|
|
Post by runamuckchuck on Aug 12, 2024 13:33:32 GMT
Of course I cannot find where I saw this but in a prior release of these sets by Lionel one of them did not have a diner available. Does anyone recall which set that was?
The next question is how likely is it that the aluminum cars from the older sets will match the new cars; allowing for normal aging etc.?
Not the most exciting thread granted, however your answers are appreciated.
|
|
|
|
Post by harborbelt70 on Aug 12, 2024 18:09:18 GMT
How far back do you need/want to go? I know that the PWC sets and even earlier ones did not come with a diner. However there was a 15" dining car made at one point but in the 2007 Catalog there were a total of 7 18" Congressional cars including a 6-25458 StationSounds Diner, which was made out of aluminum. I'm assuming you are thinking of 18" cars and possibly a later set than 2007 although it would not be like Lionel to fail to offer a dining car add-on.
This train and the Senator have not engaged my interest much over the years despite some great car names (Paul Revere, Martha Washington) but I do remember this thread from a few years back that explored what had been offered by way of GG1 Congressional and Senator sets over the years: ogrforum.com/topic/lionel-congressional-passenger-cars
I haven't kept up with what Lionels present-day 18" aluminum cars are like or where the tooling for them has been sourced but I notice from the latest catalog that it's said that these cars have kinematic couplers. Not everybody has found these reliable and there might be an issue matching them up with older cars.
|
|
|
|
Post by runamuckchuck on Aug 12, 2024 20:01:24 GMT
How far back do you need/want to go? I know that the PWC sets and even earlier ones did not come with a diner. However there was a 15" dining car made at one point but in the 2007 Catalog there were a total of 7 18" Congressional cars including a 6-25458 StationSounds Diner, which was made out of aluminum. I'm assuming you are thinking of 18" cars and possibly a later set than 2007 although it would not be like Lionel to fail to offer a dining car add-on.
This train and the Senator have not engaged my interest much over the years despite some great car names (Paul Revere, Martha Washington) but I do remember this thread from a few years back that explored what had been offered by way of GG1 Congressional and Senator sets over the years: ogrforum.com/topic/lionel-congressional-passenger-cars
I haven't kept up with what Lionels present-day 18" aluminum cars are like or where the tooling for them has been sourced but I notice from the latest catalog that it's said that these cars have kinematic couplers. Not everybody has found these reliable and there might be an issue matching them up with older cars. Yes, 2007 18" aluminum cars is the era. I am coming to the notion that the Senator is the train that did not offer the diner at the time. In 2023 diners are offered for both trains. I am a sucker for GG-1s and passed on the last Vision Line offerings. I am trying to restrain myself now.
|
|
|
|
Post by harborbelt70 on Aug 12, 2024 21:17:18 GMT
Yes, 2007 18" aluminum cars is the era. I am coming to the notion that the Senator is the train that did not offer the diner at the time. In 2023 diners are offered for both trains. I am a sucker for GG-1s and passed on the last Vision Line offerings. I am trying to restrain myself now.
Anyway, in 2015 Lionel cataloged a Senator aluminum 4-car passenger car set (SKU 6-20000) that included a diner but it did not have StationSounds, and the set looks like it was constructed out of generic parts, in particular the body extrusions. It even included a Vista Dome car which I don't think that the prototype ever had. Much earlier (2005) there was an aluminum Congressional StationSounds dining car (SKU 6-39198) called the John Hopkins that looks to me to have used a K-Line extrusion. It's entirely possible that the Senator sets were made without a dining car well after the Congressional sets included one. You could only be sure by checking back catalogs but Lionel no longer maintains them back that far.
Incidentally I've noticed that there there were many more Lionel 18" aluminum cars cataloged than I previously thought was the case.
|
|
|
|
Post by rockymountaineer on Aug 13, 2024 1:29:03 GMT
...
Incidentally I've noticed that there there were many more Lionel 18" aluminum cars cataloged than I previously thought was the case.
I have many of these sets... with no plans to part with ANY of them. They are far superior to Lionel's 21" ABS plastic cars... most of which I sold along the way. The only 21" passenger sets still on my roster include Lionel's 120th Anniversary Set and the Great Northern Empire Builder Set, the latter of which was never offered in 18" aluminum by Lionel -- only 15" aluminum with passenger silhouette windows.
People made a lot of noise about Lionel's 18" aluminum passenger cars not having flush windows. But frankly that was all a bunch of useless whoey. The cars look FINE... and as I said, they run circles around Lionel's 21" plastic cars.
