Lionel Berks - Made in Korea or elsewheere? | O Gauge Railroading On Line Forum

c.samOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

We had a beautiful Erie No 3315 Scale Berkshire awhile back that had an amazing amount of detail for an 'early' locomotive. I've since traded it off but found that I missed the big guy and began looking for a replacement with better sound. I missed a few good deals here on the Forum but finally landed the Legacy version of the C&O from the 2009 Empire Builder set. Have not had a chance to really look it over yet as we are in the middle of a move but I was able to unpack it and run it a few minutes at the club layout today. It too looks really nice and I'm wondering if it was made in Korea as was the Erie? It's packed away so I can't get to it to check. Did Lionel switch all steamer manufacturing to China at some point?

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11/10/128:49 PM

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TiffanyOGR Forum Member

Hello guys and gals........

I believe just about all steamers and diesels are now made in china where few short years ago the good die-cast steamers were made in Korea. That information should be printed outside of the box in the corner of it.

the woman who loves the S.F.#5021

Tiffany

11/10/129:22 PM

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GerryOGR Forum Member

Sam

I have the NKP Berkshire from the same run as your original Erie. Do you think the detail is better on the newer C&O version? Does the C&O have a real coal load?

I really like mine but if the detail is better along with upgraded sound and electronics on the newer version I may have to search for one!

Gerry

11/11/1212:24 AM

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RickOOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBER

Anything "legacy" is made in china. Having said that, your new berk is made from the same tooling as your previous berk so the level of detail should be the same.Just guessing from my equipment I think Lionel switched from korea to china around 05-06.

Lionel indicates the country of manufacture on the bottom of the tender either with a label or stamped.

11/11/126:18 AM

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James EatonOGR Forum Member

I have the NKP 779 Berkshire with TMCC from the 03' run, and on the bottom of the locomotive behind the rear trailing truck, it says Made in Korea.

From a detail perspective, though I do not own the most recent run of Berks, I personally think that the older Berks have more detail. I have done a side by side comparison at my local Lionel dealer.

11/11/122:17 PM

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c.samOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

You may be correct James - here's a shot of our Erie and it's really nice!

I still haven't seen one of the new K-Line derived Berkshires but understand they are superb.