New Lionel Catalog goes “live” Jan 20th

guys i'm in serious trouble

yes i was super excited about the LC 2.0 stuff but thats nothing in comparison to how pumped i am for the Area 51 and Star Trek sets. these two resonate with me very deeply especially since i have constant fantasies about aliens, and space travel and wanting to know whats out there. in fact i used to watch star trek a lot when i was little as well as ET and Flight of the Navigator and my layout will be built around such themes. i'm in trouble cuz i don't know what to do as funds and i'd hate to miss out on either of these. i showed them to my godfather and he bolted as soon as i mentioned the price so my chances are slim at best

paigetrain posted:

guys i'm in serious trouble

yes i was super excited about the LC 2.0 stuff but thats nothing in comparison to how pumped i am for the Area 51 and Star Trek sets. these two resonate with me very deeply especially since i have constant fantasies about aliens, and space travel and wanting to know whats out there. in fact i used to watch star trek a lot when i was little as well as ET and Flight of the Navigator and my layout will be built around such themes. i'm in trouble cuz i don't know what to do as funds and i'd hate to miss out on either of these. i showed them to my godfather and he bolted as soon as i mentioned the price so my chances are slim at best

As for you and your Godfather.  Warmup the streaming app and do a binge watch of Star Trek.  You can wear him out.  “Resistance is futile, he will be assimilated.  In Klingon we say ”qapla”.

well golly gee, I can finally see the catalog in pdf, what is wrong with Lionel, don't they know that making it easy to see what they are trying to sell is not the way to go?

verdict for me is some of the $1700 steam locos would have been of interest but after countless problems with locos in the $1000+ price range I will pass and not just Lionel stuff that is bad

Blue coal hoppers would have been a possibility except the loads look so hideous, can you say plastic painted blue? that I will pass on those too.  Why cannot companies spend a little more on loads to make them look realistic?

JPS posted:

well golly gee, I can finally see the catalog in pdf, what is wrong with Lionel, don't they know that making it easy to see what they are trying to sell is not the way to go?

verdict for me is some of the $1700 steam locos would have been of interest but after countless problems with locos in the $1000+ price range I will pass and not just Lionel stuff that is bad

Blue coal hoppers would have been a possibility except the loads look so hideous, can you say plastic painted blue? that I will pass on those too.  Why cannot companies spend a little more on loads to make them look realistic?

I had the same reaction to the color of the blue coal. Can't rely however on the color shown in the catalog. I'll check it out once the cars are delivered to the dealers before potentially buying. Could always sub out the coal with loads from Don Kane, but of course that would be an extra expense.

Pat

Anyone know if the hobo on the scale PE car is removable?

paigetrain posted:

guys i'm in serious trouble

yes i was super excited about the LC 2.0 stuff but thats nothing in comparison to how pumped i am for the Area 51 and Star Trek sets. 

Be aware that those are not LC+2.0 sets - only LC.

VADarthDad posted:

Anyone know if the hobo on the scale PE car is removable?

I get the impression it is not.  The text in the catalog says it is "fixed" to the roof.

paigetrain posted:

guys i'm in serious trouble

yes i was super excited about the LC 2.0 stuff but thats nothing in comparison to how pumped i am for the Area 51 and Star Trek sets. these two resonate with me very deeply especially since i have constant fantasies about aliens, and space travel and wanting to know whats out there. in fact i used to watch star trek a lot when i was little as well as ET and Flight of the Navigator and my layout will be built around such themes. i'm in trouble cuz i don't know what to do as funds and i'd hate to miss out on either of these. i showed them to my godfather and he bolted as soon as i mentioned the price so my chances are slim at best

You need to check out The Expanse.  I have a Rocinate model I intend to hang over the layout!

paigetrain posted:

guys i'm in serious trouble

yes i was super excited about the LC 2.0 stuff but thats nothing in comparison to how pumped i am for the Area 51 and Star Trek sets. these two resonate with me very deeply especially since i have constant fantasies about aliens, and space travel and wanting to know whats out there. in fact i used to watch star trek a lot when i was little as well as ET and Flight of the Navigator and my layout will be built around such themes. i'm in trouble cuz i don't know what to do as funds and i'd hate to miss out on either of these. i showed them to my godfather and he bolted as soon as i mentioned the price so my chances are slim at best

Check all of the train stores that sponsor the Forum for the best prices on the AREA 51 train set. 

The set prices would be much better if you ordered early.

