Differences in LC+ between this year and next?

As far as I can tell from reading the catalog features, the LC+ system itself is not going to change in the future, at least not as far as the catalog looks into it.

Thanks Lee, My reading was the same, I did not see anything worth waiting.  I am pulling the trigger and joining the LC+ club today.  

Hokie, Let us know what you get!

The 3 Steam LC+ I currently have are great and get run time almost daily.  The 1 RS-3 I have on order (ordered through LHS MAR 2014) has yet to be seen (looks like AUG 2015).

There is a forum sponsor near me (Mario's trains) and he had quite a deal on the Chessie Mikado steamer: $299.95 + $12 shipping.  He has some good sales going, apparently clearing out some inventory.  Should be here in not too many days I hope.

Yep, that is a good price.   

I got one of the LC+ Pennsy Mikados at my local hardware/hobby shop for $305 plus Pennsylvania sales tax.  I am very pleased with it so far.  It looks good, sounds good enough for my bad ears, and runs good.  I never ran command control when I was in HO. I got a DCS once I got into O Gauge, but so far I haven't gotten the hang of it.  Now the TIU is in for warranty repair.  I'll see how it goes once I get it back, but I may be in the market for another LC+ if I don't catch on.  I have too many hassles at work, I like to keep things simple on the layout.

That is the best price for a LC+ steamer I have seen.  Good find.  

I'm somewhat like you.  I never had DCS, but had Legacy early one, but put it in a closet and  went back to the conventional seven years ago.  LC+ is fantastic.  Like you say, the sound isn't Legacy-quality, but it is better, I think, than in some older PS1 and TMCC locos, and good enough: get three or four steamers chuffing away loudly and the nuances of individual locos' sounds are lost to my ears anyway. 

LC+ gives me the only capability of DCS and Legacy I really wanted - really slow speeds and good control of them - without all the expense and hassle with repairs, wiring, ground planes and signal leakage, etc.  So far it has proven incredibly robust and foolproof, even when handled by five year olds. 

Does anyone have any idea when the RS-3s will arrive? I tried reading the schedule on the Lionel website and I think it says May 15, but I'm not sure I'm reading it right. I emailed Lionel asking if I'm reading the schedule correctly but haven't received an answer. 

Not sure if this covers all of the RS3's but Charles Ro's site (usually fairly accurate) is showing August 2015 arrivals for several of them.

Thanks John.

I have been told by a major retailer that "you should have yours by early September."

Thanks Lee, I guess I'll just have to be patient.

Lee,

Doesn't LC+ work just like TMCC/Legacy except you have no capability to change the locomotive ID#? Thought ground plane issues in TMCC/Legacy would also mess with LC+ locomotives as well.

LC+ isn't anything like TMCC/Legacy.  LC/LC+ send a radio signal from the remote directly to the locomotive, the track only supplies raw power to the locomotive.  There's no "ground plane" issues with LC/LC+, though you can still have RF propagation issues as with any RF device.

You're welcome. For what it's worth, I know many here have also preordered the Lion Chief + NW-2 switchers. They are also showing an August arrival at dealers.

Thanks John,

Did not know that. So Lionel has two different operating systems?? Yikes!

Yep, totally different in concept and execution.