Would you consider the Lionel Century Club Dreyfus Hudson one of the greatest Lionel train sets ever created?
What are your thoughts
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Would you consider the Lionel Century Club Dreyfus Hudson one of the greatest Lionel train sets ever created?
What are your thoughts
Replies sorted oldest to newest
Yes, it's a Beautiful Set. All of the Century Club Offerings are Great, but, This is the Top of the Line. I have this set also, New in the Box, except, The Engine is in my Display Cabinet. Wow. Happy Railroading
wow, I saw on the listing that the Hudson was TMCC powered, would a LEGACY remote work? I'm building a layout in my basement and doing a youtube series on it. I was debating whether or not to either buy the LEGACY Pocohantes set, the Commodore Vanderbilt, or the Empire State Express in the future. Im starting small right now and I'm going to get my first bit of benchwork done in the next few weeks. My youtube channel is at the link https://www.youtube.com/channe...enZvSWXHOZpQWdg/feed I would appreciate it if you checked out what I got so far. Thanks
Dan,
Yes, a Legacy Cab 2 remote will work. The Legacy manual will explain how to get the most out of it. By the way, if you want a Legacy version it's in Lionel's new catalog. Not sure of the price but it has an O72 minimum radius.
Mike
Excellent engine. The new Legacy version will top that one.
Excellent engine. The new Legacy version will top that one.
Marty,
No doubt! I do not have the real estate for minimum O72 radius curves but if I did, I'd order one.
Mike
Excellent engine. The new Legacy version will top that one.
Other than having Legacy instead of TMCC, in what way?
I have the Century Club version which was rated for and runs fine on O-54. I assume its the same tooling?
Love the Empire!!! What do those cars look like????
I made a set from K-line SL cars and custom decals.
Absolutely - though I only have the locomotive (well, 2, actually - one now dressed for
Mercury service) and made up my passenger car deficit with a nice but early MTH Empire
State set ("Franklin Roosevelt" Observation), and later found a K-line (as I recall) "Theodore Roosevelt" Observation.
I am glad to see you refer to the ESE as a "Dreyfuss", as Henry Dreyfuss' company styled
both the better-known (and more common - eventually 11, counting the J1e 5344) gray "Century" Hudson and the ESE version.
I wasn't considering the new one, really, I wasn't. Really. Please. Oh, gosh.
The CC Empire state express is one of the most beautiful sets ever produced.
It's my favorite set. See pictures and video below
Alex
Beautiful set Alex, which passenger cars is she pulling?
Mike
Beautiful set Alex, which passenger cars is she pulling?
Mike
Hi Mike,
They are Lionel 18 inch aluminum that go with the engine.
Thanks
Alex
I think these are the Lionel Century Club Cars that go with the Engine, 18 inch 7 car Set.
Happy Railroading
Tr18, I mean no dis respect to the locomotive, it is a thing of beauty. Legacy means a lot to me with the quilling whistle, whistle steam, 4 chuffs per rev, and getting rid of the AC smoke regulator. The engine Alex has is beautiful. I feel this new engine will be a hot ticket. I have the K-Line 21 inch 10 car set but would love to get my hands on the cars Alex has.
Marty
Neither I nor the engine took offense, I was actually asking a serious question.
I have the CC version with all the cars and was just wondering what people thought would be better about this new one. So far it is Legacy, whistle steam and 4 chuffs.
What else could they add?
I don't know, but when you put a new Berkshire beside one of the first issues it looks pretty sweet. We have this engine and set of cars too. Right now the cars are getting hauled around by the green MTH E-8s. They are crowd favorites at our place.
Beautiful Set
I notice from Alex's video that this engine has two chuffs per rev. Is that fixed or can it be switched to 4 chuffs. I realize that in can be modified for 4 chuffs but just wondering if it was built with this option.
Pete
I notice from Alex's video that this engine has two chuffs per rev. Is that fixed or can it be switched to 4 chuffs. I realize that in can be modified for 4 chuffs but just wondering if it was built with this option.
Pete
Maybe that is a much older Lionel ESE Hudson. Lionel didn't really join the "4-chuffs per revolution club" until within the last 4 or 5 years, as I remember.
... Right now the cars are getting hauled around by the green MTH E-8s. ...
Excellent choice!!!
David
I have a K-Line Empire State Express aluminum passenger set. It is awesome.
yes, but I seem to remember in the CC brochure the selling point was you would never see these items produced again. I am sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.
rat
My ese cars are on the shelf behind the Orient Express.
rat
Anyone know if the prototype ever pulled heavyweights at one time or another, or were those already sidelined with the introduction of the lightweights?
