Lionel Preamble Express Passenger Set

Yep same here…left the station empty

Daryl

Thanks for posting photos WinstonB. I’m sending my unopened set back. One of the cool features of this set was going to be the passenger figures. It’s a shame.

Figures aside, do you mind posting a photo of an entire side of one of the coaches?  Thanks!

I guess I was lucky because all for of my cars have passengers - 10 to 15 per car.

Don

Here are Don’s photos of passengers. I’m gonna have to open my set up. These look really good!

Well NO LUCK here. Cars are empty. 😡 Thanks Don for giving me a few seconds of hope! Cool Set Box! 👍🏻

It's during the pandemic...

I’ll take the BC cars please! (Before COVID)

It’s a great looking set and nice engine…just kind of a bummer the passengers are MIA.

So some sets had figures and some didn't? I wonder if Lionel will send figures to folks who didn't have them installed? I don't have an issue opening it up and doing it myself if needed. I'm really close to pushing the button on this set, I love bicentennial paint schemes.

I emailed Lionel this morning and they replied that they would send replacement figures.  I’ll post an update once they arrive…

I really have no idea why Lionel stopped including passengers in their high end cars anyways besides a few notables like the Scale Polar Express.  It should just be standard.

@DGuill posted:

I emailed Lionel this morning and they replied that they would send replacement figures.  I’ll post an update once they arrive…

That's great news, I will check and see if my set has figures when it arrives if not I'm emailing Lionel customer service.

Does Lionel have a passenger kit for sale in their product line? Seems like I recall that they did.

@cjack posted:

Does Lionel have a passenger kit for sale in their product line? Seems like I recall that they did.

They do for 21" passenger cars, but at $25 a pop that's a $100 to fill all four cars.

I’m all for getting passengers in my cars but frankly I didn’t buy this set to work on it. I called my dealer and he’s checking on what Lionel’s solution is. I’d like a swap with them covering the freight.

Not to hijack this thread but my Reading cars did not have any people. Did anyone get Reading cars that did? Thanks!

Only specific sets that were listed to have figures should have gotten passengers. The Preamble Express listed figures included, the Lionel 120 - 21” cars listed figures and they came with figures (at least in the set I got).

rgd_fan check the catalog description of your Reading cars.

My Lionel 18" Santa Fe Shadow Line cars had figures (listed to have them) from last year. Granted it's a two pack and not a set. Maybe they ran out of figures at the factory and just started doing it without to get them out the door. If Lionel is going to send me figures I'm fine with that. I do understand some folks don't want to have to open their cars up.

The PRR Broadway Limited had the tape that held the windows in extended onto the frame and effectively glued the shell to the frame causing putting passengers in them to become quite the task.  Heck even repairing a pushed in window was horrible.  It took more time to get the shell off than fix the window. 

Hello.  My Preamble Set also showed without passengers on any car.   My set was #57 as marked on the outer carton.  Wonder at what set # did the passengers get cut from the trains.

Has anyone opened one of these cars up?  How difficult would it be to open one of these.  A big consideration in sending them back versus getting the people from Lionel.

If Lionel sends out passengers, what do you use to keep them in their seats? Model glue? Super glue?

As far as opening up a car, I’m waiting on Lionel before I proceed.

I've never been a fan of hot glue. I use a tiny square of 3M double sided gray sticky tape. I think it's originally meant for sticking trim on cars. Removeable. It's in bubble packs at Walmart's etc.

Super glue is lame unless it's a ceramic cup you are trying to fix.

I have opened plenty of passenger cars and subway sets and always use Gorilla gel glue for figures. Sets fast and I never have to worry about them falling out or getting loose again.

Chuck, I like your idea of the 3M double sided gray sticky tape as it wont permanently install the passenger or damage the seats. Where do you find this particular type of tape?   Also, does anyone have any ball park idea on how many of these sets were made?  Mine is marked # 57 on the outer shipper box.

@MountainRail posted:

Chuck, I like your idea of the 3M double sided gray sticky tape as it wont permanently install the passenger or damage the seats. Where do you find this particular type of tape?   Also, does anyone have any ball park idea on how many of these sets were made?  Mine is marked # 57 on the outer shipper box.

This grey tape is what I use. It's really tough and you can stick an outlet strip to the side of a cabinet with it. I use it very sparingly since it is hard to remove something once it is stuck...almost have to use a metal pry bar if you use too much tape...but it comes off clean. The residue of a piece of tape left can be rolled off with your fingers leaving a clean undamaged surface.

Amazon.com : Scotch Outdoor Mounting Tape, 1 Inch x 5 Feet, 1 Roll : Office Products

I usually just buy it at Walmart or stores like that.

So my dealer said that I have the option to send the cars in and Lionel will add passengers or Lionel will send me passengers to put in myself.

I’m going to take one car apart to see how hard that process is before I decide. Anyone have experience taking these cars apart?

Lionel support told me they were sending passengers but they haven’t arrived.  I checked one car and it’s Just the 4 screws on the outer corners.  Need to watch the led connector when lifting the shell…the wire is just long enough to lay the shell to the side.  I didn’t try disconnecting the wire.

Passengers arrived from Lionel…4 packs of 7 each.  Hey at least they sent some…it’s a light crew scouting locations for the AFT.

@DGuill posted:

Passengers arrived from Lionel…4 packs of 7 each.  Hey at least they sent some…it’s a light crew scouting locations for the AFT.

Good to know as mine should be here next week, but I might add more if I'm going to take the time to open the cars.

@DGuill Are they the 21" passenger ones? can you post a photo of them.

Matt - Sorry never tried posting photos - part number 48-2022070-100; just says passenger cars figures.  What’s different about 21in figures?

@DGuill posted:

Passengers arrived from Lionel…4 packs of 7 each.  Hey at least they sent some…it’s a light crew scouting locations for the AFT.

Does anyone that has received the cars with passengers, how many rode in originally from the factory?  From the looks of the pictures, it looks to me more than 7 per car even if they all sat on one side and if we are going to do the labor, we should at least get the same amount.   My two cents!

@DGuill posted:

Matt - Sorry never tried posting photos - part number 48-2022070-100; just says passenger cars figures.  What’s different about 21in figures?

Lionel 21" passengers tend to be a little smaller than scale at least to me. I can wait until next week and compare them.

21-passenger-scale-figures-pack-6-83653

@DGJONES posted:

I guess I was lucky because all for of my cars have passengers - 10 to 15 per car.

Don

This should be the same number of figures  Lionel sends to customers for their cars. However, the listed feature states " Detailed interior with figures." No numbers. There's always a loophole.

@WinstonB posted:

This should be the same number of figures  Lionel sends to customers for their cars. However, the listed feature states " Detailed interior with figures." No numbers. There's always a loophole.

Winston. Thanks for highlighting Dons previous post.  At least we can dream about what each one of our cars should have and what Lionel can do to make it right.

Rory

Well! Received my Lionel figures today. What a  joke. A mentioned, only seven figures per bag for each car.  Between four to five of the  figures in each bag are repeat of the other bags,  no variety. If you look at an image of 6-83635, someone grabbed the same seven left most figures and threw them my bags.http:http://www.lionel.com/products...igures-pack-6-83653/

There was so much excitement about this set, yet it’s another self-inflicted black eye. At some point, something has to change….

Whether it’s a smoke box paint job, truck swap to remove plastic junk trucks, shell swap for paint that matches nothing, or a glue job for passenger cars, at some point your customers will stop paying premium prices for DIY projects…..