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Post by harborbelt70 on Sept 23, 2022 7:53:33 GMT
I’ve decided to post this for information purposes as it reflects something I don’t like, but up to a point understand, in the future direction of 3-rail O scale.
It appears that Lionel has decided to withdraw completely from supplying replacement electronics for TMCC and early Legacy models. I’ve read on the other forum that very recently people who had such parts in their online Lionel shopping carts in anticipation of the usual half-price sale at this time of year suddenly found that they were no longer in stock and the below message was circulated shortly afterwards by Lionel:
To say the least this is hardly great PR and leaves me cold in terms of continued customer loyalty.
There does not seem to be an explanation from Lionel of what has happened to parts that until very recently were available for sale. Unconfirmed suggestions are circulating that they have been sold to a third party, but in any case they won’t be available from Lionel any more. Suppliers such as ERR still have certain stocks and may go on manufacturing the TMCC boards they supply, and there are rumors of other people who might be interested in producing some of what Lionel won’t itself provide any more.
While I stress that this is confined to older electronics and not the latest Legacy system version, it’s also being suggested that the reason for this sudden change is an effort by Lionel to force more customers into buying their newer products e.g. Bluetooth-equipped ones. If so I deeply resent that and won’t buy into it, but I have already very sharply limited new purchases in view of ongoing QC issues and my own space and other limitations.
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Post by ptc on Sept 23, 2022 12:58:40 GMT
This is a road that Lionel seems to be embracing, the customer is in the back of the line. TMCC has been staple for them for so many years and there are thousands of these products still in use. Maybe instant obsolescence is a good "track" for them, but not so much for the hobby or the individual who wants his TMCC engine repaired.
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Post by david1 on Sept 23, 2022 21:31:25 GMT
It seems no parts for tmcc and early legacy.what's The cutoff date for earlY legacy? Legacy came about 2007, so is the cutoff 2010, 2015?
Will the price of both tmcc and early legacy be reduced by dealers and sellers?
Dave
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Post by ptc on Sept 23, 2022 22:30:40 GMT
Raises all kinds of questions, Dave.
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Post by RFCTrainGarden on Sept 23, 2022 23:12:10 GMT
It seems no parts for tmcc and early legacy.what's The cutoff date for earlY legacy? Legacy came about 2007, so is the cutoff 2010, 2015? Will the price of both tmcc and early legacy be reduced by dealers and sellers? Dave It's everything pre- Railsounds Lite boards. So, roughly 2011. (CC2S was 2010 that I have, it is impacted- First run of Legacy K4s were 2012, not impacted)
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Post by david1 on Sept 24, 2022 1:33:57 GMT
Nice of Lionel to announce this only a few weeks before York. The dealers will not be happy if they have alot of older stock to sell and buyers may hesitate on buying older items.
Dave
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Post by harborbelt70 on Sept 24, 2022 1:53:55 GMT
Someone (Trainz has already been mentioned) may step into the breach to offer parts that Lionel undoubtedly had at one point but for whatever reason no longer wants to supply. That would be similar to what happened with ERR after a load of people complained about Lionel's decision to abandon it. In any case I think that there will still be a secondary market for parts that have been cannibalized from older models, but no one is going to regard that as a user-friendly option.
My best guess at this point is that Lionel see their future as selling new models based on current Legacy technology. If the cut-off point is 2011 that leaves a lot of us out in the cold with no obvious solution at this point.
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Post by JKP on Sept 24, 2022 18:28:02 GMT
I have passed on older Legacy Locomotives, now Im glad I did. My oldest Legacy Loco is 2013. I wouldn't mind buying newer Legacy versions of my TMCC Locos if they are made and will fit my curves.
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Post by dlagrua on Sept 24, 2022 19:01:20 GMT
I predicted this a while ago. Parts are still readily available for P/W, MPC, and Lionel LLC but after that good luck. IMO Lionel is now marketing very expensive model trains that will one day be end up as disposable or at best wall hangars.
All of Lionel's "authorized repair centers" have been closed and the only option is now the corporate service center. With a company so reluctant to offer quality service or replacement parts; I often wonder what the strategy of "cut your way to profitability" will have on the future of this company.
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Post by ptc on Sept 24, 2022 19:27:21 GMT
Fortunately for our use, we can switch to conventional operations and not be significantly hindered. Guests want to see them run and once underway, the Legacy controller is put down.
Others with more complex train operations could be significantly impacted.
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Post by Adam on Sept 24, 2022 19:34:29 GMT
I think this is just another issue in a string of them. This is a hobby of people who like to tinker and maintain their models for a long time. For Lionel to forget that will have a ripple impact.
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Post by josef on Sept 24, 2022 21:22:21 GMT
Does one really think with everything going on, lack of Warranty Centers, lack of parts or detail parts broken or lost. They don't attend the shows. More and more are BTO.
Does anyone really think Lionel has people skills and seek customers satisfaction? There was a time when every piece was checked before it was boxed up.
There was a time when they cared, and it wasn't so long ago.
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Post by dlagrua on Sept 24, 2022 22:01:35 GMT
Does one really think with everything going on, lack of Warranty Centers, lack of parts or detail parts broken or lost. They don't attend the shows. More and more are BTO. Does anyone really think Lionel has people skills and seek customers satisfaction? There was a time when every piece was checked before it was boxed up. There was a time when they cared, and it wasn't so long ago. I would only guess that Guggenheim Partners, the Wall Street equity /investment firm that owns Lionel and a number of other companies places strict demands on its portfolio of companies in terms of profitability. Lionel serves what is probably now a flat market and its management must report quarterly profits. Such being the case, profitability can only be increased by raising prices or cutting costs and providing less. Perhaps this is what we are now seeing.
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Post by atsda on Sept 25, 2022 3:14:34 GMT
I am not involved in using TMCC or Legacy. None the less, I can comment on how Lionel's decision, timing can undermine the confidence and loyalty that buyers have had. Alfred
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Post by dennym57 on Sept 25, 2022 4:22:42 GMT
I like the older stuff, but if I can't get the parts for them then that will be the end of it. Maybe I should stock up on ERR boards then I can buy something other than Lionel and install the boards in them.
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