Just stopped by the Lionel booth in the orange hall

Thanks, Hancock52.

In the interest of full disclosure, I did a Google search of CZ prototype photos and DID NOT find a comparable photo to the TS photo I posted.  What I found were photos of dull stainless steel CZ cars/trains that were not even close to the finish shown in the TS photo I posted.

I think that photo demonstrates why Lionel should have stuck with aluminum.

Hello everyone,

Here's some info and photos of the new ESE legacy set
And the new Lionel smoke fluid loader.

The 21 passenger cars are awesome, for them being plastic cars they have a lot of weight to them
Also to open them up, it only takes 4 screws and it opens up with ease. If you take the car off the track the lights will stay lit for at least 30 seconds or more. So there won't be any flickering lights even on dirty track. The engine will stream smoke while at idle, then will chuff as it starts to move.

Sorry for this quick post, we are very busy setting up the Korber models booth.

Thanks
Alex

I'm not an NYC fan, but that is a beautiful set. Hopefully they'll expand their 21" passenger car line to other roads.

That is great news. Allows the rest of us to see some of what is going on.

Pictures have been allowed for the last 4 Yorks. 

I almost forgot to ask - how are the sounds on the engine?

I know the much anticipated cars will be great, but how does the engine check out?

Has anyone tried clear-coating a painted plastic car to increase the gloss?

Indeed MTH has done that pretty effectively on some of its plastic fluted side cars. The New Haven set of the late '90s comes immediately to mind and I have seen other, more recent issues with much the same high(er) gloss finish. It still doesn't look like stainless steel to me, but it doesn't look like matte aluminum either.

Originally Posted by Alex M:

Hello everyone,

Here's some info and photos of the new ESE legacy set
And the new Lionel smoke fluid loader.

The 21 passenger cars are awesome, for them being plastic cars they have a lot of weight to them
Also to open them up, it only takes 4 screws and it opens up with ease. If you take the car off the track the lights will stay lit for at least 30 seconds or more. So there won't be any flickering lights even on dirty track. The engine will stream smoke while at idle, then will chuff as it starts to move.

Sorry for this quick post, we are very busy setting up the Korber models booth.

Thanks
Alex

I'm not an NYC fan, but that is a beautiful set. Hopefully they'll expand their 21" passenger car line to other roads.

I'm sure they will sell out with Lionel's restricted production.

Don't think that observation roof is correct for the ESE, shouldn't it look like this?

Hoping they get the shiny, reflective, look back. It also appears more like a Pullman tapered end than the Budd blunt, rounder look, without the door.

So this signals the end of 18" aluminum cars from Lionel? Did they mention any of the as yet delivered sets? A while back it was mentioned here that they would all be painted like the "CZ" set correct?

https://www.philadelphiabuildi...sk2/47-p-010-023.jpg

https://www.philadelphiabuildi...sk2/47-p-010-023.jpg

In my opinion you should keep your K-lines. While these Lionels do look nice, I noticed the body sits too high atop the truck. I was thinking this has been a common complaint about Lionel passenger cars in the past. I don't see they have done anything about it. I think the "gap" is almost as bad as MTH's E-8 sets pilot gap..............well,maybe not. I still think those shiny K-lines are awesome. I am always looking to buy some of those 21 K-lines.

Yeah. It does nothing to improve the reflective quality of the underlying finish. I think if you want something that looks like factory-fresh stainless steel body panels polished aluminum is the answer. There are paints out there (Alclad chrome for example) that will approximate metal but applying them is a job for someone who really knows what they are doing. I think that excludes me.

Nickel and "chrome" plated plastic are other options but neither MTH nor Lionel seem to want to try these on passenger cars.

Yes, it seems the four 18" aluminum sets featured in the last couple of catalogs wrap up aluminum passenger car production for Lionel.  Mike R from Lionel did mention at York on Thursday that these cars would have the same LED lighting package that's being used in the new 21" ABS cars.

As for the finish being shiny vs. satin, I guess we'll need to wait and see.  Two of the sets (UP and Milwaukee Road) are primarily painted anyway.  Only the Pennsy and Southern Pacific would be primarily a natural aluminum finish aside from the highlighter stripe on each car.

