I guess I’m not sure why your 1982 Berkshire should be relegated to “the dustbins of history.” What you have are two completely different models that really shouldn’t be compared against each other.
For one, your new locomotive and that older Berk aren’t even based on the same prototype. Lionel’s postwar Berks were freelanced models loosely derived from New York Central Hudsons, not the S-2 Berkshires of the Nickel Plate Road on which the Legacy model is based. In fact, the tooling on the older Berk was initially used for the standard Lionel Lines roadname and had nothing to do with NKP.
Second, your first Berk isn’t a scale model. It’s traditional sized, meant to run on tighter radius track with the variety of postwar equipment that Lionel made and which were the basis of the hobby for so many postwar kids. That part of the hobby is still the focus for many on this forum. I enjoy both sides of the hobby, running my scale equipment at the club and my traditional stuff at home on a small layout. So I appreciate both.
And finally, one is a conventional model, the other is command control. Again, plenty of hobbyists have stuck with tradition, appreciating the simplicity of conventional operation and the easy serviceability of the electronics inside. I do both, and appreciate both.
The only connection between your two models is that they are both Berks and both lettered for Nickel Plate Road. You might want to rethink your view and appreciate both for what they represent independent from each other.
