400e Which one to purchase?

There is an orange one on the bay right now for under 1k. I personally think it is a bit to much orange in one shot, but that's just me. I ordered both the chrome one and the red one. I have also seen the black "crakle" ones go pretty cheep, but I think there is a reason for that.

I had the same dilemma but I'm glad I went with the orange and blue which looks better in person.

A couple of the "usual suspects" here on the Tinplate forum picked up the Lionel Lines version earlier this year. I thought it was really sharp looking. And if you check the 2012 LCT catalog, I believe there' s a whole line of orange and blue freight cars to go with the 400e.

EDIT: And just like that, I see Chris posted a pic of his!

A black one is on ChooChoo Auctions at $535 last I knew.

Curious as to availability/prices of CRACkLE BLACK LCT loco???  Thanks, Ron!!!

Basic black or black crackle.

Lionel (the real Lionel) used black most of the time in their cataloged sets in the 1930's. A black 400E will go with any color type of State cars (2-tone green, 2-tone brown, and the new LCT Milwaukee scheme) which are really the only passenger cars that look right size-wise with a 400E, anyway. The newly cataloged 2-tone red and chrome 'comet' cars would also go pretty well with a black engine (particularly the red). Being 'neutral', black will combine most easily visually with a string of mixed 200 series freight cars that you may acquire over time. Black gives one long term utility and will not 'fight' any other colors. 

Have fun with whatever you get. All 400E's are superb.

Bob

A SGMA member has a NYC 400E on E-Bay and it should sell for a good price.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MTH-400e-New-York-Central-/261063548934?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item3cc899a006

10-5020 is the SKU of matching 418 cars. 2 merchants have them on the MTH product locator.

If you can get past the unique color thing, spend the money on a good C-7 original. You'll be further ahead in the end.

Just have someone knowledgeable help you, and you'll be OK. New is nice, but seeing an 80 year old train run is something that can't be duplicated.

If I were buying a repro 400E, I'd most likely be looking at crackle black. A couple of them have gone for reasonable prices recently on the Bay, somewhere in the 6-700 range.

Sorry, fellas, when it comes to a 400e, nothing beats Blue!

I just recently bought the Lionel Celebration Series Orange and Blue conventional.  I believe dealer stock on these is diminishing.

I'd love to find a Purple Comet, but I haven't seen any come up for sale. (Thank goodness!  I'm up to my belt in bills right now!)

I also was always fond of the crackle black.

The Red Comet looks like it will be stunning.  And it also looks like something that could have been made in the 1930s, unlike the Rio Grande, Southern, etc.   Mike did a nice job on that red 390 set back in the late 1980s, so it should turn out well.  

My suggestion would be the very nice dark gray "Lionel Classics" 2-400E from about 1990. It also has an uncatalogued diecast air whistle in the tender, with a solid-state relay in place of the old plunger-type.

Currently available (C-10, P-10) from Gryzboski's for $895.

Again, a neutral color that would look good with the state cars. 

Other than Milwaukee Road, I also prefer tinplate without specific road names.  To this end I purchased the red/black/gray/golden yellow Proto 2 "Circus" version of the 400e.  It arrived with the incorrect CNJ brass plates installed, which I didn't want, so I asked MTH to send me the correct "Circus" plates, which they did.

If I were you I'd buy a shiny all black version of the 400e without a road name.

Bob

My dark gray "Lionel Classics" 2-400E has an excellent high-gloss finish and has a great air whistle. When I opened up the tender to lubricate the whistle motor bearings, I discovered the solid state electronic relay instead of the usual plunger-type. This was in 1990! Go figure. 

I use this engine to pull my MTH 418 series four-car "apple green" set and my three-car green state set. Both go well with the dark gray engine! 

If you want a stunning, Lionel, unique 400E, it is going to be the Red Comet coming out sometime near the Holiday season.  Hobbyists who don't even collect standard gauge are considering that one.  Red on red and brass trim should be gorgeous and I ordered both the chrom and the red.

indydanny

And by all accounts, the Samhongsa-made "Lionel Classics" line excels in finish and reliability.

From my personal experience with the "Lionel Classics" line, Samhongsa of Korea definitely did quality work - much better than the later Chinese production!

Was it this forum where I read about casting problems with Korean production and specifically Lionel Classics.  I have a Hiawatha set first PS-2 that has paint problems based upon the non-removal of mold release pretty sure that was made by Korean brass and pretty sure Iam not alone on that issue.

Was it Lionel Classics that had the issue with a poor paint duplication of Gunmetal Grey. I think I read that here on this forum.

This forum has shown a lot of different defects over the time I've been reading it. Anything from the well documented paint chipping to warped diecast sides on modern tinplate tenders.

The LTI Classics seem to have their share of issues. I remember complaints about paint being rough, etc, especially.I had two Hiawatha sets, one perfect, one with minor issues on the black.

Take a look at this:

http://ambrosebauer.com/lotdet...tion=161&lot=100

You can easily see the gapped boiler front, which means this engine's frame has grown, stretched, or whatever you want to call it. Anyway, it's the same type of issue some originals had, and this was made in the late 1980's or early 1990's.

I think the point is that all this stuff comes from overseas, and while the originals exhibit the same defects, they are very old. The Asian manufacturers appear to be that far behind if these issues are occurring today, and there's really no enforceable quality control over how they make these things.

While some originals have these defects, if you find a good one, 80 years later, I'd think it a safe bet to assume things are stable.

As for gunmetal, even today, MTH and Lionel have been unable to duplicate those prewar shades of gunmetal.

Again, in my PERSONAL experience with the "Lionel Classics" line (and I purchased almost everything they offered in standard gauge), I encountered NO casting or paint defects.

Am I just lucky - who knows?

   Buy a real one, it wont be obsolete next month like a computer...

Or buy a used repro for 400 bucks and a can of red krylon for 9 and make a red one for half price. 

This is the most over reproduced loco in history, even worse than the 381E. They have a winner in this one, just keep making it in a different color and they keep buying it. 

Not being rude, just realistic. Spend your money on something more unique.

I would buy a used reproduction. You can probably buy two or three of them in excellent condition for the cost of a decent original.

By the time you wear all of them out, you will probably be running trains on that great layout in the sky.