I have a few questions about the 2014 Convention Car.
The first one is kind of dumb. I've never ordered a convention car before. If I understand correctly, I don't have to attend the convention, I just order it in the store like other LCCA products, and it shows up in the mail at some point?
Second, is this car a traditional size car based on the normal Lionel "Operating Boxcar" product, so it is about 10-1/4" or 10-1/2" long? Although I've been a member of the LCCA for a few years, I've never purchased the convention cars because they have been Standard O size cars during the time I've been in the club, and I only have traditional size Lionel locomotives and cars. So, this is the first convention car I am considering purchasing.
Third, I know next to nothing about rolling stock trucks. I was wondering what is the significance of the arch bar trucks? Looking through the product finder on the Lionel web site, it looks like Lionel normally puts sprung trucks on the operating boxcars. I have the impression that sprung trucks are generally considered a more deluxe type of truck and the cars ride better on the track than other types of trucks. If that is true, I'm wondering why the LCCA choose to go with a less deluxe type of truck than normally appears on the Lionel operating boxcars? Is it more prototypical in appearance to what was used during the time period? I'm just looking for more information as I consider buying the car. $99 is expensive for a traditional size boxcar, even an operating car.
Thanks for any info you can provide.
