2009.  I have wanted one with something about the Nativity story on it for a while.  I also got my first Miller sign, a park entrance sign.  Also, of course, I signed up to get my special Lionel boxcar.  I had to do that, since I hadn't bought any other Lionel products on their day.  I'm like Lionel Grandpa in that I don't get many cars, but these two were ones I wanted.  It was a very nice day, except when I got home, I had to get the ladder out to hang up outdoor lights and wreaths.  By the time I was finished, it was below freezing already! 

I was at the Lionel Train Day at Nicholas Smith Trains yesterday and preordered the box car that was displayed. It was a nice event there yesterday.

Mike Reagan And My Father Ken Sr.  Talking about the First National Lionel Train Day Boxcar

Great day yesterday for National Train Day. I hit a couple of spots and ordered the Lionel box car. Also automatically entered me in a raffle for the 2015 Lionel Dealers Appreciation car.

Picked up some structures and other items for the Christmas layout which I am working on today.

A fun weekend!

Mark Boyce posted:

Lionel Grandpa posted:

I normally am not interested in these types of special cars, but this one will be an exception. Am thankful that I have will have a short 25 minute drive to the closest participating dealer.  

 

Is there a limit of one per customer?

I attended the National Train Day at Brady's Train Outlet in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.  It was the first time I visited that shop, which is about 1 hour and 15 minutes from my home.  John Brady and his staff put on a very nice show for a small town shop.  There were lots of trains running, a new layout under construction, lots of Christmas sets and individual rolling stock on display, besides what I assume is the usual products.  Santa  was there on this unseasonably warm day talking with children and giving out gifts.  During a slow time for him, I greeted him and asked how it was going.  He said it was hot in his suit on this warm day.    I picked up a Railking Greyhound bus specially decorated for Brady with Greensburg on the marker for a great price.  Also I got a new in box Religious Christmas Railking boxcar from about 2009.  I have wanted one with something about the Nativity story on it for a while.  I also got my first Miller sign, a park entrance sign.  Also, of course, I signed up to get my special Lionel boxcar.  I had to do that, since I hadn't bought any other Lionel products on their day.  I'm like Lionel Grandpa in that I don't get many cars, but these two were ones I wanted.  It was a very nice day, except when I got home, I had to get the ladder out to hang up outdoor lights and wreaths.  By the time I was finished, it was below freezing already! 

John and Randy are great guys.  Maybe I'll run into you at Brady's TO next time.  I've seen you post on his FB page in past.  I recognized your name from the forum.

Panther97 posted:

Mark Boyce posted:

Lionel Grandpa posted:

I normally am not interested in these types of special cars, but this one will be an exception. Am thankful that I have will have a short 25 minute drive to the closest participating dealer.  

 

Is there a limit of one per customer?

I attended the National Train Day at Brady's Train Outlet in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.  It was the first time I visited that shop, which is about 1 hour and 15 minutes from my home.  John Brady and his staff put on a very nice show for a small town shop.  There were lots of trains running, a new layout under construction, lots of Christmas sets and individual rolling stock on display, besides what I assume is the usual products.  Santa  was there on this unseasonably warm day talking with children and giving out gifts.  During a slow time for him, I greeted him and asked how it was going.  He said it was hot in his suit on this warm day.    I picked up a Railking Greyhound bus specially decorated for Brady with Greensburg on the marker for a great price.  Also I got a new in box Religious Christmas Railking boxcar from about 2009.  I have wanted one with something about the Nativity story on it for a while.  I also got my first Miller sign, a park entrance sign.  Also, of course, I signed up to get my special Lionel boxcar.  I had to do that, since I hadn't bought any other Lionel products on their day.  I'm like Lionel Grandpa in that I don't get many cars, but these two were ones I wanted.  It was a very nice day, except when I got home, I had to get the ladder out to hang up outdoor lights and wreaths.  By the time I was finished, it was below freezing already! 

John and Randy are great guys.  Maybe I'll run into you at Brady's TO next time.  I've seen you post on his FB page in past.  I recognized your name from the forum.

Yes, I talked with John for a few minutes.  He seemed very nice.  Now I know what you look like, so maybe I will see you.  Do you live near Greensburg?  As I wrote, it is a bit of a trip, but a good shop is worth it now and then. 

