Breaking News!!! Lionel to make Legacy Cab Forwards!!!

I would say it is very good news for those who were disappointed when the previous cataloged item was cancelled.

It is very good news.

 

That's cool, just hope it doesn't get cancelled again.

 

Super news. I've been waiting for it since they cancelled it in 2008. Wander what upcoming means? Late this year or well into 2014?

Oh yes, that's very good news indeed especially given the relatively long time ago the Legacy cab forward was axed.

 

Rivet counters/steam historians will no doubt weigh in to correct me but isn't a cab forward pulling a passenger consist a little odd? Anyway, I wonder which one(s) Lionel will offer.

The way Lionel is building to orders now unless there is sufficient pre- orders it will be cancelled. So order away.

The cab forwards were designed for freight service and did that the majority of the time, but SP actually did assign cab forwards to passenger duty occasionally.  Many times they acted as helpers going over grades but they also pulled passenger trains solo as well.

Thanks for highlighting this bit of good news. 

I have the TMCC cab-forward from several years ago, and it's a great locomotive.  So unless Lionel does this "upcoming" cab-forward with steam effects, it's a non-starter for me.  But I'm also a realist... Unless it's a Vision Line loco, Lionel will forego whistle-steam, and they'll sell all they make to those who don't own one yet.  OTOH, this may be one of the first "reservation-only" pieces.

Considering Lionel only seems to be delivering motive power these days, we just may see this loco BEFORE the passenger cars ship!!!

David

Did you mean to say SP GS-2 or GS-1. A GS-1 would be very interesting. Not done in 3 rail to my knowledge.

 

Pete

Probably was supposed to read "GS-2." Hadn't thought of using the Sunset cars with the Daylight engine.

 

I'm not sure that was ever done prototypically, but I suppose it's an option for those who weren't satisfied using the Shasta cars with the GS-2 due to the color differences.

I assume you are referring to the "proposed" SP "new tooling" cab forward (AC-5/6/7/8?). 

 

What if Lionel is simply re-issuing the "big cab forward", i.e. the AC-12, in Legacy?  I sure hope they do different road numbers and different paint schemes, since in the later years of SP steam operations, MANY of the cab forwards no longer had the big SOUTHERN PACIFIC lettering on the tender sides.

If they were re-releasing the AC-12 in different cab numbers instead of the cancelled AC-4 I'd be even happier.  I actually like the later-generation cab forwards better anyway.  The main reason is I like the later-generation angled cab fronts instead of the flat face, and the other, bigger reason is because all cab forwards prior to the AC-6 didn't have the distinctive air compressor sounds.

 

Of course if Lionel does do the AC-12 again I hope they make some corrections on the sounds to make them more accurate than their first version.  The whistle sound was not even close, especially with the quilling effect (the real cab forward's whistle was controlled by an air valve, not a pull string, and because of that the sound was on or off, and there really wasn't any quilling like the Lionel model has.  The other issue with the Lionel model is that the air compressor sounds were only on when the model was at idle, when it should be heard when the engine is underway as well.  I have the Lionel version, and it's terrific looking but I'm seriously considering having it converted to PS-2 as MTH's cab forward sounds are much more accurate.

 

I would also hope that Lionel would revise the tooling on the smokebox so the air compressor vent pipes are separately-applied instead of being molded in.  The way it is now the vent pipes simulate being routed over the smokebox front and over the feedwater heater instead of routing straight up to the atmosphere like the prototype does.  With Legacy, they could smoke-equipp it so that it simulates the compressed air venting to the air which would really be cool.

 

This video shows prototype cab forward #4274 doing some shakedown runs at the Roseville yard prior to a final railfan excursion and gives a really good visual of the air compressors venting to the atmosphere behind the smokestacks.  You also notice how the compressor sounds can still be heard with the locomotive moving and not just idling.

 

 

 

 

I have a Williams scale brass cab forward, that's going to get PS/2.  If Lionel had offered this one the first time, I'd probably have bought it.  However, they sat on their hands too long.

 

A GS-1 would have been very tempting; Baldwin-built, never streamlined, handsome.

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This Lionel Legacy SP cab-forward will do one thing, for sure - I have intended to put

my old (but TRO) MTH PS1 AC6 on the ERR Cruise Commander To-Do

schedule. This may bump it up. I'll leave the swinging whistles to others.

 

I prefer the flat-face cab-forwards anyway. 3rd Rail did a really early one that I would

love to find - cheap.

 

Hmmmm - will be the first Legacy or Vision steamer I take a pass on.  Cabs below behind the boiler on my layout!

Swinging whistles?

Yes, and smoking bells too! I'll have NONE of that stuff.

If this is true I will be very interested!

