A Dizzying, Daunting Dilemma: Too Much of a Good Thing?

If I were a Polar Express devotee I would be all over the plasma coat Lionel Store exclusive. Then again, pulling a set of MTH North Pole streamlined cars with a similar paint scheme and led lights on the side of the cars, hmmm.

But to your point, Nickel Plate Road matching blue/silver 18" aluminum custom run?

You bet.

Consolation prize heavyweights with the works.

Not bad either!

Yes, my door is always open.  Did I mention only 400 bucks each?  What would Lionel and Atlas charge?

The paper catalog is heavy from the weight of the prices of the trains!!

I believe that the catalog could be twice as big but Lionel’s BTO model protects them. If they don’t receive enough orders the item will be cancelled. Or a hobby store orders extras beyond the orders they receive and they have all the risk. This is what happens when they don’t have the competition they once had. 

Im sure Lionel knows not everything listed will be popular. The catalog is like their market research tool. If something is close but not close enough to produce they have that information for maybe a future catalog, or never again. 

I love this catalog and the wishlist I created, on the surface, for the products listed. After reviewing my choices the steam locomotives I picked, the scale Polar Express Berkshire and the Milwaukee Road 4-4-2 Atlantic, give me pause as beautiful as they are. 

There was a time I only wanted to buy scale Lionel steam. But during that time a few, maybe more than a few, had various problems. (Some that still need fixing). And the recent revealed gear box issues with the Mikados and PRR Decapods specifically, locos that I was interested in, did not instill confidence in the new steam locomotives. I don’t enjoy feeling this way because I love Lionel and all the other importers. But I can’t spend that kind of coin on something that may be infected with ongoing problems. 

So I’ll wait until these are delivered and the reviews are in. I’ll pay a higher price for waiting, if they don’t have any issues. And I won’t be buying the PE passenger cars without the engine either. Everything else is still in the back of my “Pipeline” behind other trains I’m interested in so I may miss out on all of the Lionel wishlist. And there’s the issue of availability of funds for any of it after receiving several preorders recently. It’s a process. 

First off, none of us need any of this stuff regardless of the manufacturer. It is all about wants.

Second, what is the big preorder discount, 10% give or take. You can easily get that much off after the release arrives from most dealers if you are patient. And if not so what? Unless you are preordering shopping carts full of stuff what does the 10% really add up to especially if you don't get free shipping and or no sales tax after the release?

Third, if I don't preorder it maybe it might not get built. So what. That is the BTO come on. With the exception of some of the more obscure rail lines/fantasy/holiday/custom run items what hasn't been produced already by somebody?

Fourth most of the new offerings are not so much about new never before produced engines/rolling stock (except custom runs) but rather more detail in the absolute and new software/features such as brass hybrids, water scoop smoke and wheel slippage.

Fifth if not for BTO there would be no new tooling. That myth is exposed in every catalog which announces new tooling/product even before sufficient orders have been received to satisfy manufacturing minimums.

I count myself among the happy participants in this madness and look forward to seeing what the new next big thing is going to be whether in a catalog or a weekly announcement. Shame on me for criticizing on one hand and participating with the other. And yes pages 130 and 131 in the Lionel catalog are tempting for my wants.

You may call me a hypocrite. I call myself worse than that on a regular basis.

Different products have different pre-order discounts. But anything over a 10% discount requires you to add the item into your cart to see the price… or you can call in your order the old-fashioned mail order way. Lionel reportedly doesn’t like their dealers “advertising” big discount pricing. So everyone’s published price-list has the same 10% discounts. But anyone seriously thinking about Lionel passenger cars should call Charles Ro, as they often have the most aggressive pricing without requiring a deposit — not a level you’ll typically see by dealers having a sale after products ship. So everyone decides what’s most important to them — which is the way it should be.