Centipede blowout, Wow

Uh, yeah on the Centipede price. I bought my NdeM last year at a really good price from

Legacy Station in Atlanta, and this N. Smith price beats it by nearly $100, as I recall.

I'm not complaining, mind you, as I still got a good price per the catalogue, but that

Seaboard A unit sure looks tempting. These ran into my home state (to Birmingham

and Montgomery) if not actually to my home town. So, there's that.

To me its one of those engines that would be "hard to run".  I have funny definitions for things when it comes to trains;  it's interesting what goes through my head when I buy a locomotive.  Things such as:

- Will it run on my curves (OK, so that's a gimme,,,)

- Will it look half way decent on the curves I have if it can?

- Will it look good pulling 8-10 cars instead of something more prototypical?

- Will it be easy to get on and off the layout (important for me as a carpet central guy)?

- Are there lots of delicate detail parts that I will at some point break?

- Do I like it enough to get serious use out of it (ie: will I actually run it)?

For me, the 'pede is just one of 'those' engines - I like them, but I could never really get one to work on my layout.  I'm guessing there are a lot of people in that boat.  I'm in that boar with a scale E-8 AA set - it's not getting along with my layout, and I'm not even running the 'B' unit... but I had to have it, and bought it on impulse.  

Somebody stop the insanity of it all, P-U-H-L-E-A-S-E ! ! !

$1,099 for a V/L AA???  And $575 for Single A's??? 

Forget about the price increases in the new Lionel catalog at this point... it's time to go shopping at Nicholas Smith Trains for super-sale items. 

David

Charlie ran the Centipede blowout at around the same price a couple months ago. I grabbed the N de M. Looks like Lionel still has a bunch of stuff left over from previous catalogs that the big dealers are picking up for a song & dance. Same thing will happen a year from now with the 2015 catalogs over production.

Check out the Illinois Central 38358 set at Gryzboski's.  Rockbottom on that as well.

As predicted, they're trying to unload the oversized hulks with ever increasing blowout pricing.  Most folks have found out the hard way gigantic trains simply look out of place on most home layouts.

What you're looking at is the precurser to the fate of 21" passenger cars.

Only difference, Lionel avoided the risk with BTO.

After the initial hype fades, it'll be those stuck with the oversized plastic hulks to take the hit.

I pridict when reality sets in, Lionel 18" aluminum passenger setd will get a big bump in valuation very soon.

Joe 

Man if I had an extra $1K laying around.

On a home layout you must recognize how it all blends together.  If it is a giant layout, large engines look good but if it is the medium sized layout (that I believe is the norm for the average collector) size becomes a concern. Same with the length of a train. In short, proportion has a direct correlation to perspective.

Almost $600 for a single diesel loco is still beyond my comfort zone.....but go for it if so inclined!!!!! I'd love to find one some day......maybe someones dead unit will find it's way to me!!

Centipede blowout? While I know you are talking a Baldwin locomotive model selling at very low price, my mind's eye sees this caterpillar like creature exploding all over the place! Ewwww!

I would love to have either the N de M single unit (I used to live in Mexico and Tucson is only 90 miles or so from the border) or the Baldwin demo (just plain gorgeous, and being a demo it goes with any railroad). But, that's still an awful lot of money for a diesel, even at a hair over half MSRP. Great deal, but I'll probably let it go. 

Can anyone post an actual photo (not catalog art) of the demo?

I'd be all over it, even with still trying to pay the Big Boy off, if they had the A-A of the PRR 5 stripe because that is the last locomotive needed for my PRR 150th collection.

Awww, we still have these in stock and I believe cheaper too.

Sad end for an run of less than 1000 AA sets . Lots of features, different look, apparently poor sales

http://www.nassauhobby.com/XC4...ldwin-Centipede.html

To bad you dont have the pennsy in AA still for that price  Charlie..

I can't find an A-A set in PRR (preferably 5 stripe) or UP!!!

Any one knows where I can find a set for $1000-$1100???

Can't help you at that price point, but Nicholas Smith has the PRR 5-striper for $1499.

But if you can live with a PRR single-striper, they have that model for $1099.  Looks like you can save $100 per stripe!!! 

Call them!

David

This is an interesting comment.  Personally, I think my 21" cars will look pretty good on my home layout.  Might see overhang on the O-72 and O-80 curves, but they will look fantastic on the long straights.

