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Based on a tip from the 3-rail side, I went to the Lionel Store to see if any new Flyer was listed. 

Here's what I found, these are the New Items for 2019, not items previously cataloged:

  • Legacy U33C's:
  • ICG, Gilford, D&H (EL Repaint,) Conrail (EL Patch,) BN (GN Patch) Santa Fe Freight Warbonnet
  • More warmed over O27 auto racks (2 numbers each)
  • TTX, SP, GT, Conrail, BN
  • Gondola's with coil covers: (2 numbers each)
  • AT&SF, PL&E, DT&I, C&O, NH
  • Kitchen Car, Bunk Car: (2 numbers on the Bunk Cars, 1 on the Kitchen Car)
  • UP, NYC,AT&SF, MoW
 
Rusty
Last edited by Rusty Traque
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Nice spot Rusty! 

I am surprised to see a return of the U33.  I wonder if Lionel will do another run of the S Scale wheel sets for it.  It will be interesting to see what former legacy models in S Lionel still has tooling access too (poor poor S gauge mikado).

I will get that PE tank car for sure.  

There is no picture for the camp/kitchen car, maybe that will jazz up the idea of one once it appears in full dress...but till then...

And that Wabash caboose, I really thought there would be motive power to come with that.    

Edit - interesting that Lionel picked IC for the U33 again, as I recall, that was one of the few U33s that made it to blow out prices. I picked one up from Ro for like 299!  

Ben

 

Last edited by NotInWI
NotInWI posted:

Nice spot Rusty! 

I am surprised to see a return of the U33.  I wonder if Lionel will do another run of the S Scale wheel sets for it.  It will be interesting to see what former legacy models in S Lionel still has tooling access too (poor poor S gauge mikado).

I think Des Plaines Hobbies still has a pretty good stock of scale conversion wheels.

I will get that PE tank car for sure.  

Better check on that again.., those tank cars are O Gauge. 

There is no picture for the camp/kitchen car, maybe that will jazz up the idea of one once it appears in full dress...but till then...

Liberated from someone else's photo take at the LCCA con.

LCCA Flyer

And that Wabash caboose, I really thought there would be motive power to come with that.    

You'd think...

You'd also think Lionel would list all this stuff under the American Flyer link....

Edit - interesting that Lionel picked IC for the U33 again, as I recall, that was one of the few U33s that made it to blow out prices. I picked one up from Ro for like 299!  

It's Illinois Central Gulf this time around, that makes it totally different!

Rusty

Ben

 

 

Last edited by Rusty Traque
Chuck K posted:

I am searching lionel.com and lionelstore.com and can't find any of these. Where are you guys seeing them?

They pulled them from the store (except for the K Class of course) probably because of all of the backlash they received from THIS:

New Vision Challenger

Looks like they're re-releasing their fantastic Vision Challengers in this Forty Niner scheme. No thanks. They're also releasing a few other fantasy paint schemes on other locomotives, like a Halloween RS11. I'm just hoping these represent the minority of the catalog.

Attachments

Images (1)
  • New Vision Challenger

Even though the "sneak peek" has been taken down from the Lionel Store, it's refreshing to see that for the second catalog in a row there's no real "silly stuff" (like zombie firing flat cars...) in the Flyer lineup. 

I'll excuse Polar Express stuff because that's become more or less a cultural icon.

Although, I was kinda hoping to see a bona-fied Flyer aquarium car to satisfy my momentary lapses of reason...

Rusty

AmFlyer posted:

I have no interest in the cars so I did not look for them but the U33's are still there. I am looking at 6-48185 a Warbonnet Santa Fe with high rail wheels and engine #8522. 6-48816 is numbered 8509 and has scale wheels. I think I will order one of each since the cab #'s are different.

Hmmm.  Well, they're gone now, except for some O gauge U33C's.

Anyhow, I didn't look close enough to see if there was a scale/hiral wheel difference on the U33's. I just assumed they'd just be hirail.

Interesting.  Maybe a peace offering to us scale guys...  Maybe not...

It was reported on the 3-rail side the catalog will be out Aug 20, so we can get all the details then.

Rusty

AmFlyer posted:

Sorry, the scale wheel version is 6-48186. I transposed the two digits.