David

From what I heard of the demo making its rounds at Lionel's York display loop, the engine is very typical of what we've come to expect from Legacy Railsounds nowadays.  Didn't see/hear any new (or unannounced) features on the locomotive that jumped out at me though.

These new 21" ABS passenger cars looked very nice, and I'm looking forward to receiving the Texas Special set next year.  (Seems that set has been delayed... surprise, surprise... which gives us more time to save a few extra pennies!!!)

Although I expect the NYC ESE set will be very popular (even with no passengers in the cars), I opted to purchase a full 8-car GGD ESE aluminum set from a TCA member a few weeks ago at a very fair price.  Can't beat the real aluminum and extra details from Sunset/GGD -- especially for a unique train like the ESE.  And the full 8-car GGD set is not all that easy to find on the secondary market.  I took delivery at York on Thursday, since I preferred not having those cars shipped.  While the GGD stuff is highly detailed, it's proven to be very fragile in shipping.  So any unnecessary shipping should be avoided whenever possible.

As I result, I'll probably change my existing Lionel order at Charlie Ro from the ESE set to the ala-carte #5426 locomotive offering with the PT tender, which I much prefer over the regular tender.  The PT tender has a full coal load on display, whereas the regular tender looked somewhat underwhelming to me with its slim/narrow strip of simularted coal.  In addition, I'll likely keep my order for the Lionel StationSounds diner for the added sound effects and see how that "fits in" with the GGD set.  The diaphragms will be different, but hopefully that won't be a show-stopper.

David

Of course, you could transplant the SS Diner stuff into one of the GGD cars.

That's a possibility too, John.  The GGD cars are heavier than the Lionel cars, so it may be better to stick with the 8-car consist for the Lionel steamer.

OTOH, I also purchased the MTH NYC E8 ABA locomotives earlier this year (with two powered A-units) in the gorgeous mint-green paint finish that would look cool hauling the GGD silver aluminum passenger cars without working too hard.  May not have been prototypical, but what the heck. 

David

Well, many have been saying this since the introduction of the new plastic cars. The only thing that really looks like metal is metal. To simulate stainless steel panels, painted plastic can't begin to compare with polished aluminum. It's a sad thing to see Lionel abandon aluminum passenger cars.

It is probably good to get the PT tender.  As you probably noticed, the GGD ESE cars have a unique, and very nice finish.  A friend had the earlier Lionel ESE Hudson and the GGD ESE cars, the locomotive/tender finish did not match the cars at all.  He ended up finding the 3rd Rail brass ESE Hudson, which was a perfect match to the GGD cars, a truly beautiful set.  I think that the 3rd Rail locomotive only can pull the 6 car set, though, and cannot pull it with the two add on cars.  Those GGD cars are really heavy!

A first glance, it looks like Lionel has done a much better job on the windows. I'll save my final judgement until I actually see one in person.

Tell me about it... I carried the 6-car box and 2-car box to my car outside the Orange Hall in one trip!!!    I should always bring my mini fold-up hand-cart to York.  

Unless the Lionel NYC ESE steamers allow for double-heading (i.e., the specs don't mention anything about this yet), I may need those MTH NYC E8 ABA's with both A-units powered to pull all 8 cars.  Don't need to worry about matching silver paint tints since the MTH E8's have that pleasing NYC Pacemaker "green" color.

Again, it's not prototypical... but it will look cool.  The 21" car lengths will complement the size of the MTH E8 units quite nicely.

David

Jim

 

IMO they are much better.  I posted a more angled view earlier in this thread. Take a look. 

 

 

OK, I'm fully satisfied on the window front meaning that Lionel has done what they said they would about flush-fitting.

But what can you see inside the cars (apart from the absence of passenger figures)? These are meant to be per the catalog description "highly detailed." Since Mike Reagan announced that some of the new ABS cars would be more prototypical than others I've been wondering whether that has any implication in terms of the interiors. 

