Is LionChief Plus Steam Engines generally smaller in size to legacy? I have LionChief plus now and I was wondering if the size would be too noticeable on my layout?
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Yes, IMO noticeably smaller.
The worst part is, once you get your first scale legacy engine. You may find yourself selling off your semi scale stuff and upgrading$$$$. Don't ask me how I know 
@RickO posted:Yes, IMO noticeably smaller.
The worst part is, once you get your first scale legacy engine. You may find yourself selling off your semi scale stuff and upgrading$$$$. Don't ask me how I know
Ditto.....and what a roller coaster ride it’s been!
Pat
Guys, The control system (LionChief vs Legacy) ARE NOT reliable indicators of "size/scale".
There are scale LionChief items and non scale Legacy items. I will concede that generally the LionChief items tend to be more traditional sized and Legacy more to scale, but it is not hard and fast rule and should not be thought of as such.
You have a point bmoran4. However, I believe the only semi scale locos offered with legacy were in the Lion master line.
Namely a few LM Sd90 diesels, and a few steamers . TheLM bigboy, LM challenger, and the recent LM class A. The class A doesn't even count , as Lionel botched the speed control on it.
Small switchers and small steam in LC/LC+/LC+2.0 may be scale, but anything larger than that it almost always semi-scale. Specifically, I know the A5 and Camelback steamers in LC+ were scale sized.
Can you notice a difference between LionChief Steam and legacy on the track?
If you're talking about stuff like a Big Boy or Challenger, I sure can see the difference.
Somewhere I saw a code from Lionel that tells you what size it is by the sku number.
It seems like Lionel tries to make it hard to tell without doing some research. At least S and HO are always the same size. (probably some exceptions)
The G gauge is even worse. With LGB at 1:24 and others at 1:33 and several in between. Even the 7 1/2" gauge trains can't decide between 1.5" and 1.8" to the foot.
"There ought to be a law"
@GVDobler, I think you are referring to the list discussed here: https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...git-numbering-system
Unfortunately, it is very flawed for the usage you propose here... how wound you categorize a high end licensed O gauge set? Is it scale or not? What about passenger cars? There is no delineation between scale and traditional...
The best bet is to look at the catalog and see if it states SCALE or TRADITIONAL, and note that some traditional things actually ARE scale sized. Sure, it isn't baked into a box color, product line, but it isn't a secret. Buy what you like.
This question comes up from time to time. As Gunrunner John says, the LionChief A5 and Camelback engines are the only LionChief steam engines that are scale-sized. All the rest are semi-scale. The size difference between these engines and scale steam engines is definitely noticable.
However, many people own and operate both scale and LionChief steamers. There's nothing wrong with running them together, if you wish. Sometimes certain dimensions aren't hugely different. For example, a scale small Mikado steamer is 21" in length, whereas a LionChief Plus Pacific steamer measures 20" in length. The scale Mikado has a huskier appearance, and stands a bit higher, however.
Also, part of relatively small length difference is explained by the fact that the engine and tender are more closely and prototypically coupled on the scale Mikado. The actual length of that engine is 12 3/4 inches; the LionChief Pacific engine itself measures about 11 inches in length. In addition, it should be noted that the scale small Mikado is one of the smaller scale steam engines. The difference between LionChief steam engines and larger scale engines is more pronounced.
An apples to apples comparison would be a Lionel scale Pacific steam engine and tender, which is 23 1/2 inches long, vs. the LionChief Pacific engine and tender at 20 inches in length. Engine to engine, the scale Pacific engine is 13 1/2 inches long vs. 11 inches for the LionChief Pacific. Overall, the side-by-side difference between these engines and their tenders is very apparent.
LionChief diesel engines are a different story. Some are semi-scale, but a fair number of them are scale in size.
