She's a beaut, enjoy!
Mike
Still waiting for mine. After watching the video, I can’t wait.
Buddy
I was hoping we'd hear THAT whistle on this release!
It's been a great time to be a UP steam fan the last few years! Lionel continues to release awesome models!
Alex,
Looking great buddy! Enjoy that bad boy!
Sounds just like the VL Big Boy.
Talk soon,
Michael
That looks great and sounds spectacular! Thanks for the video and photos.
I sure hope the whistle smoke works better on my model. I didn't see a thing? My challenger whistle steam is amazing. Are the switches for everything under the sand dome? Can you turn off main stack and not whistle? Thanks for posting.
Rocky Mountaineer posted:Alex, does #8444 come with the magnetic "Lionel Lines" tender plate for excursion service?
Hmmm... I can understand a magnetic plate working on the 1:1 steel-sided tender. But on a zinc-based die cast 1:48 version?
Since both were within easy reach of this laptop site, I grabbed a fairly current die cast Lionel tender and a couple advertising magnets from the refrigerator....they didn't seem to have any attraction for each other!
Maybe if they employed "The Carbonaro Effect"!?
Interesting.
KD
Rocky Mountaineer posted:Alex, does #8444 come with the magnetic "Lionel Lines" tender plate for excursion service? Or was that just for #844 on the facing page in the catalog? It wasn't real clear whether the badge applied to both locos or just #844.
David
David, my understanding was that it would be included exclusively with the 844 for the reasons Hot Water suggested. It will be interesting to see if one can purchase separate sale sets.
Alex
NICE !!! cant wait to see it in person
Steve
Alex, thank you for posting a great video snippet. Love the looks and sounds. To borrow a line from Eric Siegel, the BFIO (best feature in my opinion) are the squeaks, rattles and groans that you hear at slow speed from many of Lionel's newer steam fleet. I think the addition by Lionel to their steam soundsets of those often overlooked but subtle sounds was genius.
This may be my first canceled preorder. Generic railsounds, blackened rods plus many other nice details missing for the previous version. I will make my decision after I see a review of the 844.
MDuppy posted:This may be my first canceled preorder. Generic railsounds, blackened rods plus many other nice details missing for the previous version. I will make my decision after I see a review of the 844.
Apparently you missed the Legacy version of the 844, as it was indeed modeled correctly for the 1955 time period.
Hot Water posted:MDuppy posted:This may be my first canceled preorder. Generic railsounds, blackened rods plus many other nice details missing for the previous version. I will make my decision after I see a review of the 844.
Apparently you missed the Legacy version of the 844, as it was indeed modeled correctly for the 1955 time period.
I have that one and it a nice runner. Sorry I should have stated that in my post.
The "Lionel Lines" name plate probably won't be available for some time... but making one (a pair) would be very simple.
Alex M posted:Hello everyone
well here it is the new UP FEF and in my opinion it's amazing. Once again great work by Lionel. Sounds to me like Rich Melvins voice on the crew talk !!!!!!!
Hope you all enjoy the pictures and videos. If you have any questions I will be glad to answer them.
Thanks , Alex
Hi Alex
I think you have to ask, Rich Melvin to autograph the bottom side of the tender. 
Derek Thomas is autographing his new book, "Madison Hardware Story" I would guess, Rich would say yes.......
Nice job with the videos............. "Cool"
Gary
Beautiful locomotive, Alex. Looks like Lionel did a great job on these. Enjoy, and thank you for sharing!
trainroomgary posted:Hi Alex
I think you have to ask, Rich Melvin to autograph the bottom side of the tender.
Derek Thomas is autographing his new book, "Madison Hardware Story"
...
And I'm sure if you ask nicely, Rich probably (hopefully!) won't charge you for his autograph! Last time I checked, most folks would gladly sign their book, magazine, or product WITHOUT charging extra for it. It goes over better with enthusiasts that way. 
David
Okay, time for my crazy questions. Is the tender the same one Lionel used for the VL BB (Minus the depleting coal load of course.)? And without the tender, how tight a track curve can the locomotive go?
sinclair posted:Okay, time for my crazy questions. Is the tender the same one Lionel used for the VL BB (Minus the depleting coal load of course.)? And without the tender, how tight a track curve can the locomotive go?
OK, I'll have a go at answering:
1. Comparing what I see in the video with my 2007 FEF3s and the Big Boy tender, I think the answer is definitely "No." The die cast tender looks to be identical to the 2007 issue and less detailed than the VL version.
2. I think that the real minimum curve is O72 with or without the tender. The drivers on these engines are large and fixed and even on O72 it's a squeeze going around curves. My 2007 version has some difficulty negotiating an O72 switch especially in reverse.
We're all in agreement. It's a great loco. The videos and pictures are great too. She's a beast for sure.
