Disappointing Lionel Generals!

I was not going to say anything about the generals but at 200 bucks each we got what we paid for.  ours run great and we will not run them as long as our higher dollar engines. 

 

I believe the intent was to display them and not run them much.

I have one Lionel General. I bought it on super close out to convert to a 'Toy Story 3' locomotive. I did not like it at the $89 price so I doubt the $200 would make me happy unless lots of improvements were made.  I wish we could get a Rail King level (detail and cost wise) good scale Civil War era 4-4-0 'General'. And yes I have the MTH '1/24' scale General......

Hi All,

I have a question to ask of those forum members who purchased the General set.  I received my yesterday and they LOOK beautiful.  Upon closer examination I find that the drivers are not quartered on either the General or the Texas.  Has anyone else noticed this?

Best,

Dave

I have run my pair. The General does run faster than the Texas, maybe after a few hours of run time they will be equal. The smoke, lights and RS are all functioning as expected. The paint schemes are excellent, a great looking pair. I have the Virginia & Truckee 4-4-0 and it has been an excellent runner for many years and I would expect these to be the same.

Have you guys with the complaints ever even seen a Lionel General? I mean, you just now realized the drivers aren't quartered? Or that they're made of plastic?  As long as bubbles are bursting, here's another one: THEY'RE WAY OVER SCALE!

 

Geez!

IT never fails everyone is so excited about a new product, and when you get it , it is not what you think.. how many times has this been the case..

trainloon,

 

If these are the first Lionel 4-4-0 Americans that you have purchased, I can understand your comments.  Yes, they are not scale and are plastic instead of metal, but that is how they have been made by Lionel since 1959.  The paint job on these engines was to differentiate them from the regular issue and in that regard they are excellent.  I haven't run mine yet - awaiting the first add-on car and announcement of the other cars in the series.  I would hope that they have a unique color scheme also.

 

KC

SMR made a beautiful scale model of the General

Yep.  But NOT at $200.

 

Be realistic all.

Has anyone contacted Al or Lou about your problem?  LOCOMOTION

Add a 0  LOL

I have thirteen Generals from past to present. I've run mine all day at train shows with no problems.The quartering thing has always bothered me,but,you can't see both sides a the same time.  Another member of our club just recieved his and we ran them all day (8 hrs) on this past Saturday. Before you complain too much you should try them out.

  Ed

Hello guys and gals.........

 

for 200 dollars a plastic lionel general, I think you got screwed ......... !!!!!!!!

 

the woman who loves the S.F.#5021

Tiffany

It seems some people were expecting scale brass engines for $200.00!!!!!!! The engines run fine and they look great. If you were expecting a scale detailed engine then you bought the wrong thing. For the price that was paid, the lcca and Lou did a great job. Nice job fellas. 

Lou is out of the country on vacation this week.  If anyone has an issue with their Generals, please contact Lou Caponi next week at caponilj@comcast.net

 

Thank you for your continued support, patience and cooperation.

 

Al Kols

They are gorgeous.  And that counts for a lot. Also, Lionel Generals have ALWAYS had plastic bodies, so anyone who is familiar with the breed knew that and accepted the fact before purchase.

 

I believe these are the First Lionel Generals to have RailSounds, which is another reason they are desirable in my opinion. All that and they are two hundred a piece...not too shabby. I feel I got my money's worth and they were worth the wait.

 

Ed Boyle

Just a quick note:   These Generals are not the first to have  railsounds/trainsounds. Several others have had it already; however, I am told that these have a different/adjusted railsounds than in past units.

 

          As regards the  lack of quartering of the wheels: two notes

1) the wheels are gear driven not rod driven, so the rods are only there to look pretty;

 

2) The wheels are not quartered because the older units used a plunger/bellows inside the boiler for the smoke unit puffing action that was pushed by the crosshead rods and that slide a plastic guide that was connected on both sides; hence, the rods had to move together or they would bind up the linkage .

          Hope this helps answer some questions.   Dennis M.

Hello david1........

 

well at least the boiler and tender bodies should be die cast then it be worth 200 dollars.  The MTH railking generals are all die cast and cost bit more but they are well worth it.  I know the postwar lionel ones #1862 and 1872 were plastic.  

 

the woman who loves the S.F.#5021

Tiffany 

I don’t own any of these, have never even seen one and,  as we like to say here on the forum,  have no dog in this fight.

