There is nothing posted for 2018, and it's March already!!! Just curious !!!
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Where are the Milk cars that are two years behind schedule?????
My guess is either a shipping schedule problem, or they're waiting for everything that's on the current schedule to be shipped. It could even be that they're too busy with other things to be able to update the shipping schedule.
Maybe DAVE OLSON ( from Lionel ) has some kind of answer for all of us !!!
After years of encouraging Lionel to keep a public-facing document up-to-date and relevant... I just ignore it nowadays, as it's become perpetually meaningless. 
Sounds like Lionel Stateside is gonna have their hands full for awhile with Mogul repairs and managing dealer returns of problem passenger cars. Yes... production of new stuff will undoubtedly still go onward 8,000 miles away. But keep in mind we're now in early March, so 1Q2018 is pretty much gone already (in terms of product deliveries). Stuff that IS due for Spring 2018 really has to already be in production NOW for a Spring delivery -- given the normal 6- to 7-week shipping time from China to NC to dealer/distributors. If stuff leaves China at the end of this month (and hopefully Lionel at least has SOME semblance of what that might be -- although the misinformation surrounding passenger car shipments recently doesn't hold out much hope for that 
), then dealers won't be seeing those items until mid- to late-May.
Funny how we're already looking at potential mid-year deliveries (at the earliest) for items that were catalog'd in 2017 Vol2 like the Berks, F3/F7's, TankTrains, E6's, etc... just to name a few goodies. And Lord knows where the Romanian Milk Cars are in the production queue? They've been MIA for quite some time now, so most folks have forgotten if they even pre-ordered them... or which ones they pre-ordered. 
David
The new policy at Lionel seems to favor "build to order" selling. If this is the trend then the seller is relegated to the role of a broker. This may make perfect sense in one regard while it ignores the majority "buy off the shelf" hobbyist. Could be wrong about this but I'll venture to say that MOST of the model railroad market does not order in advance. As one who has never done business this way; seeing the item( and reading user reports) is important.
China shuts down for the Lunar New Year every year as workers go home to celebrate with their families. Kind of like our Christmas holiday time. So everything stops there for two or three weeks. Just saying that that slows down all production.
Anyone know when the S-3 locomotives are due?
I'm at a point in this hobby where I can very easily enjoy what I have, I pre-ordered a few items in the latest catalog (Chessie switcher) and when it it arrives, that will be soon enough. Lionel has has made me a "don't care anymore customer". The Amtrak F40's were a fiasco. I waited so long and then it took another 6 months to get both of them fixed and running right.
Davety posted:This might slow things down a bit.
right off North Carolinas coast could be where the ships dock with trains.
There are very few LionScale made in the USA items on the shipping schedule.
Is this still a learning experiment?
Andrew
We're working on updating the schedule now. It always kind of slips to the bottom of the priority list.. lots of work to do with not many hands to do it.
The LionScale stuff is doing well! The big reefers are being done now. We've been building up the team and improving our processes. Very excited about how well it's growing.
And for the record, we haven't had any issues with ships or containers. It's a bummer to see other companies that do!
Dave,
Thanks for the UPDATE!! We all appreciate it, Especially us Folks who have Items ordered!!
Thanks again,
Fredstrains
Dave Olson posted:We're working on updating the schedule now. It always kind of slips to the bottom of the priority list.. lots of work to do with not many hands to do it.
The LionScale stuff is doing well! The big reefers are being done now. We've been building up the team and improving our processes. Very excited about how well it's growing.
And for the record, we haven't had any issues with ships or containers. It's a bummer to see other companies that do!
@Dave Olson, the shipping schedule on the website went from text to an image sometime in the last year or so. Would it be possible to get a text-based version (even if it is a PDF) that is searchable?
I can't search this format. Scrolling and reading every line is time consuming. I like to take my pre-order list and search your shipping schedule and update/set my expectations. I know my LHS (Henning's Trains) will call me when something comes in. I just like to self-serve as much as possible.
For the record, I'm using this site. If there's a better place to look, please teach me!
bigdodgetrain posted:Davety posted:This might slow things down a bit.
right off North Carolinas coast could be where the ships dock with trains.
I rather imagined the relevant containers were transferred to UP at Long Beach or NS at New Orleans and transported cross-country by rail. Maybe it's just the railfan in me.
What, me worry?
Dave Olson posted:We're working on updating the schedule now. It always kind of slips to the bottom of the priority list.. lots of work to do with not many hands to do it.
The LionScale stuff is doing well! The big reefers are being done now. We've been building up the team and improving our processes. Very excited about how well it's growing.
And for the record, we haven't had any issues with ships or containers. It's a bummer to see other companies that do!
Any update on the Milk cars, some of which are over two years late?
Gary,
Wrong thread - I know - but do you know where we are on the Moguls - are the parts in and are they accepting returns now ?
John D. posted:Dave Olson posted:We're working on updating the schedule now. It always kind of slips to the bottom of the priority list.. lots of work to do with not many hands to do it.
The LionScale stuff is doing well! The big reefers are being done now. We've been building up the team and improving our processes. Very excited about how well it's growing.
And for the record, we haven't had any issues with ships or containers. It's a bummer to see other companies that do!
@Dave Olson, the shipping schedule on the website went from text to an image sometime in the last year or so. Would it be possible to get a text-based version (even if it is a PDF) that is searchable?
I can't search this format. Scrolling and reading every line is time consuming. I like to take my pre-order list and search your shipping schedule and update/set my expectations. I know my LHS (Henning's Trains) will call me when something comes in. I just like to self-serve as much as possible.
For the record, I'm using this site. If there's a better place to look, please teach me!
Here you go, I converted it to excel for you.
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