The Star Trek set seems a bit of a stretch compared to the AREA 51 set.

They can build the new SIEMENS CHARGER line of locomotives and use one of those for the motive power of STAR TREK set.

Andrew

As far as the blue coal is concerned, the coal companies would spray the tops of the hopper loads with blue paint to see if anything was pilfered along the way to final delivery. If the coal was black, some of the top layer was illegally removed in travel. When I was a kid we had a coal furnace and didn't realize then why some of the coal lumps had blue paint on them.

CSXJOE posted:

As far as the blue coal is concerned, the coal companies would spray the tops of the hopper loads with blue paint to see if anything was pilfered along the way to final delivery. If the coal was black, some of the top layer was illegally removed in travel. When I was a kid we had a coal furnace and didn't realize then why some of the coal lumps had blue paint on them.

Very interesting. So would it be prototypical to dry brush some blue to the tops of let’s say a WWII or pre-war era coal drag?

Where I grew up, Lehigh & New England territory along with Reading, 'blue coal' was more of a marketing ploy referring to the blue flame that Anthracite coal had while it was slow burning.

I have a few K-Line Keystone Coal die cast hoppers and they tout blue coal on the side and I got rid of the loads they came with and dry brushed some others and they look way better.

CSXJOE posted:

As far as the blue coal is concerned, the coal companies would spray the tops of the hopper loads with blue paint to see if anything was pilfered along the way to final delivery. If the coal was black, some of the top layer was illegally removed in travel. When I was a kid we had a coal furnace and didn't realize then why some of the coal lumps had blue paint on them.

Not anywhere around here did they do that. Heck, they probably lost more to being blown off in transit than they did having it stolen.

Lionel asked me to pass this along as a reminder.....

Apparently, they are so occupied with the catalog release that they have neglected to turn the phones back on.  when I call the Service Dept--been trying to get hold of them for weeks--the message says that they are closed to allow their employees to attend a vital meeting and will reopen on Jan 21st.  Now, I know that NC is in a different Time Zone than MO, but I didn't realize NC is also in a different CALENDAR Zone.

C'mon, guys:  let's get your act together, huh??  I place this post here and on another thread in hopes that Dave (or Ryan or somebody) will see it.  Trying to contact them directly ain't working.

palallin posted:

Apparently, they are so occupied with the catalog release that they have neglected to turn the phones back on.  when I call the Service Dept--been trying to get hold of them for weeks--the message says that they are closed to allow their employees to attend a vital meeting and will reopen on Jan 21st.  Now, I know that NC is in a different Time Zone than MO, but I didn't realize NC is also in a different CALENDAR Zone.

C'mon, guys:  let's get your act together, huh??  I place this post here and on another thread in hopes that Dave (or Ryan or somebody) will see it.  Trying to contact them directly ain't working.

Just FYI, I called yesterday and after waiting it kicked me to a leave a message but the message box was full.   I called again today and after holding which is not unusual I was connected and able to get through.   Did not get the message you noted but after a couple of attempts I was able to speak to customer service.  

Unfortunately, for any business, Customer Service is a cost center and thus minimized, even to dissatisfying service levels - they already got your money and competition is few, and the losses of customers who are voting with their wallets do not overcome the costs of improved customer service. It sucks, but that is what it likely boils down to.

paigetrain posted:

guys i'm in serious trouble

yes i was super excited about the LC 2.0 stuff but thats nothing in comparison to how pumped i am for the Area 51 and Star Trek sets. these two resonate with me very deeply especially since i have constant fantasies about aliens, and space travel and wanting to know whats out there. in fact i used to watch star trek a lot when i was little as well as ET and Flight of the Navigator and my layout will be built around such themes. i'm in trouble cuz i don't know what to do as funds and i'd hate to miss out on either of these. i showed them to my godfather and he bolted as soon as i mentioned the price so my chances are slim at best

A way to make money quickly would be to donate blood plasma. 

You could work at an injection molding production and assembly company.

Andrew

Lots of stuff to choose from, but What’s with the horrible pictures of the vision stuff?  They look like clip art pasted on old photographs or something.  Impossible to see any detail or how they will actually look.  What happened to the beautiful photos of past catalogs.  So no preorder here I will wait to see in person.

jjwyatt posted:

palallin posted:

Apparently, they are so occupied with the catalog release that they have neglected to turn the phones back on.  when I call the Service Dept--been trying to get hold of them for weeks--the message says that they are closed to allow their employees to attend a vital meeting and will reopen on Jan 21st.  Now, I know that NC is in a different Time Zone than MO, but I didn't realize NC is also in a different CALENDAR Zone.

