I recently purchased a brand new locomotive, Lionel's Lionchief General in Pennsylavnia livery (product number 2132070). I thought I would share my impressions of the locomotive for my fellow enthusiasts on the Forum. Unlike most of my collection of older scale locomotives, this is a brand-new entry-level locomotive that comes with sound and command control via an included remote at a very reasonable price.
The locomotive is quite sharp looking when it's out of the box. I'll admit that I have found the classical versions of the General rather tacky but this one is nicely done. By changing the color scheme and the spark arrestor on the smokestack Lionel has made a nice representation of a later model American-class engine from late 19th century rather than the Civil War period.
Here's a side view of the General. The whistle on top of the rear steam dome is a little warped but that's a very minor issue. The trim is detailed but still durable, I haven't broken anything in handling or servicing the locomotive.
I'm not particularly fond of wireless drawbars on locomotives-- I find them less durable than tethers. The Lionel one has a very nice design with sliding contacts that has been unproblematic so far.
The tender is nicely pinstriped and seems sturdy. The wood load does look a bit plasticky but it's not bad. The tender only has a manual operating coupler but for a small and inexpensive locomotive that's quite acceptable. The knuckle works well as you can see in one of my videos below.
The only problem I've discovered is that the General runs pretty rough on my Fastrack switches. The drive wheels tend to ride up on the frogs and bump around when they cross them. This is OK when going forwards but locomotive tends to pick the points and derail when running in reverse. I had no problems with my O72 tubular switches when I ran the engine back and forth through them. This is a nuisance but not a deal-breaker since this isn't an engine I would be doing much switching with anyways. If I think of some clever way to fix this I will update this report.
Here's a sound test of the locomotive. Sounds are a make or break for me in an O Scale locomotive, I've gotten rid of locomotives because I can't stand their sounds. Lionel has always led the hobby with model train sound systems and this locomotive is a good showing of their capabilities, the sounds are loud and satisfying. I've interacted with a few Lionchief engines but this is the nicest-sounding one that I've experienced. I really enjoy the whistle!
Although the General is a little smoother running than my other Lionchief engine, it doesn't run slow and tends to speed up and slow down on track grades. This is quite acceptable for a $225 engine that's intended for fast running on a simple layout. Here's about as slow as it can go for a coupling operation.
I've heard that these engines are not great pullers. The General is mostly plastic and quite lightweight, but it does have traction tires and a can motor. To test its capabilities, I coupled up this set of four K-Line diecast hopper cars. These are solid metal and extremely heavy. A Pullmor-powered locomotive would probably stall trying to pull these and most engines without traction tires would need a push from the 1:1 scale engineer to get them rolling.
Believe it or not, the PRR General pulls those 4 bricks without stalling or spinning out. It slows down under the load but it's not drawing excessive current, isn't getting noticeably warm and can get to a respectable pace with the throttle halfway open. Pretty good for a cheap little engine! Most 19th century cars are on the small side so I would expect this engine to handle any period consist.
I am very pleased with this new locomotive. It has great sounds, respectable pulling power and a good fit and finish. Although it's not a super scale locomotive with cruise control and oodles of features, it's more than fair for its price point and unlike some of those big-dollar Legacy engines it appears well put together. I would recommend this locomotive to anyone who's considering modeling the 19th century or just wants a fun steam engine to chug around the mainline.
