Who's in for the Milwaukee Road Acela?

@NYC 428 posted:

Although, this model is somewhat different, in that it does not have automatic opening doors, but rather manual doors and passive tilt instead of automatic.  Maybe that's enough of a difference for Lionel to say its not the same.

Different? Yes, I think so, but as in not nearly as ambitious. That is probably a sign of the times.

As I remember it, the Acela Lionel cataloged a few years back, and then cancelled, had automatic doors, which were said at the time to be based on Lionel's new subway door technology, including wired connections rather than IR. What it did not have was any tilt feature.

Well, the tilt seems to be back but as a "passive" which I take to mean only works when you trigger it. That sounds a lot like my original issue Acela, where the tilt has only ever worked in "demo" mode when the train is not moving - or at least I detect no tilt at all when the set is running on my room-sized oval.

@Bryant Dunivan 111417 posted:

You hit it on the head.  My thought is that they found the Verandah and Acela tooling and decided to go with the extra schemes.  As I mentioned earlier, what will be manufactured with so many choices.  By how the catalog is being decribed, it almost is a statement that we are here, MTH is on its way.  I look forward to receiving my copy.

I actually think this recent Tsunami of fantasy paint schemes is the only way Lionel can meet the minimum order level to start production.

Rusty

@Bryant Dunivan 111417 posted:

My thought is that they found the Verandah and Acela tooling and decided to go with the extra schemes.  

I think that they have always had the Acela tooling and have been looking for an opportunity to "recycle" it in what is now Lionel's time-honored way. Veranda might be different, as I agitated with Lionel a few years back to reissue it in die cast, got nowhere, but I and others renewed efforts last year, which Lionel seems to have listened to. The Veranda was Korean-built, not Chinese, and that might have made the tooling more accessible.

I wonder where it will be built this time? I have not been totally happy with the Vietnamese products they've put out lately (small parts falling off, especially on the UP Excursion cars). But these have not included any engines.

@Rusty Traque posted:

I actually think this recent Tsunami of fantasy paint schemes is the only way Lionel can meet the minimum order level to start production.

Rusty

"Bingo!" Give that man a cigar, I think you are spot on when it comes to the needed level for production.

I own the original set. Wondering why there are no opening passenger doors on the new models with the same tooling?
Are you telling me they had 15 years and couldn’t figure out a better way to make them function correctly or should say reliably??

@MartyE posted:

I think the Scale coaches though have reached their limit.

I guess they did Marty. Now you have two Pullman cars to add to the collection! Yipeee...I think!

I don't own an Acela set, but was excited to hear it was being offered.  Wholly disappointed... I wanted those opening doors, especially at that price point. So, no orders from me.   IMO, as fantasy paint schemes go, that Milwaukee version is sharp.

It doesn't get much interest from me but I wanted to drop in to say the Milwaukee one did have a sweet lookin' paint scheme! I'm not really into the passenger stuff anyway.

I was surprised to see it because I also thought they weren't ever going to make one again.

I like the Milwaukee Road Acela!   For decades the MR was electrified in the West and through the Cascade mountains, so its not a huge stretch of imagination (assuming that had the MR kept their electrified line and the railroad go bankrupt)  to envision this Olympian Hiawatha Acela zipping through the Cascades Mountains!  Then, one could also assume that since the track was not electrified all the way to Seattle and Tacoma, you would then need to add in some diesel power to actually drag or push the train into the train stations in Seattle and Tacoma, in order to have  a complete prototypical operating session.  Unfortunately, I don't have 72 inch curves and won't be able to buy this set, but if it was rated for 54 inches, I think the paint scheme is really cool and would enjoy having it on my layout.   

@Robert Cushman posted:

I own the original set. Wondering why there are no opening passenger doors on the new models with the same tooling?
Are you telling me they had 15 years and couldn’t figure out a better way to make them function correctly or should say reliably??

You’ll know what the door mechanisms are like, as in intricate, from your set. I have no idea what the catalog description really means by manually opened doors on this version (are they sprung somehow?) but it’s a step down from the original that probably relates to manufacturing cost.

I like the Milwaukee Road scheme but this version seems overpriced.

at least they have not painted it for the North Shore Line.......  actually i think the Pennsy and the New Haven versions look nice, but the Milwaukee......  i dont care for