Hello all
I have the old version of this engine and I'll do some comparing tomorrow and post pictures , too much on the honey do list today. Lol !!!
Alex
Alex,
have you been "inside it"?
The minimum curve....that question never disappoints...
Okay guys I said tomorrow, but I snuck downstairs and took a bunch of photos. No time to explain each photo
Also a quick look inside !!!
Thanks , Alex
Old UP FEF TENDER AND NEW UP FEF TENDER
BIG BOY TENDER AND NEW UP FEF TENDER
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Images (13)
FWIW: I had the same question concerning the minimum curves for this locomotive (the largest I have is O60). In addition to my original thread, Alex was gracious enough to have several email exchanges with me on the subject. In short, several forum members reported that the locomotive ran fine on O54.
I'll let Alex give the indepth brief......I do want to say I sincerely appreciate all the help and advice he has given me.
I hope to have my FEF next week.
The two look the same detail wise. I'm not sure why some are saying there's less on the new version than the old version.
Wow, Thank You Alex....This is a Super Nice Locomotive and the Sounds are Fantastic. Also, your layout is really nice to...Thanks for the Video. Simply Amazing.
Awesome Alex! Love the whistle!
I envy the free time you have to be able to take apart a perfectly good locomotive.
Second attempt.
"Are the switches for everything under the sand dome? Can you turn off main stack smoke and not whistle smoke?"
I can see I won't be able to order correct side rods. Good thing I have some that are close, in nickel silver.
Mikado 4501 posted:The two look the same detail wise. I'm not sure why some are saying there's less on the new version than the old version.
That's the way my eyes see it too. Can't imagine why that wouldn't be the case if Lionel is essentially using the same tooling plus a few tweeks for whistle-steam and maybe a few different Railsounds.
Should be interesting to see if dealers having any "15% discount-sales" for 4th of July will include this loco in the sale. If they do, I suspect it will be 15% off the MSRP price. 
That would ring up around $1450... Which is what several dealers are selling these for now as their everyday price. So that's not really a sale.
Now if we see 15% off the $1450, that would be a really sweet deal at $1215. 
Then again, dealers are currently selling MTH's FEF-3 models (sans whistle steam) for $900. So how good a deal is $1215 REALLY? 
David
It is a nice looking loco, but to me it looks more toyish than model. Whistle could of been a little better, sounds more like the VL Big Boy.
I have the FEF-3 from 2009 and after comparing engines, the older one has much better detail. One thing that the new one does not have is the chrome endcaps on the cylinders, plus the dark side rods and the silver on the boiler is the wrong color. Lionel's built to order is really a gamble now.
Just my two cents.
SDIV Tim posted:It is a nice looking loco, but to me it looks more toyish than model. Whistle could of been a little better, sounds more like the VL Big Boy.
Thomas, that's a very good point. While I wouldn't go so far as to say it looks "toyish", it certainly falls miles short of a well-detailed model.
If you really want detail from Lionel, hang tight for the Allegheny due out in a few months. The former JLC (TMCC) version of the Allegheny had even more detail than some of today's VisionLine steamers! So it should definitely have much more detail than this latest FEF-3. Count on it.
So all of this just begs the question even further... Why the premium pricing on Lionel's latest FEF-3 if it admittedly falls short in the detail department (by today's standards)? My hunch is it's priced this way, because Lionel CAN price it this way. The last Legacy version was very popular. And when folks (like myself) get distracted from the hobby for a time, it's easy to miss out on an offering. Lionel very likely sensed the pent-up demand for an FEF re-issue, and they priced it accordingly AND leveraged former tooling. So they're smiling all the way to the bank right now.
David
MDuppy posted:I have the FEF-3 from 2009 and after comparing engines, the older one has much better detail. One thing that the new one does not have is the chrome endcaps on the cylinders, plus the dark side rods and the silver on the boiler is the wrong color. Lionel's built to order is really a gamble now.
...
How do the catalog images compare to your comments about the earlier model vs. what was actually delivered this time?
David
N&W 1218 posted:Second attempt.
"Are the switches for everything under the sand dome? Can you turn off main stack smoke and not whistle smoke?"
All switches are under the cab just like the original one. Only one switch for both smoke units.
Here's an older video of the original UP FEF navigating 054 curves. This was videoed on my old layout about 4 years ago. The new version is exactly the same so it should navigate 054 curves
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Videos (1)
bob2 posted:I can see I won't be able to order correct side rods. Good thing I have some that are close, in nickel silver.
Agreed.
Bob Stevenson can't locate the set I've wanted for an FEF. I know you did the masters for him years ago. I'd purchase a set from you if you have an extra laying around. Would take more than one set if you have spares-a lot of FEFs around here.
contact me off line if interested.
Alex,
Wasn't the '09 version Pittman powered? Can't remember....
Great job Alex. I pick my FEF up in the morning from Charlie. I have two yellow tenders to go behind it.