I would have loved to try to get one but the initial listing of participating dealers had the closest around 400 miles away then another dealer that is about 65 miles away was listed. Nice, but I already committed to working our club museum train day display on Saturday at the Muzeo Museum in Anaheim, CA. If anyone gets a chance to go it is free and the club I am in did a really great job. We had a good number of people and families that my wife and I were promoting the hobby to. Ah well, maybe next time.

Captaincog posted:

I would have loved to try to get one but the initial listing of participating dealers had the closest around 400 miles away then another dealer that is about 65 miles away was listed. ...  Ah well, maybe next time.

Don't give up hope yet.  Some dealers opened their orders up to folks who couldn't make it to the store.  I noticed Charlie Ro has the car on his website, so try placing an online order or give the store a call early Monday.  The SKU is 6-83497.  Not sure how soon dealers need to send their orders into Lionel, so I wouldn't wait too long.  

David

Thanks David for the information. I ordered one from Charlie Ro and hopefully it will go through. I have a great hobby shop only 12 miles away but did not make it there in time.

Yes, I talked with John for a few minutes.  He seemed very nice.  Now I know what you look like, so maybe I will see you.  Do you live near Greensburg?  As I wrote, it is a bit of a trip, but a good shop is worth it now and then. 

No, I actually live closer to Cresson-Altoona.  I have family that lives in Greensburg.  I stop every time I visit my family.  My dad bought trains off of John for many years.  

Rocky Mountaineer posted:

Saw this boxcar at Nicholas Smith Trains this evening.  I surmise participating shops will have one to show in-person on Saturday.  Then another production run will take care of all the hobby shop orders from the day.

 

Very nice car.  Likely to be very popular.

 

David

No, unfortunately that is not the case. Only a few select ever get those privileges. I guess you have to be one of their lucky top 10 dealers. We, 'the little guys' get left out of various things like that.

If anyone is still interested in a NLTD boxcar let us know.

Panther97 posted:

Yes, I talked with John for a few minutes.  He seemed very nice.  Now I know what you look like, so maybe I will see you.  Do you live near Greensburg?  As I wrote, it is a bit of a trip, but a good shop is worth it now and then. 

No, I actually live closer to Cresson-Altoona.  I have family that lives in Greensburg.  I stop every time I visit my family.  My dad bought trains off of John for many years.  

Well then, you have quite a history with Brady's.  Also, you are near some great modern rail fanning to boot!

Picked my NLTD boxcar up yesterday at Brasseur's Electric Trains, who actually is local for me. Very sharp car! And, a nice combined Easter and birthday present for me. Bob Brasseur and I had a nice rag chew about our "takes" on the current state of the hobby and reminiscences about toy trains when we were kids. Now, there's an experience that one can still enjoy at your LHS, of which Brasseur's is a classic example.

Bob

I picked up TWO of these cars, since each side had different graphics:  one car came from a local shop, Hennings Trains; and the other car was ordered from Charlie Ro.  Here are some quick iPhone pics...

The boxflap...

The color graphics side...

The greyscale graphics side...

The pics don't really do these cars justice, since there's a shimmering effect to the paint that doesn't show up well... due to the lighting and photography angle.  Overall I'm very pleased with these boxcars.  Some folks have taken issue with the image resolution of graphics on the USA-made cars, but I haven't found anything seriously objectionable about these cars.  Normally, I prefer the rivet detail to run the entire height of the boxcars.  However I suspect Lionel takes a bit of a short-cut on these, so it's easier to apply the paint scheme (via inkjet?) on the sides of the boxcars.

Although this particular car was billed as available only via pre-order on Lionel's National Train Day (12/5/2015) by visiting one's LHS, I've noticed many shops ordered extras.  So availability is quite good for those folks who may have missed out by not ordering locally.  As many of us suspected would be the case, the car was somewhat of a "carrot" to get folks into their LHS.  But it was tough for dealers to turn away good money, so many shops ordered extras which they're not selling... locally, mail-order, or online.

David

Rocky Mountaineer posted:

The greyscale graphics side...

The pics don't really do these cars justice, since there's a shimmering effect to the paint that doesn't show up well... due to the lighting and photography angle.  <snip>

David

 

David, ... a minor point, but I believe that both sides are in color. It is the subject matter (steam engines) that make the one side first appear as gray scale. Note that a few number boards (e.g., red under the headlight on loco far left) and the brass bells are in color.

Agreed. A good effort by Lionel.

Bob