I notice from Alex's video that this engine has two chuffs per rev. Is that fixed or can it be switched to 4 chuffs. I realize that in can be modified for 4 chuffs but just wondering if it was built with this option.
Pete
Maybe that is a much older Lionel ESE Hudson. Lionel didn't really join the "4-chuffs per revolution club" until within the last 4 or 5 years, as I remember.
Don't quote me on the exact year, but I believe it was the neighborhood of 2005 or maybe 2006 when this engine came out. CCII was right around the turn of the millennium, and one engine and/or set was offered each year on very close to a 1 year cycle(as opposed to CCI, where they squeezed all 5 offerings into probably 3 1/2 years). This ESE was the last of the 5 CCII offerings. Definitely does not support 4 chuffs out of the box.
yes, but I seem to remember in the CC brochure the selling point was you would never see these items produced again. I am sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.
rat
That guarantee probably goes the way of the Heritage (name of catalog, not more recent popular Diesel series) items with the "lifetime" warranty.
Company ownership changes, all bets are probably off.
-Dave
Yes, This is one fine set, and the engine was not to be made again as a push to sell this set and engine. However, even though its being re-built, the Century Club Engine was a 5.0 System, and 2 chuff per revolution, and This new one is different, as the electronics are much better and the sounds are better, the smoke/whistle steam effect is better, so, in reality, its not the same engine. Also, Lionel is not the same Lionel that built the Century Club....Just the Names the Same, the Owners and President CEO are New. Wow, the statement is that "the Only Constant is Change, is True. I am lke Marty F., the Legacy System with the Quilling Whistle is simply Awesome. Thanks for this Thread. Happy Railroading
Anyone know if the prototype ever pulled heavyweights at one time or another, or were those already sidelined with the introduction of the lightweights?
With the exception of head end cars probably not. There were only two engines covered this way and they were only assigned to this train from 1941 to 1946 when the Niagaras took over. The streamlining was partially removed even before that time. Plus it was the cars that attracted the passengers. No doubt they would have been disappointed to get to the station and have to board antiques.
Pete
What else could they add?
Add? How about subtract? Maybe, just maybe, they will get rid of those butt ugly stick on windows with the green edges.
I can still recall how impressed I was when I first saw my first Lionel aluminum passenger set in person -- silver Pennsy's with ribbed/fluted sides back in the late 1970's. It just didn't get any better than that.
The Lionel Century Club II's 18" ESE passenger cars are admittedly another example of the best passenger cars Lionel produced. 18"... Aluminum... Detailed interiors... Even a StationSounds diner. Perfecto!!!
To think that Lionel's overseas subcontractors couldn't duplicate "that look" for their CZ is truly sad. The only thing sadder is it appears 2015 may bring about the last of Lionel's aluminum car production in any size. Period.
David
Windows look fine in the pictures .
I am the original owner of the CCII ESE set and while it has been frequently criticized, especially on this forum for having windows that protrude and only having 2 chuffs, it remains one of my favorites too. I'm sure that the new release will really "hit it out of the park".
An interesting fact related to the real Empire State Express is that it was introduced to the public on December 7, 1941 and that news was quickly surpassed by the events
unfolding at Pearl Harbor.
Eric
TCA, LCCA
yes, but I seem to remember in the CC brochure the selling point was you would never see these items produced again. I am sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.
rat
I would not say "wrong" but what I remember was wording something along the lines of "not made in the same configuration." Which prompted discussion on this board that all that would be necessary was to change one feature (like the color of a bell or horn) on the next iteration. So replacing TMCC with Legacy surely meets that requirement.
Greg,
Do you think that Lionel will make a legacy ESE in the future as a "normal" legacy train set or under the "Vision Line" brand title?
This is interesting, I will research the Century Club Offerrings as I kept all the paperwork from Lionel. I was so happy to see all of the great offerings that I purchased each Century Club 1 & 2 engine, cars, car sets, etc. It will take a few days. Thanks.
Greg,
Do you think that Lionel will make a legacy ESE in the future as a "normal" legacy train set or under the "Vision Line" brand title?
I really have no idea.
What a beautiful set. The new legacy features in the engine should be fantastic. Are the new passenger cars going to have passengers in them? Noticed the catalog didn't make note of it.
Another post said no passengers in the new 21" cars
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