Lionel's "new" Southern Crescent Limited

I am not very good at posting the pics and videos like you guys.  Thanks for all the wonderful images from everyone.  Has anyone operated their engine yet? Where are your awesome videos?  Please let me know your thoughts on the whistle.  I feel this is very incorrect and would like some feedback from the rest of you. 

Here's a video clip of the Southern Longbell 3 chime whistle in action

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFKWpPHe8kc

Jeff,

Unlike MTH Protosounds Lionels Railsound are all on Railsounds sounds chip.

MTH Protosound are  MP3 files loaded on to the chip so you can change the sounds of the whistle,bell, horn and other audio features. The only way you would be able to change the shound of the whistle is if Lionel produced a new railsounds chip with the Southern 3 chime Longbell. Now it they release Southern 1401 2 to 3 years from now then you might be able to get the new sound chip but it would use 1401 as the locomotive number and not 1393.

Sean,

Thanks for the reply.  This correct whistle is, for me, as important a distinction as all the others that make a Southern Ps-4 what it is.  I will continue to reach out to lionel for a possible correction.

 

Jeff

Yesterday I visited the Lil Choo Choo store after touring Spencer Shops[and buying Larry Neal's new Book on the Shops]. Primarily, I was there to check out the cosmetic restoration of Atlantic & Yadkin 2-8-0 #542, the only surviving equipment from my hometown railway. No 1/2 million $ in funds on the horizon to get it upfitted and under power. Thus it moves about courtesy of a rear coupled yard goat. It starred in the movie "Leatherheads". 

 

My first opportunity to see the new Southern Ps-4 and Mikado Legacy models which are displayed at eye level at the Choo Choo Store and are very nice and well done from the standpoint of cosmetic quality. The Mikado's Builders Plate is missing. Lil Choo Choo's price is $1,099. If that Mikado has been painted Southern workhorse black I might has pulled the weary plastic and brought it home.

 

Elementary School Kids Day at Spencer Shops yesterday, a couple hundred of them, little more than waist high to an adult. Guides loaded them on the Turntable and rode them round and round for a few minutes. Then they pulled green and imitation aluminum[light gray] Southern E-6 #6133[CNO&TP] out and turned it on the table several times for viewing. Later coupled 5 Coaches and took the herd for a 30 minute ride on and around the grounds with abundant horn tooting and bell ringing .

I was told that 1920s vehicles, woodside Cabooses and the Southern D-66 Wreck Derrick and Boom Car attracted much interest by the Kids.

 

At the Lil Choo Choo Store I bought a 11x21 color print of a 1995 Robert West painting of #1401 depicted underway with heavyweights in tow at Washington in 1941, titled "Three Times A Lady". White "toe nails" on the pilot and Yep, red cab roof. If she was southbound it would have likely been the "Peach Queen".

That's commonly refered to as artistic license. 

 

Seriously, one wonders where he got the idea for a red roof. It may indeed have been artistic license; like the new Lionel Cresent, perhaps it was put there to give more color, and or the painting, additional contrast. Whether the artist knew it was prototypical is of course unknown.

 

I've not seen any photos of 1401 in its working days that were in color, and in the b&w photos, the roof looks no different in shading than the green cab. And off course, when 1401 was delivered to the Smithsonian by the Southern, it had a green roof.

 

The 4501 Mikado was given a red roof (much more of a rust color than the red/orange used by Lionel) for it's tourist look, but whether or not that's evidence of PS-4s having red roofs on occasion I couldn't say. Perhaps some of the PS-4s were given red roofs from time to time by certain shops. If on a given day the shop had extra unused red paint, that could have been enough of a reason to use it to paint roofs.

 

Is this speculation fun, or a waste of time? The line has certainly blurred, but I think it's become more the latter!

Used a little natural light for Easter photos.

 

Interesting that all you fellows are modeling Ps-4s as they were before WWII.

 

Just before and during WWII they were all equipped with multiple-bearing crossheads, and all I see here are the original Alligators.

 

I had a scale Ps-4 built from a CLW kit; since I never saw a Ps-4 in service I numbered it 6688 from one Frank Ardrey photo; it had a set of crossheads and guides made by Bernie Gallagher.

 

I later found out that the 6688 was the roughest riding AGS Ps-4 and the first one scrapped.  But then, who cares, nowadays . . .

 

EdKing

Now I have a question about the numberboard. I thought that most Southern Locomotives sported red numberboards with Gold leaf paint and that all of the Ps-4 for the Crescent Limited has thier numberboards with the locomotive number and the Crescent Moon.

I know each shop had different taste when it came to paint and locomotive decorations.

So I thought that the Black with yellow numberboards where done in a different division and mainly on freight locomotives.

Thanks - to the people on this forum who mentioned that the Lionel SRR Ps4 would run around O31 tubular track. Besides making me want one more than ever the info gave me the idea to try my Lionel Erie K-5 USRA heavy 4-6-2 that has not been run in 8 years. It runs fine in a clockwise direction around my small layout and wow what a great whistle.

I have finally pulled the trigger and acquired a Lionel 11103 Ps-4 1403 from 2006. I will make some slight modifications like Ben did to make mine as close to the 1401 looks currently.

 

Now to find some Southern cars from 2006 (and Pullman lettered cars) for a early - mid 40s Crescent train.

i bought the Legacy Sourhern Crescent at York, its beauty drew me in like a moth to a flame. I am a neophyte to the SR. I am happy with the steamer, no problems at all, runs great. 

 

I was wondering why there is no reverse light on the tender of the Legacy Southern Crescent, is not having a reverse light on the tender prototypical, or is it an oversight by Lionel?

I do not believe that the real life Ps-4's had reverse lights. I can't explain why however. Congrats on the buy though!

I have a question concerning the Lionel 11103 Ps-4 locomotive: why did they choose to have it lead the Carolina Special? In listening to a Youtube video on the 11103, the crew talk refers to the Carolina Special, which mainly ran from Asheville to Chicago. The Ts-1 4-8-2 locomotives were the main power in later years for this train.

 

Since the 1403 was a Charlotte Division locomotive, running Atlanta to Spencer, it would never have operated the CS route. 

 

Any opinions?

You're right Larry.

Larry,any luck with a passenger consist?  You can see from my pics in above post, I've had to make and letter some of mine.

I bet you say that to all the Pacifics! 

TD,

 

I am like Captain James T. Kirk of the original Star Trek series, I am non-traditional, I like em Blue, Green, Orange, you name it!

Fascinating, Captain.  

 

I purchased this engine when it was released.  I had it in a place where I could look at it every day.  This weekend I could stand it no more.  Roof and wheel centers painted black. Bell and headlight hood painted red.  Bottom of pilot painted white. I like it even better now.