@DunningStation posted:I thought that the measurement was supposed to be engine and coal together so that's why I asked. Should Lionel tell you in their description that certain engines are semi scale or scale . Should I assume Lionchief plus2.0 is always semi-scale and Legacy is scale? The biggest engine I have is an old MTH Railking J-class 611 and it's rated for 031 curves. Most of my curves are 048 with a few 036's on some of the sidings.
Typically i would think the engine and tender are measured as one but some "millennial" whose never seen a steam engine probably wrote the description (LOL). Lionel has typically classified their offerings as "traditional" or "scale" or "legacy" or you may see the older term "standard O" used for freight cars. MWB's advice is good. Some "traditional line" engines can be close to scale dimensions tho (such as diesels) but lack scale detailing (separate handrails, grab irons, air hoses, etc.) or they could have some details but lacking in others. Same with steam...an 0-8-0 Lionchief is close to scale dimension (sort of) but not as close detail-wise as the Legacy 0-8-0. The Lionchief Berk's and Pacifics will differ more from their Legacy "scale" counterparts in both detail and dimensions. And remember, Lionel is NOT in the scale model business like 2-rail manufacturers even if it is a "Legacy" model. They've gotten better in the last 30 years thanks to other manufacturers competing (some now gone) like Right of Way, Weaver, Atlas and MTH bringing closer to scale models to the market. Note that MTH has a similar separation with their RailKing line.