That comes up as the 2012 offering, which doesn't have DCC code in them:

AF U33C 2012

The new 2019 Santa Fe U33C's are blue w/yellow warbonnet, like so:

GE U33C AT&SF 8508 Fleet

With the exception of the Gilford units, Lionel is able to reuse the paint masks from 2012 with minor changes to the lettering printer.

Rusty

Attachments

Images (2)
  • AF U33C 2012
  • GE U33C AT&SF 8508 Fleet
Last edited by Rusty Traque

When the 2019 images were up, the Santa Fe WAS in the blue and yellow colors in the warbonnet paint scheme. As Rusty pointed out, all but the Gilford version would use the previous paint masks but have different lettering. For example, Illinois Central Gulf is the same orange and white as the IC was, but "Gulf" and new road numbers have been added. The blue sky blue/black/white scheme of the Great Northern is the same, but the road name is Burlington Northern as it was shortly after the merger. This reuse saves Lionel money. It also brings up two questions: 1) are the electronics "new" Legacy that handles AC/DC/TMCC/Legacy/DCC; and 2) are the pilots revised to pivot as in the SD70ACe and ES44AC, or are they the original swinging pilots attached to the trucks? 

The more I learn about the original, first run of the American Flyer U33C, the more I admire the effort that went into making so many road-specific differences that reviewers failed to mention and Lionel failed to promote. The too-fast response and the swinging pilots got all the press (the former corrected in the second run; the latter corrected in the modern locomotives).  It must have been discouraging to the teams that worked on that first U33C.

TOKELLY posted:

When the 2019 images were up, the Santa Fe WAS in the blue and yellow colors in the warbonnet paint scheme. As Rusty pointed out, all but the Gilford version would use the previous paint masks but have different lettering. For example, Illinois Central Gulf is the same orange and white as the IC was, but "Gulf" and new road numbers have been added. The blue sky blue/black/white scheme of the Great Northern is the same, but the road name is Burlington Northern as it was shortly after the merger. This reuse saves Lionel money. It also brings up two questions: 1) are the electronics "new" Legacy that handles AC/DC/TMCC/Legacy/DCC; and 2) are the pilots revised to pivot as in the SD70ACe and ES44AC, or are they the original swinging pilots attached to the trucks? 

The more I learn about the original, first run of the American Flyer U33C, the more I admire the effort that went into making so many road-specific differences that reviewers failed to mention and Lionel failed to promote. The too-fast response and the swinging pilots got all the press (the former corrected in the second run; the latter corrected in the modern locomotives).  It must have been discouraging to the teams that worked on that first U33C.

Actually, I expected the U33C's to come back as FlyerChief locomotives...

I really can't see Lionel removing the DCC code from Legacy as a lot of effort went in to developing it.  Now that it's there, it costs nothing to keep DCC compatibility embedded in the code.  But, one never knows...

As to the pilots, I suspect they will still be attached to the trucks as in the first two runs.  I've read where some of the scale guys that "fixed" the pilots had to remove some material either from the truck side frames or back of the pilots to provide some clearance on curves, and they're not using R20.  While truck mounted pilots are less ideal than the swinging pilots of the SD70's and ES44's, it's a vast improvement over the big, gaping cut-out Gilbert used.  

Rusty

 

richabr posted:

Still wishing for an ACTUAL aquarium car.

Rich

 

You may not have too wait long, Rich.  I spoke to one of the Lionel guys at York in April who said the response to the two initial S gauge aquarium cars was "strong" & to expect plenty more future offerings.  I know that may cause some people here some distress, but there is plenty of room in the S gauge pool for all of us. 

Rusty Traque posted:

It's refreshing to see that for the second catalog in a row there's no real "silly stuff" (like zombie firing flat cars...) in the Flyer lineup. 

Rusty

I don't understand anyone expressing joy at the absence of something OTHER people might enjoy.  If they release a Dorothy Hamill walking brakeman ice skater car in Flyer... just don't buy it.  Since you strictly model the 50's &60's, ignore the rest.    

RadioRon posted:
Rusty Traque posted:

It's refreshing to see that for the second catalog in a row there's no real "silly stuff" (like zombie firing flat cars...) in the Flyer lineup. 

Rusty

I don't understand anyone expressing joy at the absence of something OTHER people might enjoy.  If they release a Dorothy Hamill walking brakeman ice skater car in Flyer... just don't buy it.  Since you strictly model the 50's &60's, ignore the rest.    

Eating Popcorn

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