Old Lionel designs you'd like to see again?

Although they have been using this design off and on since the end of the postwar era (currently in the 2014 Signature edition as a LC+ offering though the rear truck configuration was changed so it represents a Pacific)  The Santa Fe-style Hudson such as the 685, 2055, etc was a postwar favorite of mine, simply because it was a reasonable representation of an actual Santa Fe type Hudson (the 3460-class to be exact) and not yet another knockoff of a NYC-class.  So it was an offering that people that were more into western railroads & locomotive designs could get into.

I think it would be cool to offer this engine again, but modify the tooling so that the pilot front & boiler are separate castings so you can replace the pilot instead of the entire shell if the front steps on it broke (which happened on a ton of 'em).  Additional changes that would be cool to me would be to extend the wire handrails all the way down to the pilot deck as the 683 was actually depicted in the 1953 catalog, and replace the 2046-13 NYC style smokebox front with a new one that more closely resembled those 3460 class Hudsons.

Thomas,

I agree with you that there is A LOT of tooling that is ripe to have new life injected into it. Many of the locomotives that you mentioned were designed by Lionel in a modular fashion with separate body and cab sections, that way you could reasonably represent a large number of locomotives simply by swapping cabs or bodies. MTH has done quite a bit of "recycling" by moving many of their former Premier locos down into the Railking Imperial line. With Lion Chief being here to stay, maybe we will see some of these get new life.

Being essentially a post-war "Nut" I would like to see a reincarnation of Lionel's unique 2-6-2 "Pacific" with either the 675 or 2025 Cab numbers and complete with the great nickel rimmed Baldwin Disc Drivers.  I may have heard somewhere along the line though that the tooling for this engine is long gone.  If not, I'd like to see it. 

I think the 675 is one PW engine which has not been redone as a metal bodies, AC motored model.

Scale Legacy GG-1

I'm fudging a bit.

I'd really like to see Lionel reissue American Flyer's Operating Mail Car in S Gauge and in "O" Gauge. It grabs a bag of mail from a trackside "crane" and flings another bag off "on the fly" (without stopping). It's a real crowd-pleaser. A little girl became quite proficient at placing the bag on the "crane" during the TCA 60th Anniversary Convention in the Crowne Plaza, Cherry Hill, NJ.

Would love a re-issue of the die-cast ES44AC Diesels.

And perhaps an SD-70ACe in all die-cast as well.  I'd buy them in a heart-beat.  

Still searching for a die-cast ES44AC....

B6 Pennsy 0-6-0 steam switcher.  First offered prior to World War II and again in 1989 or so.   It would be even better if they could cram Legacy into this engine.

I miss the old 2-6-2's and 2-6-4's!

I know it probably not possible, but I did, and do, love the smell of ozone in the morning (or any other time of day).  Perhaps, an ozone generator in the loco for those of us who actually liked it.  Those days, running on the concrete basement floor, with smoke pellets and ozone, getting shocked through the floor from the track, ahhh, those were good times.  

I think a lot of the higher end MPC engines would be great Lionchief+ candidates

I would like to see the Reading T1 rerun as painted in the 1970's for the American Freedom Train as well as when it was painted as a Delaware and Hudson Northern for their anniversary. They just seem like a fun opportunity for revisiting and improving this model.

I am a big fan of the postwar tooling modified by Fundimensions to make a seemingly new item.

Reading Fan has a great idea.  A revival of the the American Flyer Operating Mail Car in both S and O would supply a great deal of play value for operators, young and old, as well as be real crowd pleasers at public displays.  When we installed the Operating Mail Car at the Bergen County Model Railroad Club displays it was always a hit. 

Thank goodness they made repro mail bags, we used to use up a lot of them during the displays because no one would look for them when they hit the floor.

Ed Boyle

700- series freight cars just like the originals or maybe with body-mounted couplers like some 717s.

Also like the idea of doing some of the higher end MPC locos.  They would make great LC+ candidates.  Size and tooling make them just right for the LC+ treatment.

Ed Boyle

Absolutely!

I can see kids today getting hyped up over a Lionchief version of the MPC Blue Comet or the Alton Limited.

This is an interesting topic. The MPC locomotives are from way before I started in the hobby, so I'm not familiar with the equipment from that era. I did a search on line looking for info, and found the following article on the Trainz.com site:

Guide to Lionel's MPC-Era Large Steam Engines

I've just glanced at the info, but there appears to be some interesting locomotives.

