i am somewhat shocked

I'm not sure why you are shocked. This information is clearly stated in the descriptions of these products.

The WP set is different from the other recent F3 sets in that it comes as an A-B set, whereas the others are A-A sets, and both units in those sets have smoke. The list price of the WP A-B set is lower than the A-A sets though.

I'm actually more shocked that Lionel's unpainted and unlettered "Pilot Models" retail in the catalogs as much as the regular, painted and lettered versions.  Why would it cost as much when you don't have the extra expense of painting and lettering?

Nicole,

You are absolutely correct!

I would just notice the lowered price and play value, overlooking all other details.

Ralph

By the way,

Charlie of Nassau Hobbies has good items, prices, descriptions, etc., as well, as good, professional manners.

Visiting his shop, or shopping online, his deals are real!!!!
Ralph 

It costs as much because as explained on page 32 of the 2014 Signature catalog, "A special clear coating is applied to the metal on these undecorated engines to protect them for years to come."  

Hi Forrest. I do agree that it is unusual when compared to the other road names.

Just out of interest, what is the problem that you have with the powered B unit? If it's something simple, somebody here may be able to help you, and avoid you having to wait until August.

Not simple. Units shorted out when taking their first left hand turn. After a bit of investigation, realized one of the screws holding she'll to frame was nearly out all the way making contact with something on the touch as it turned. Further examination revealed that the screw hole is probably stripped and that end of the shell is not flush with the frame (as it is on the other end and all other units of the set). Not sure if the frame is bent, the shell warped, or what. Not going to take the shell off because that would void the warranty. 

John:  The same reason why the price of gas went up when they left the lead out.   Higher cost to eliminate one of the components?

The same reason why the price of gas went up when they left the lead out.

That one is simple. Tetraethyl lead is the cheapest way to raise the octane rating of unadulterated gasoline to a level that will function properly in a high compression engine. However, lead is a very nasty toxin that accumulates in the body - it is not eliminated, so as you breathe more and more lead fumes, you get more and more lead in your system and more and more bad effects on your health. So, the government ordered the elimination of lead from gasoline. The refiners then had to use more expensive means to get gasoline up to an octane rating that would burn properly in a modern engine. 

I am also surprised that you are shocked! If the b unit is defective I am sure Lionel will take care of it. 

Fred

BTW, what is whiz zed?

Using that logic, Lionel should charge more for the fantasy Daylight Cab Forward vs. the prototypical paint jobs, after all, it's more complicated...

Likewise they should also charge more for say, the Seaboard E8 vs. the Penn Central E8.

The cost of painting and decorating models is spread out over the entire production run, not just part of it.

Rusty

I would think manufacturing and using 2 or 3 paint masks to paint a locomotive is more labor intensive and expensive than spraying clear coat on a locomotive.

It sounds to me as though some wires are trapped under one of the mounting posts. I've encountered similar trapped wires on a couple of engines over the past few years, I've rectified these myself, as I live in Europe and the cost of transatlantic shipping is normally more than the cost of any parts that I may need.

I'm sorry to hear about this, and I hope that it gets fixed for you as soon as possible.

The cost of paint masks was mentioned in the TM book about the first ten years of Modern era, "LIONEL A COLLECTORS GUIDE AND HISTORY VOLUME  IV".

I own a few of them. The masks fit up tightly against whatever is being painted, and were pressurized to keep paint from seeping into the seams between the mask and the item being painted.
The more complicated the scheme, the more masks were required.
For example, on the New Haven EP-5, it took one mask just to paint the black diamond around the headlight.
Some masks were reused, such as a mask to paint just the ends of a GP-7.

The technology and costs certainly may have changed since then.

I am shocked nobody noted that the Older Legacy WP A-B-B-A F7s had smoke units in all of them. Why they where removed and cost raised on these shocks me.

I am also surprised for the price of the power and dummy unit they could not put engine sounds in them?

Not exactly the point of the thread, but certainly something I've found myself chuckling about... for the cost of one of last year's no-smoke, no-lights GP35 dummies (what amounts to a fancy boxcar), one could instead purchase an entire starter set and an extra loop of Fastrack to go with it.  

"It sounds to me as though some wires are trapped under one of the mounting posts."

i suspect the same myself, but the lionel person i talked to was adamant that i would void the warranty by removing the shell.  on the chance that it is something else, i declined to do that.  so, i have to wait until august when the new repair facility will be overwhelmed.

"I am shocked nobody noted that the Older Legacy WP A-B-B-A F7s had smoke units in all of them."

i don't know about the F7's, but the TMCC F3's i had did not have smoke in the unpowered B, but it did have an operating coupler on the rear and, since it was a TMCC unit, the coupler could be operated when MU'ed with the powered A and B.  the backup light would also illuminate in reverse.  i actually miss those two features more than the smoke.  i could run AB, but WP usually ran ABB on their section of the California Zephyr and, since it is my most prototypically correct train, i want to keep that configuration.

I have the legacy F7 NYC ABBA and a friend has the WP from about 4 years age and all smoke. why did they change?

Interesting point. Dummies certainly seem a poor value. Lionel needs to dummy down on dummy prices, or else make them smarter. Along with the absence of lights and smoke, it's at least as bad not putting an electrocoupler on them. 

Just a few years ago, the separate sale scale dummy F units had directional lighting and electrocoupler, and were $199 list.

All of this- higher prices with fewer features, poor quality control, etc- could be quickly and easily solved if Lionel would simply move all of its production from Michigan to, say, China and.... oh, sorry, never mind. 

One of the big excuses for diesel's superiority over steam engines was no smoke (he he), so disable the smoke in the A Unit. Oops! ALCO units do smoke, so they didn't get the message.

So they could raise the price...

I think its a conspiracy. Mom's against smoke units...