C'mon, guys:  let's get your act together, huh??  I place this post here and on another thread in hopes that Dave (or Ryan or somebody) will see it.  Trying to contact them directly ain't working.

Just FYI, I called yesterday and after waiting it kicked me to a leave a message but the message box was full.   I called again today and after holding which is not unusual I was connected and able to get through.   Did not get the message you noted but after a couple of attempts I was able to speak to customer service.  

Welcome to my world. Almost every time I call them, not even when a new catalog comes out, I am put on hold for about 15 minutes and then their system shoots me to voice mail that is almost always full. Note that this has been happening to me for about two years now. One time, like you palallin, I tried calling them for two weeks straight for a five-minute conversation. Thankfully I'm homeschooled so that helps me out a little bit on the ridiculous wait time. Also, on the matter of the staff having a meeting and won't be open until the 21st I have heard. I tried to call Lionel Friday of last week and when I got this message I thought ok I will call on Tuesday. I call them Tuesday wait for 10-15 minutes and voicemail. I tried today at 1 o'clock central time (2 o'clock their time) and I get the same message from Friday. Lionel, I understand you have about 3-5 people in that division, but good grief how long does it take to have a lunch break. Apparently more than 2 hours. In the end, guys I have felt your pain for years and I imagine we are not the only ones.

jjwyatt posted:

palallin posted:

Apparently, they are so occupied with the catalog release that they have neglected to turn the phones back on.  when I call the Service Dept--been trying to get hold of them for weeks--the message says that they are closed to allow their employees to attend a vital meeting and will reopen on Jan 21st.  Now, I know that NC is in a different Time Zone than MO, but I didn't realize NC is also in a different CALENDAR Zone.

C'mon, guys:  let's get your act together, huh??  I place this post here and on another thread in hopes that Dave (or Ryan or somebody) will see it.  Trying to contact them directly ain't working.

Just FYI, I called yesterday and after waiting it kicked me to a leave a message but the message box was full.   I called again today and after holding which is not unusual I was connected and able to get through.   Did not get the message you noted but after a couple of attempts I was able to speak to customer service.  

jjwyatt, what number are you calling?  I am calling the one specifically sent me by the service dept:  (586) 949-4100.  I get the same message today:  "We're closed till two days ago, get lost."

This situation is beyond frustrating.  They sent me defective coupler parts for one of my sons' passenger cars, and I would like to arrange and exchange.  If I were doing this same kind of thing, I would be out of a job.

palallin posted:

jjwyatt posted:

palallin posted:

Apparently, they are so occupied with the catalog release that they have neglected to turn the phones back on.  when I call the Service Dept--been trying to get hold of them for weeks--the message says that they are closed to allow their employees to attend a vital meeting and will reopen on Jan 21st.  Now, I know that NC is in a different Time Zone than MO, but I didn't realize NC is also in a different CALENDAR Zone.

C'mon, guys:  let's get your act together, huh??  I place this post here and on another thread in hopes that Dave (or Ryan or somebody) will see it.  Trying to contact them directly ain't working.

Just FYI, I called yesterday and after waiting it kicked me to a leave a message but the message box was full.   I called again today and after holding which is not unusual I was connected and able to get through.   Did not get the message you noted but after a couple of attempts I was able to speak to customer service.  

jjwyatt, what number are you calling?  I am calling the one specifically sent me by the service dept:  (586) 949-4100.  I get the same message today:  "We're closed till two days ago, get lost."

This situation is beyond frustrating.  They sent me defective coupler parts for one of my sons' passenger cars, and I would like to arrange and exchange.  If I were doing this same kind of thing, I would be out of a job.

Same number as I have it saved in my phone.  I did not get that message and I called 3 seperate times.  Will be calling again as I have not received the RA email from them so need to follow up.  Will see if I get anything different

falconservice posted:

The Centerbeam flat cars and the Bulkhead flat cars are Traditional O gauge in proportions, not Standard O scale.

Andrew

The bulkhead flatcar looks like the Centerbeam flat car without the center section, however its length is listed as 2.5 inches shorter ?   Can get a feeling for the length of the bulkhead flatcar by looking at the photos from Lionel's website, the bulkhead cars length is over one section of Fastrack long, more like 1 1/3 which would make it pretty much the length of the I-beam car.