 

But an obvious question occurred to me reading this thread.  Didn’t the pre-sale description of the Generals include basic descriptive information? Like plastic versus metal?

 

Curious…

A "bit more?" Try twice as much.

 

http://www.mthtrains.com/content/30-1575-1

Certainly a good question. But the Lionel "General" has been available for over 50 years, and has been offered in scores of configurations. It's always been plastic. I understand there are new folks joining this hobby all the time that might not have realized this, but if you think $200 in this gauge is expensive for a steam engine, then you really should have done more homework.

I really can't believe anyone orders these or any other products without knowing what they are purchasing.  After all...plastic vs. die-cast...pretty basic info, and to the best of my knowledge Lionel's Generals in their many variations have always had plastic bodies.  At one time I collected the things and there wasn't a die-cast version among the 15 or so that I had.

 

And you really cannot compare the Lionel Generals--any of the Lionel Generals--to those produced by MTH or (especially) SMR.  They are different breeds of horses.

The 2013 MTH General is cataloged @ $399.95, so don't compare the two by price.

I do have the MTH RK General with PS-1 and it may have raised the bar for these models. I have never seen Lionel General before but that fact is irrelevant in this case. I forgot to complain about NO headlight lenses over the bulbs earlier. They cast NO light at all unless you run at warp 9 which i won't do. I know. Buyer beware! But Lionel quality is something I believed in.

Hello guys and gals.............

 

Well guys, if you want to spend 200 dollars for the lionel plastic general then more power to you .

 

the woman who loves the S.F.#5021

Tiffany

Buyer beware? There's was nothing to beware of! These engines are known quantities.

 

Not sure how you can place so much faith in "Lionel Quality." It sounds like you don't know much about Lionel at all; this is one of their most basic locomotives and has been for over half a century.

 

Do you order a hamburger at the restaurant and then complain that there's no ham in it?

hello smd4............

 

Don't forget the MAYO !!!!!!!

 

the woman who loves the S.F.#5021

Tiffany

trainloon, if you want to complain about the Lionel General, I'd be perfectly happy to provide a list of legitimate complaints.

hello smd4............

 

Let's hear about them .

 

the woman who loves the S.F.#5021

Tiffany

Like bigdodgetrain, I don't have a dog in this fight, Lionel Generals aren't my thing.

 

Lou has been talking these things up for over a year.  It's probably one of the main reasons there's the National Club News forums now.

 

There was plenty of time to get the details about these locomotives.

 

Rusty

Yes....MTH's prices have risen some since the General was introduced. But I picked up a 'used', no roller or driver wear at all, first gen MTH General for under $100.....and although a GIANT a better deal than the Lionel.

hello AMCDave..........

 

There you go . 

 

the woman who loves the S.F.#5021

Tiffany

The original General (I do not have one, but am familiar, of course) was indeed plastic,

but no more inherently "fragile" than the plastic rolling stock that Lionel and others

made, and about which no one complains.

 

And, again: plastic steamer BAD; plastic diesel GOOD. Huh?

I didn't order them but I did get a chance to see them. Very nice I must say. I wish I had ordered them. 

Hello Rusty Traque...........

 

Hee hee, that IS funny 

 

the woman who loves the S.F.#5021

Tiffany

Lionel Generals are somewhat fragile. Commonly broken parts include:

Cab roof

Pilot (cowcatcher)

Handrail stantions

 

In addition, the headlight lantern is sometimes missing.

 

Wow, I'm completely misunderstood. Luckily I did act on my big misconception.

 

I thought these Lionel LCCA "Generals" would be new versions of the little, scale, 1865-ish loco that came with the Lincoln funeral set.  It is a very delicate and tiny loco, looking more like S scale  than O (but then locos were very small back then) but so detailed and finely made and painted. . . . 

 

Anyway, I've had enough of the old style Generals to stay away from them, no matter how updated.  Cute, but as stated the break easily, etc.  

Here's my advice to you folks who may be disappointed with these or other items:

 

In the future, do your homework BEFORE you place an order.  Ask any and all questions and don't settle for less than a specific and definitive answer.  Look past the hype in the promos or ads and just get down to the nitty-gritty of what the item really is if you have ANY doubts or concerns at all.  If all here had done that, this thread wouldn't even exist.

I had a Lionel General briefly.  I was not impressed by the quality or running.  I picked up an MTH General and converted it to PS/2, it's a great running and super smoking locomotive and should be very robust.