Review of Mr. Muffin's special run Boston & Albany A1 Berksh

Reading about the B&A Berkshire and its coloring/painting of the Lionel release, as usual a BTO controversy comes up. What I gathered and looking at many pages on the internet, there was a question by a modeler on and if the Tenders of those painted green engines also had their Tenders painted green. The reply was from a railroader who had a friend that worked and was knowledgeable of the B & A and his reply was that the Berkshires Tenders were kept black and that the engines had a "Olive Green" paint color.

I should add, this reply was from 2010. I'm just glad that Lionel wasn't in charge of my new pickup truck painting.

I forgot all about the Lionel apologists!….they sure like to see crap through rose colored glasses! ……BUT, the only way you can view this poor Berkshire, is in the pitch black dark, ….even then you’d be able to spot it! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

There's a reason that the most colorful, unprototypical locomotive schemes sell the best. Lionel apologists outnumber the very, very serious rivet counters who honestly believe there was one correct color that can be identified 70 years after the last one was scrapped. The reality is that photographic evidence can be found for many different shades of whatever color one likes to see. Between variations in original paint, repainting and repairing, and weathering, many locomotives actually did appear quite different at various points in their existence.

I realize these points will not land well with those with great in depth knowledge and deep convictions, but they have some merit. And calling people derogatory names doesn't change any of it. The sad truth (to the very, extremely serious rivet counters) is that there is a large community of hobbyists who consider three rail trains to be toys, not scale models. Lionel sells to these folks too. Perhaps more numerous than said rivet counters.  And in general, absolute prototypical accuracy isn't a priority, so no we don't care very much about these issues. Sorry...not sorry.

If you don't like the color, you can sell it, return it or have it repainted or weathered as options. Not ordering until you see it makes sense too, although with constrained supply, it may be harder to find or more expensive than pre-ordering. Not one of life's greater tragedies, obviously.

And we will have to agree to disagree about the degree of moral degeneracy present in Lionel and their despised apologists . There's always HO, where prototypical accuracy is a priority for manufacturers, dealers and hobbyists.  Now I have to go check on my Phantom and Girl's Set.

I have said this for years about the quality control and after 2017 I have refused to buy when BTO was the only option. I don't accept shoddy workmanship when I'm paying top dollar. There is no excuse for the issues Lionel has had.

The top reason it keeps continuing is the buyers willingness to accept the shoddy quality control. Why fix the issues if the customers keep accepting it.
It will only improve if the customers demand it.

Sorry guys but the the buyers are the problem!!!

Dave