So in other words, it sounds EXACTLY like the Vision Line Hudson's whistle, etc. ?

If that's the case, at least some manufacturer gave the Empire State a 6 chime whistle in O gauge for a change...

I also wanted one of the PT tender versions, but since the 4 car set wasn't available separately, I opted for the set. I figured if someone wants the streamlined version and isn't happy with their PT version, I could just trade places.

I like what I've seen so far, though I'm not a NYC fan.  Lionel is doing a great job. Opinion.

I can't wait for the UP Excursion set!

I saw the set at York and they look pretty good except that they are some serious high riders. My guess is something like that can be easily fixed by modelers.

Here is a pic of an ESE car before it was entered into service. Note the steel is not polished even when brand new. In few years this finish would oxidize further.

I think the Lionel car is a pretty fair model even though I am not a fan of plastic. GGD ESE cars are aluminum but painted in an attempt to replicate stainless. IMO the shade is too yellow even for stainless that has been subject to high heat like exhaust pipes.

While aluminum is metal its no match for stainless in color. Put a piece of polished aluminum next to polished stainless and the difference will be obvious. The only way to replicate stainless is to use stainless.

B

Pete

You have to order the set to get the 4 cars and from the horses mouth their is a 2 car set plus maybe another. I already have the CCII cars (18 inch) because I sold the CCII engine. The cars are 21 inches long. They had them sunning on 72 inch curves. There was a hang over which could be seen - The other item, Alex already mentioned this is the car are lit by LED - no Flicker, and when you remove the from the track they stay lit for about 20 seconds.

I probably will look at the price again and make the decision. Tough to decide if I want to sell my CCII cars and by the whole set all over again.

The cars did look good

Yes, Lionel catalog'd an add-on 2-pk along with a StationSounds diner.  Mike R from Lionel mentioned on Thursday that Lionel is planning to ship the sets around Dec 15th in time for Christmas.  He also indicated the extra cars would likely ship in Jan 2016.

David 

It is unfortunate that in order to get the 4 cars you need to buy the set. I would hope that Lionel, Mike R. and the marketing team will offer the 4 car set. If I can't change my order to the set, then I will purchase the 2cars set with a station sound diner just to have them. If not, I will hope someone will break up the set.

I would think making / offering the new cars would satisfy those folks that already have purchased one when Lionel offered the CCI & CCII.

They will sell.

K

I don't recall the sounds exactly -- nor can I compare them to the VL Hudson.  I was just referring to the fact that the locomotive had the usual industry-leading Lionel Railsounds tone that we've come to expect.  Now it wasn't a show-stopper that made me look twice or anything... Just an "I liked what I heard" type of thing.  Sorry I can't be of more help.

David

Here are  few photos of the GG1 that Lionel introduced and spoke about. Rough hand built prototype - pictures are from an iPhone. The quality is not the best give the distance I had to shoot from and not then best lighting.

Few more pictures

That's quite alright David,

I wanted to ask because back in the April meet I asked the guys at Lionel myself, and they said it would be "something similar" to the Vision Line Hudson's sound package, including the whistle, which makes sense since they're both NYC Hudsons, but with some obvious tweaking here and there to not make them EXACTLY the same.

Wish Lionel would make the observation car the separate sale item.  

The NYC Scale 2 pack and station sounds diner cars are limited supply as well. Might want to get your orders in if interested

That's not very good looking with all of that space between the body and pilot.

Many of the K-Line cars are already very hard to find - 21" CZs and UPs for example - but I'm not sure that the market for them is strong enough to go up to really stratospheric prices. GGD cars start to look like a bargain when you consider the quality compared with what MTH and Lionel appear likely to offer in the near future.

Marty, are you saying the GG1 at Lionel's York booth was a JLC unit modified/equipped with new sprung pantographs that had the LED arcing effect.  What about the Railsounds used in the unit to illustrate enhancements made to go along with the arcing effect?

I really thought the unit on display was the actual production sample Vision Line GG1.  At least that's how it was presented on Thursday when I stopped by the booth.  The presenter never indicated it was just a modified mock-up so to speak.

David