I got communication from Trainland yesterday to expect delivery soon. Review to follow.
Jon 
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@KOOLjock1 posted:I got communication from Trainland yesterday to expect delivery soon. Review to follow.
Jon
That's great! I really like these. Hope to get one at some point.
Jon, which one did you get?
Brad
#3750.
Everybody gets the 1361. The 5400 has early paint but a post-war pilot. And a red K4s is just silly.
Jon
Cool. I didn't pre order ( I don't do that anymore due to discrepancies from catalog art to actual product) but if it checks out ok, I'm planning to pick one up.
I may get one also. Would like to see an actual picture before buying.
Jon, I've got 1361 coming from Mario's but I'm sure you'll get yours first. I'm anxious for your review.
Brad
Is this a scale K4s?
George
Oh I hope not! I don’t like scale trains!
Jon
@G3750 posted:Is this a scale K4s?
George
Unfortunately not, George...from the Lionel website:
”Previously offered in our scale LEGACY line, the four Pennsylvania Baby K-4's come equipped with our LionChief Plus 2.0 technology”.
@G3750 posted:Is this a scale K4s?
George
Speaking of scale K4's however.... I spoke to Ryan at York and he hinted about brass-hybrid K4's in the not-so-distant future 
. Hoping it's in one of the 2023 catalogs as my wallet will hurt once the Strasburg 90's are in!
I feel like I'm one of the few people that ordered the 5409 Red K4 but I'm eagerly awaiting this one. It'll be my first Lionel engine that isn't second hand so hopefully all goes well.
Just ran my new K4 from Nassau Hobby- and yes I have the "silly red K4" I just like the fantasy color.
Its the best smoking engine I have and was surprised the instructions said to use no more than "20 drops of fluid" vs 4 drops on my other engines. Using the Universal remote for the first time worked well. So I was pleased so far that it worked out of the box. My luck held out for a change.
All in all very nice engine. Sorry for the poor quality pictures.
George
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@vallieone posted:Just ran my new K4 from Nassau Hobby- and yes I have the "silly red K4" I just like the fantasy color.
Its the best smoking engine I have and was surprised the instructions said to use no more than "20 drops of fluid" vs 4 drops on my other engines. Using the Universal remote for the first time worked well. So I was pleased so far that it worked out of the box. My luck held out for a change.
All in all very nice engine. Sorry for the poor quality pictures.
George
How are the sounds ?
Christopher- I am running this using the Universal remote. The manual states you can customize the whistle and bell using the Cab 1 or Cab 2. So I can't comment on that. The standard whistle and bell sounds fine and so is the crew talk.
@vallieone posted:Christopher- I am running this using the Universal remote. The manual states you can customize the whistle and bell using the Cab 1 or Cab 2. So I can't comment on that. The standard whistle and bell sounds fine and so is the crew talk.
You should be able to customize the whistle/bell via the app too
Yes it states you can via the app. I'm sure there will be other members chiming in with their reviews using the Command modes and the app in the near future.
Mine arrives tomorrow.
Jon
@KOOLjock1 posted:Mine arrives tomorrow.
Jon
I said that a few weeks ago with a Camelback I was waiting for. It arrived 10 days later! Hope your luck is way better than mine!! 
George,
I hated the color in the catalog, but I will admit that yours is rather fetching.
Jon
Thank you Jon.
I was surprised at Jon's comment, not offended, just surprised, but I understand it better now being based on the catalog. I have the original TMCC Baby K4 with cruise added, so I'm not in need of another in green. I bought the tuscan version in Rail King two years ago and love it. Fantasy? Sure. So what, we're not scalers.
According to UPS mine arrives this friday, and even if the red paint K4s were fictional they still look really good, also I may or may not've polled all of my friends when I was debating which K4 to get and it was practically a unanimous vote for the red one. Granted they aren't train people but considering how this is likely gonna be getting most of it's mileage at train shows the input of non train people is pretty good imo.
@raising4daughters posted:I was surprised at Jon's comment, not offended, just surprised, but I understand it better now being based on the catalog. I have the original TMCC Baby K4 with cruise added, so I'm not in need of another in green. I bought the tuscan version in Rail King two years ago and love it. Fantasy? Sure. So what, we're not scalers.
