Rusty Traque posted:Chuck K posted:I don't think you're going top seeCompletely agree. Received my FC Northern today. Cost me less than half of what my Y-3 cost me and for obvious reasons...detail, sound quality, sound options, momentum function, start up, shut down, light control, and numerous other options available on Legacy. I like the FC Northern, but I would have been willing to pay double for a Legacy Northern detailed to the quality of the Y-3 and to have therefore maintained controlling all of my smart engines with one device. Pretty sure this will be my last FC purchase unless something highly detailed comes out in the future in which case I might buy it and convert it to TMCC myself.
Don't forget, the F/C Northern is still based off of 1950's Gilbert tooling, which was a fairly good model of a UP FEF1 for it's time.
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Rusty
Just so folks know, the only original Gilbert tool used in manufacturing the new L-AF Northerns (both conventional and FC+) is that for the pilot. That's it. The Gilbert tooling (for the boiler, for example) dated from 1939, was used with modifications through the 1950s, and was no longer usable to obtain quality castings. For example, by comparing the boiler casting in a new Northern and a Gilbert original, one can note that the newer tooled boiler is more round (and more prototypically correct). Essentially, Lionel tooled up an improved copy of the Gilbert model with the chassis being an all-new design.
I wrote of this aspect about the tooling in my review of the new L-AF Northern in S Gaugian when it first appeared about 10 years ago.
Bob