Were these locomotives powered by pulmor motors or can motors?

If they had pulmor motors, they would need to be retooled for can motors to be used for LionChief Plus locomotives.

Alas, a plastic bodied steamer was Lionel's last use of the 675/2025 dies.  The dies were subsequently cut up and used as loads on a Lionel flatcar.  I can't remember the year or car number.  I believe the Moreau era.

The 675/2025 is comprised of many individual parts and is one of the more difficult Lionel steamers to completely disassemble and service.  This also could have contributed to it's demise.

The dies originated in the Prewar era with the 225 I believe.  They were quite old, and I imagine well worn.  Maybe Todd can shed more light on this.

Nostalgia and history aside, I don't believe Lionel would start up a new incorrect wheel configuration steamer from scratch.

In the Modern era from 1970 to 1990, the AC Pullmor motors were usually restricted to the high end locomotives, and the smaller DC can motors were for the Traditional line. However, seeing I think Lionel can make it so a can motor chassis for the older Lionel loco designs.

I'd like to see continuation of the PWC and Conventional Classic series, as individual items, instead of sets.  Also make them as staples of Lionel Lines so they can be bought anytime.

Mike P

I too am hoping they reissue the MPC era Mighty Sound of Steam Engines in the LionChief + Line.

I believe The LionChief + line has so far shown to be as high quality as Fastrack in its introduction. With a reissue of the MPC era engines Lionel could have a very successful national advertising campaign. Unlike the one back in 2005 when the dead on Christmas morning products probably did more to turn people away from the hobby than any other advertising campaign in history.

Modern Era Dreyfuss (2001-2002)

That is all I request, (For the moment.)

The dies were modified 225 dies. Too bad, because IMO the 225 was one of the best looking of the prewar steamers.

The 224 dies morphed into the 1666 and the 2037 and variants.

The 226 dies became the Berkshire and the 646/2046/2056 baby Hudsons.

RoyBoy, you are so correct.  I will go back and change my post.  Thanks

Agreed!  And contrary to what I've seen posted here from time to time, the Conventional Classics "were not all made."   There were plenty of locos -- steam and diesel, and rolling stock that were never made. I can provide Lionel a list!   

Id just like a copy of the early ones. Free of zinc pest.

I'd like to see a reissued 221.

Thanks for the info.

The Rock Island 4-8-4 I always found to be nicely proportioned. Lionel really messed up the production of the RI and following Lackawanna.

I would like to to see the Dash 9. I need a Santa Fe to go with my BNSF Dash 9. I like the squat muscular look of the locomotive. My BNSF still goes strong.

Previously, these were powered with AC Universal motors, called Pullmor by Lionel. I would not be interested in having them powered by universal motors. I also would not be interested in can motors.

I also do R/C, and I see all the great motor advancements made by Electrifly, O.S. Motor, Super Tiger and the like and wonder why we must stick with old technologies. These are synchronous motors with electronic speed control and come in both outrunner and inrunner designs. There have been great advancements made with asynchronous induction motors. Both synchronous and asynchronous designs can be more than 90% efficient and are extremely rugged. In comparison, brushed can motors are more fragile, have shorter lifespans, and are not nearly as efficient.

They would have to add one more electrical pick-up roller to each of the trucks of the 1980's and 1990's era SD40, SD60M, and DASH 8.

Those units are very tall compared to most scale locomotives.

I wonder which motors would be used for a new release.

Andrew

That depends. The Legacy versions of the postwar Geeps had Pullmor motors, and the cancelled SD60M's were supposed to as well. Depending on which product line those engines fall into would determine the type of motor. Though if in LionChief, can motors would have to be accommodated.

How about the Nuclear reactor accessory?

I'm wondering if Lionel will spend the money to upgrade and reissue some of those classic PW accessories that don't work with Fastrak (#315, #497, #342/345 to name a few

Joe

I'd like to see Lionel come out with a #13. Don't know what it is but I sure like that number.

To digress from the focus on locomotives, how about the #460 piggyback platform? This was my favorite Lionel accessory when I was a kid in the 1950's. You operated it yourself, rather than just push a button and watch. They have reissued the car with a bunch of different labels on the trailers, and they have reissued the derrick platform, which is basically the same thing with a derrick instead of a fork lift, but never the piggyback set. I still have mine and it's in perfect shape, so I wouldn't be a buyer, but I think there would be a market. 

Sure, a #13 would be a good one!   

Another vote for the NYC #221!

Jon