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The process goes like this, call a hobby shop I use Legacy Station in Atlanta. Place the order for the engine you want. With preorder you will pay less than retail. Most shops require a 10% deposit on orders. Then you wait for the item to come in. It seems like it has been taking around 7-9 months.

If you want engines now most of the shops have some engines in stock. Really depends what engine you are wanting. You may have to look a bit to find the engine you want.

Hope this answers your questions.

 

No need to worry about BTO as Lionel has just put a name on something most everyone has been doing for years; they only make as many as are ordered.  Now most big hobby stores will order extras to put on teh shelf if they think it'll be popular.  I have no issue buying early and waiting for the locomotive to come as I know I will for sure get one, as long as there were enough orders for Lionel to make it.

As for past offerings, the older it is, the harder it'll be to find.  Some hobby stores will have them.  I have found smaller hobby stores without a big online presence are more likely to have older ones as they are "off the beaten path."  eBay is another place I have see locomotives.  You can also always post int he WTB forum here and then you'll have a larger group looking so as to help you find what you want.

gunrunnerjohn posted:

FWIW, many of the previous BTO items are available at various shops now, the dealers typically order extras.

And at good discounts too. The Legacy ESE hudsons can be had for $1099 at Charles Ro.

Good thing I preordered.....never again.

Given that many times a Lionel loco can be noticiably "different" for the catalog and/or prototype in one way or another, i.e. sound ,features, color, etc.

I highly recommend NOT preordering and wait until the product arrives and is reviewed here by another forum member.

That way, you know exactly what you are, or aren't getting before you buy, along with any potential operational issues.

Charles Ro and Trainworld to name a few, always have extras for several weeks to several months after delivery.

RickO posted:

...

I highly recommend NOT preordering and wait until the product arrives and is reviewed here by another forum member.

 ...

With the exception of 3rd Rail, I've stopped pre-ordering big-ticket items altogether.  And it's great.  

We're all at different places in this hobby, and I'm no longer overly picky about road numbers or even roadnames at times. So when Lionel and MTH produce 3 or 4 road numbers of a big-ticket loco (like Lionel's GS-4's, T-1's, Allegheny's or even the VL GG-1's), you can be less selective and wait for dealer sales which are often lower priced than their pre-order prices -- sometimes within a few weeks of delivery.  Seems there's ALWAYS a sale going on.

Surprisingly, I recently bought a bunch of Atlas-O maxi-IV cars/containers at prices lower than most dealer pre-order prices.   They were a great find, but you've got to be ready to act quickly when you see a good deal.

Plus it's more fun to go shopping, when you don't have funds already committed to a bunch of pre-orders!

David

Last edited by Rocky Mountaineer

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