I received the Lionel Area 51 Railroad Set from Charles Ro yesterday. This is a Lion Chief Set with train and the brand new lighted track. Note this track is with green LEDs.
This is not my usual go-to purchase but when I saw this in the catalog it looked like a fun set, and one that I could turn into a small whimsical space-themed layout
The train consists of an ET44 diesel locomotive and four pieces of rolling stock. Paint scheme is a pleasing neon green and black with yellow and white accents.
Locomotive:
Tank car:
Box car:
Maxi-stack car:
In addition, Lionel has issued two add on cars, a nuclear waste car and one of the Mechanical Reefers both in the Area 51 livery. I picked up the nuclear waste flat which is a familiar design similar to previous Lionel issues. This has cool alternating green and yellow lights in the containers.
The set comes with the usual supplied remote, but control is also possible through the Lion Chief App and the Universal Remote. I got an easy connection through the App on my phone and all functioned well. Will also sync this with my Universal Remote later.
For a "plain vanilla" Lion Chief Set am impressed with the lights and sounds. Lionel customized the horn and bell with what I would call eerie Outer Limits type effects, and the crew talk contains some fun references to aliens and ETs.
If you've read this far stay tuned for the payoff. I will get some videos of the green LED lighted track when it's a bit darker for better viewing. Believe me it is very cool and if you've seen the videos posted of the other multi-colored Lionel lighted track you'll appreciate this.
Part 2 soon...