I added Cruise to mine as well, but for whatever reason she would lose TMCC signal after running for a few minutes. Also: one chuff per rev bothered me when running with other engines. I gave my old K4 to a fraternity brother who is just getting started in the hobby, and doesn't run in TMCC. He loves it!
Jon
Just for the record, the red paint is not fictional. While there is some debate, indications are the Pennsy had one or more red K4s in the 1930s. A Google search for Tuscan red PRR K4s will lead you to several sites with discussion on this topic
Yes, I just like the produced shade more that the cataloged shade. But then I've been here long enough to remember the release of the Commodore back in the day...
Jon
Just paid for mine from Mr. Muffin. I’ll prob have it next week! Can someone post pics of their 1361 once they receive it? If the red unit above is from this run, it appears they nailed the paint - what a relief!
I would love to see side-by-side pics with an MTH RK K4. Are these models similar in dimension? Would they look ok with both on the same layout?
@Scott R posted:I would love to see side-by-side pics with an MTH RK K4. Are these models similar in dimension? Would they look ok with both on the same layout?
Bingo! I’m curious how this compares to Railking as well. Perhaps this lionchief plus 2.0 line of steamers can fill the void left by the loss of the Railking line.
This loco was part of the M-T-H/Samhongsa/Lionel lawsuit... the tooling is almost identical. This is the at least the fourth time it has been cataloged. First time with LionChief 2.0 tech.
Jon
Lionel’s Baby K4 is very different from MTH’s RailKing K4. MTH’s is weirdly proportioned and Lionel’s looks way better - just a smaller version of the scale version - hence why I’ve ordered one of these.
Okay, here we go! This was waiting for me on the Dining Room Table when I got home from work:
You gotta love folks who package your shipping carton inside another carton:
All looks well:
I was disappointed to see some recent engines shipped in plastic clam-shells instead of the usual foam. This engine was packed about as well as any train product I've ever opened.
Everything nice and tidy inside too:
Now for the Good Stuff!
Treated firebox too!
Being the first LionChief version of the K4s, I was kind've worried about the engine-tender gap caused by the special drawbar connector they use. No need to worry... they did an awesome job!
Nomenclature on tender:
And a little surprise! This is the third Lionel Baby K4 that I've owned. But the first with a real coal load!
I've tested her with my CAB-1L and my Bluetooth App on my phone. Everything works as advertised:
Four chuffs per Rev, adjustable bell and whistle, Electro-Coupler, flickering firebox, cab light, cruise control, and AMAZING smoke output. Oddly enough, because it smokes so well, it dissipates faster, and causes less smell. My wife already says its her favorite engine!
Jon
Jon,
It looks beautiful! Thanks so much for taking the time to post all these photos! They did an outstanding job on this! The paint colors look great! I cannot wait to unbox and run my 1361! Also at $500, this engine seems like a great deal for everything you get. It’s like 75% of what a scale Legacy K4 is for half the price. I’m very impressed.
Looks great Jon! Thanks for the review. I love how Trainworld packs in a seperate box. Ive actually requested from others (I won't mention) at the time of purchase to do the same and even offered to pay extra and it still never gets done. The only one that did was from Trainworld and I didn't even request it from them. I'll be keeping that in mind for future purchases.
Brad
So...the "LionChief" line is semi scale... kinda like O27? Sorry for asking a dumb question...
Sometimes this O scale/ gauge world can be a bit confusing. Seems like there are several "levels" of offerings...from all the different makers.
Mark in Oregon
LionChief tend to be traditionally sized offerings. The Baby K4, Baby Pacific, and Baby Hudson in the line all compare favorably with Post War/MPC diecast steamers.
Jon
Jon,
What do you think of the sounds?
Now for a LionChief PRR E6 Atlantic.
@KOOLjock1 posted:LionChief tend to be traditionally sized offerings. The Baby K4, Baby Pacific, and Baby Hudson in the line all compare favorably with Post War/MPC diecast steamers.
Jon
Okay: and there's the rub. A few years back, I posted a question about the Lionel "Traditional" sized PRR E6, #6-28005. It's (still) listed on the website as "traditional", but is full-on 1:48. The #6-28039 UP 2-8-0, which is also "full size", says "traditional" right on the box.
So, as I've mentioned before, even Lionel isn't exactly sure what they're making! 🙂
Mark in Oregon
They look great--hope you guys really enjoy them! The real coal loads really add a lot to these units.