Forgive my ignorance, but can someone post a link to this announcement?

Heres the link, the article says nothing about a new cab forward  It merely mentions other locos Lionel has produced that would go with the NEW SUNSET LIMITED PASSENGER CARS if you don't purchase the NEW SP E 9's.

 

Lionel Product Spotlight

 

 

........ as people are trying to call in their preorders......

RickO you just have to read between the lines and it will say what ever.

Does 'Legacy' mean a MSRP North of $1000.00???? I have a MTH RK Cab Forward.....would love a scale loco.....but these $1000 plus locos are very hard to justify for ME.

A Legacy SCALE SP cab forward might just be NORTH of $1500!!!!!

Apparently someone at Lionel got their wrists smacked, because the reference to the Cab Forwards has been edited.  Here's the latest version of the paragraph as of 4:30PM Eastern Time today...

 

Now you can recreate the glory years of this fine train on the Southern Pacific. The 18″ aluminum passenger cars will look great behind our new E9s, or a variety of other motive power, including our F-units, Alco PA’s,  streamlined GS steam locomotives and even Cab Forwards.

 

Earlier this morning, the reference to cab forwards was something to the effect, "even upcoming Cab Forwards."  Oh the difference one word can make!!!

 

Nothing like a little drama for the day...

 

David

If they go with Vision Line features and detail, yes... It would be worth it.  But just a Legacy electronics upgrade alone with no tooling changes/enhancements, no way.  Of course, Lionel will try to get what they can get -- especially if they treat it as a "reservations only" piece.

 

But now it's no longer officially "upcoming" (see my post above), so we'll just have to wait and see.  

 

David

There is an old saying:  You don't get into a hobby to save money.

Lionel would be wise to reissue their AC-12 Cab Forward, with upgraded details, whistle steam and the unique Cab Forward sounds (airpumps in particular).  It would be a winner.

 

The SP Cab Forwards regularly pulled passenger trains.  The OWL and the Overland Limited come to mind.

 

The SP Cab Forward was THE BEST, all around articulated ever!  It regularly pulled passenger and freight on mountain and flatland grades, operated as pushers and performed many other various duties..  And thanks to SP's generous clearances, they ran on thousands of miles of their system; they were not solely used in a specialized service in a local geographic location as many of their big cousins were. No, these guys ran system wide  on the SP.  Yes, there were bigger and stronger engines, but only these Cab Forwards were really the all around champs (the only big steam to challenge these guys in versaltility were the UP Challengers).  

 

Steve

IF it is upcoming, it's on my list to buy....  

I can assure everyone that it was originally written as upcoming; I copied and pasted that paragraph from my email, and it still says upcoming in the email I received.

Yes, you are absolutely right - and now it's been changed.

 

Any of you who are lucky enough to make it to Lionel's open house this weekend can ask (and report back) whether there's any intention on Lionel's part to make a Legacy or even a Vision cab forward in the near future. My guess is that any answer you get will be totally non-committal, although I'd love to be proved wrong. However I think that there are more than enough people around to make it worth their while to say "yes."

Just maybe the Cab Froward is in fact one of the engines for 2014 that is to be cataloged in the fall catalog.  And may be someone had a hair-trigger and accidentally announced before they were suppose to. 

I'd like a cab forward that runs on my O-36 track with all the sounds.  Command control isn't a must.

That's already been made; can be found in select hobby stores and/or on eBay or other secondary markets:

 

LionMaster Cab Forward

 

MTH RailKing Cab Forward

 

 

If Lionel makes a cab forward, it will be pay first special order.

It may be on-order basis but it is up to the LHS if you have to pre-pay.  Personally I won't prepay for a item that may or may not be made.

 

Jim

I don't mind paying a refundable deposit in case it's not made.

Don't confuse a reservation-only / pre-order approach with "pay first".  

 

If Lionel or its dealer network is even thinking of payment up front on these new pre-order-only models, they're absolutely nuts -- especially given the current state of mass confusion with overseas manufacturing and logistics.    Their track record for estimating deliveries (in general) is horrible, so payment up front would be a deal-breaker for me.  Hopefully, more practical heads will prevail in the marketing meetings.

 

David

There are Legacy locos and JLC level detail locos. A Legacy Cab Forward will be great IF it has the detail of the previous version. If most of the detail is cast in, I'll keep my Cab Forward. Legacy sounds and slow motion are great. What is even better are the details of the older locos. The previously issued Cab Forward was NOT even a JLC loco.

 

Hopefully, Lionel will keep the detail and raise the price rather than sacrifice detail to lower the price a bit. As Hot Water has pointed out, this loco will be expensive anyway.

In any event, I DO want swinging whistles and steam bells.

 

 Scrappy