Jim

...because they're way too big for most folks and their layouts, as others have noted. And while they're big and heavy and have a lot of wheels, there was nothing to particularly distinguish them as Vision engines and command the huge price. Lionel may well have sold more if they'd made them with plastic bodies at a lower price.

And they'll have to be long, with a train measuring 16 1/2 feet!

My Columbian set - scale E7 with (6) 21 inch scale cars comes out to about 12 feet.  My Train of Tomorrow set - scale E7 with (4) 21 inch scale cars comes out to about 8 1/2 feet.  The straight at the back of my layout will be 18 feet between the curves.

Jim

They don't look too big on "O-356"....

After sitting forever on the Lionel.com e-store, the Cenetipede's are now shown as out of stock. This recently happened when Lionel had lots of TMCC speeders listed, then Charlie Nassau had them at great prices, then Lionel had them as out of stock. The Lionel e-store has been the dumping ground for products that don't sell. They still have the PWC Wabash F3 dummy A unit from about ten years ago!

Look at the Nassau Trains link right above your post, he has the 5 stripe for $549,  X2 that would be $1098.

Sam,

I think this happens more often than we realize, and it's something Lionel needs to be careful of at times that they don't shoot themselves in the foot from an overall product line perspective.  It's all about price/performance and perceived value to the consumer.  Setting a price-point on these jewels -- even during a blow-out of 2-year-old inventory -- has ramifications.

I've said enough on the forum about the VL Big Boy vs. the upcoming Y6b.  But frankly, once I saw the price-point of the Y6b, I never even considered the Big Boy again.  Now admittedly, the Big Boy just wasn't my cup of tea to begin with.  But no way was I gonna shell out $2K for it once I saw the new Y6b coming in at $1400 -- not to mention the former JLC Y6b now selling for $800.  We can all do the math.   

It all just goes to show that there's an extremely high premium to be paid when buying the newest stuff being delivered right off the boat from China, whereas year after year there ALWAYS seems to be some terrific value shopping to be done if we're lucky enough to have some "spare cash" stashed away for opportunities like this one.  The biggest issue -- aside from building that stash of spare cash -- is these specific opportunities remain so unpredictable.  We just never know exactly where or when the super bargains will pop up.  And quite often, the temptation of the super deal bargain price may cause us to buy something we had no plans to buy just a few days ago.    I suppose there are worse problems to have, for sure.

David 

As much of a SSF (Slobbering Seaboard Freak) as I am, that's the one engine I can do without.  Just not attracted to that engine.  The MTH AA units were going for $450-$750, but if I don't want 1 I certainly don't want 2.

Now if they want to cut their price on a MTH Russian Decapod to the same level I might have to take a look.

Problem with that would be they both have the same number, and then wouldn't have that wonderfully haunting horn echo that the A-A set has.  Hearing that alone on Eric's video sold me on the VL version of these, otherwise I'd just get the MTH PS-1 version.

I also think the original A-A sets had slightly different sound files so that the engine revs up and down were not in unison, not like buying two of the same engine and the sounds go up and down together.  My Centipedes are in storage so I can't check this, but I remember how different the engines sounded during start-up.  Really neat.

I love the look of these Centipede AA Units.  However, the price

and the size are a deterrent for this train lover.  My layout is

'8x11' I can imagine this baby going down the main line toward

072 curves, and promptly going thru the wall of my train room

into my neighbor's living room.

Mercy one more thing about my neighbor, he just pick up a new

60" Flat Screen TV.  How could I explain to him what happen?

Many thanks,

Billy C 

Luckily for me no UP sets

I searched and searched for the "right" deal for the last 2 years (since I got back into the hobby), and finally found a set of 5 stripe PRR AA Centipedes NIB back in December. Got 'em at an awesome price (considering) and though my layout is "only" 8x12 with two O72 loops around the outside (more in the middle but not O72) I run these 46" monsters often. As others have said, the sound is terrific, horns and engines and all. I am very pleased with them. Put 6-8 cars behind them and let 'em go. Quite soothing.

.

I have one Lionel single unit, Mint, and an MTH AA pair, also mint still in stock. You can have either at my cost, plus free shipping. E-mail me if you're interested, and I will send you the number. Thanks. 

Great pic, Neal!

Peter

Check out my prices on Centerpedes that we have left. We "Blow the Blowouts" out of the water! 

http://www.nassauhobby.com/XC4/Closeout-Sale/

Wow, that is low.  But sadly not an A-A PRR 5 stripe.