@Hannibal-St Joseph RR posted:Current price of a GP38 (BN 2085) on Lionel web site is $220. So it has not changed price in 2 years. I got mine for $210 as a pre-order.
Menards is asking for feedback, so I compared to a brand-new Lionel engine in the same price range with nearly identical features. This Menards engine should work fine for pulling my Amtrak cars - it seems very sturdy - but this isn't about my use of the engine. The objective of Beta 3.0 release was to get people to test it on a variety of track, with a variety of manufacturer's cars, forward, backward, uphill, down, around corners - the kinds of testing that will flush out problems. If the competition (in this case Lionel) has the same problems, then you are competitive. However, in my opinion Menards still has some work to do if they want to release an engine that will please people. If you say you have operating couplers, then they should operate - but if you hang them 3/16" below the published S-2 Coupler Standard (0.688" +/-0.031", or 11/16" +/-1/32" top of rail to CENTER of knuckle), then your plunger won't have enough travel to open the knuckle, and you will disengage from some cars, like the Williams that are 1/16" higher than the NMRA Standard. Menards is asking for feedback - and it is a fun way for me to engage, and a fun way for people to see that I am human.
It is a sign of this forum's camaraderie that people still accept (or ignore) me even though I called the pilot a cow catcher! Repeatedly! Thank you, Menards for a fun experiment and a solid engine for a good price.
Sadly the nitpicking has caused some of my friends to leave the forum. When we finished reviewing our Menards engine we gave it to some youngsters with a layout and no command engine. Not sure if Lionel makes a scale size and detailed engine like this in LionChief. Closest I think is their FT A-A pair which is about $500 for a power and a dummy. Is that correct?