Given Lionel's propensity to keep us on the edge of our seats nowadays (i.e., most recently the F-19 delays), I wouldn't jump into the new 18" aluminum passenger cars too quickly... unless you have a dynamite pre-order price along with an understanding with the dealer that you can inspect them to your satisfaction BEFORE the dealer ships them. After all, Lionel has been out of the aluminum passenger car business for roughly 9-10 years. So who knows WHERE the new models are being manufactured, WHO's doing the manufacturing, OR whether they will match similar road-named cars from years past.
|
|
|
|
Post by harborbelt70 on Aug 13, 2024 6:49:35 GMT
...
Incidentally I've noticed that there there were many more Lionel 18" aluminum cars cataloged than I previously thought was the case.
I have many of these sets... with no plans to part with ANY of them. They are far superior to Lionel's 21" ABS plastic cars... most of which I sold along the way. The only 21" passenger sets still on my roster include Lionel's 120th Anniversary Set and the Great Northern Empire Builder Set, the latter of which was never offered in 18" aluminum by Lionel -- only 15" aluminum with passenger silhouette windows.
People made a lot of noise about Lionel's 18" aluminum passenger cars not having flush windows. But frankly that was all a bunch of useless whoey. The cars look FINE... and as I said, they run circles around Lionel's 21" plastic cars.
I agree that the aluminum body 18” cars are far superior to the later ABS plastic 21” cars. I have only kept one of the ABS sets being the UP Excursion Train cars as no other importer has made them in 3rail O scale.
P.S. This is the Senator set from 2015 (Signature Catalog) that was aluminum and included a dining car without Railsounds. So far this is the first example of a Senator set I have found that included a diner:
|
|
|
|
Post by Traindiesel! on Aug 13, 2024 7:08:31 GMT
...
Incidentally I've noticed that there there were many more Lionel 18" aluminum cars cataloged than I previously thought was the case.
I have many of these sets... with no plans to part with ANY of them. They are far superior to Lionel's 21" ABS plastic cars...
….People made a lot of noise about Lionel's 18" aluminum passenger cars not having flush windows. But frankly that was all a bunch of useless whoey. The cars look FINE... and as I said, they run circles around Lionel's 21" plastic cars…….
But those windows on those aluminum beauties look like a black eye on a supermodel!! They stick out from the car like thick goosebumps. They’re as thick as 1940’s Coke bottles! Much hooey!
However, I overlooked this eyesore because otherwise the 18” aluminum PRR Congressional set I bought are the most beautiful passenger cars Lionel has ever created. Equal to K-Line and surpassed only by Golden Gate Depot passenger equipment offerings, of which I have all three.
Headed up by a GG1 or a set of E7’s or E8’s makes for an impressive and beautiful passenger train.
|
|
|
|
Post by harborbelt70 on Aug 13, 2024 7:34:51 GMT
I have many of these sets... with no plans to part with ANY of them. They are far superior to Lionel's 21" ABS plastic cars...
….People made a lot of noise about Lionel's 18" aluminum passenger cars not having flush windows. But frankly that was all a bunch of useless whoey. The cars look FINE... and as I said, they run circles around Lionel's 21" plastic cars…….
But those windows on those aluminum beauties look like a black eye on a supermodel!! They stick out from the car like thick goosebumps. They’re as thick as 1940’s Coke bottles! Much hooey!
However, I overlooked this eyesore because otherwise the 18” aluminum PRR Congressional set I bought are the most beautiful passenger cars Lionel has ever created. Equal to K-Line and surpassed only by Golden Gate Depot passenger equipment offerings, of which I have all three.
Headed up by a GG1 or a set of E7’s or E8’s makes for an impressive and beautiful passenger train.
I'll just fan the flames here because to me an eyesore is a passenger car without an interior (silhouettes) or one that comes stock from Lionel with no passengers and a bland monotone interior assembly. I remember that at the time they were issued the allegedly bug-eyed 18" aluminum car windows were jumped on with a high level of criticism by some people who were fussy about them but they did not put me off. Of course, they don't stand comparison with anything made by GGD; a pity that GGD could not get their offering of 18" cars off the ground.
|
|
|
|
Post by runamuckchuck on Aug 13, 2024 12:47:46 GMT
Thanks to all the respondents for their insightful and focused posts providing useful and interesting facts/observations. While the Senator set with a rail sounds diner would compliment my existing Senator consist, I share the trepidation and reservations of Dave which are well deserved given the absence of Lionel from aluminum car production.
As for the window controversy, I am sorry to admit that I never noticed whether they were Hooey (pun in intended), Dewey, or Louie as I was fixated on the shiny aluminum exterior. However I appreciate those for whom the windows may be an annoyance.
But on the issue of interiors, give me details with passengers. This DIY open up the brand new car and glue people your self is real hooey to me.
And a special thanks to haborbelt70 for the research and history he provided.
|
|
