Legacy Boom Car In So Just Waiting On The Crane Car

Be patient, it will be well worth the wait. IMO the  TMCC/Legacy crane and boom car is still one of the best things Lionel has ever created vl or otherwise, period!

I don't mind the wait so much as the uncertainly.  Although I'd think it HIGHLY unlikely Lionel would drop the crane car now that they've already shipped the boom car, it's still a minor worry.  The boom car that should be delivered next week is a REALLY expensive piece of rolling stock and nothing more until it's partner arrives.  

Thanks for the comment on the wait being worth it.  I'm guessing most who have the set feel as you do as the TMCC version doesn't seem to come available much.  I initially was going to continue to look for a Union Pacific TMCC version or what for a Union Pacific legacy version but who knows when/if Lionel will create a Union Pacific legacy version?

I watched one review of the TMCC version that suggested the outriggers needed 22+ volts to all fire correctly but that some command control engines carry cautions about having track voltage past 18volts.  I wonder if this or any other design elements of the TMCC version have been tweaked by Lionel in the production of the legacy versions?  It appears the legacy version has a quilling feature the TMCC version didn't.  So at least one thing changed.  

With as much of a kick as my 8 year old gets in remotely activating the MTH signalman car (with the ERR TMCC add on board) I know he's going to really enjoy the crane.  (And dad too - have to be honest.)

Question becomes can you run the legacy boom car with a TMCC crane, and vice a versa?

That is an interesting question.  I haven't looked at the other versions, but at least with the MOW version that wouldn't be a "matched" pair.  The TMCC MOW version was primarily black and the Legacy MOW version is primarily yellow.  That makes me wonder if they've intentionally made the TMCC and Legacy versions different for the same road name for some reason other than sheer variety.  They aren't exactly inexpensive and I'd be surprised if folks would have a desire for both versions from the same road.

Glad to hear you received your boom car. I have the BN TMCC version and I agree with the comments here that it is worth the wait and then some! IMHO the best item Lionel has produced in the rolling stock category. 

Lionel will deliver the crane car. Just like waiting for a World Series championship!!  

J Daddy posted:

Question becomes can you run the legacy boom car with a TMCC crane, and vice a versa?

A while back there was reference on this forum (I think by Rudy from Lionel himself) to work being done on this compatibility issue. However I have seen nothing more about it and frankly don't expect a mixed Legacy/TMCC setup to work. 

STOP PRESS: I just checked the Lionel website and they have posted the manual for the as yet unreleased Legacy crane cars; a copy is attached below. The boom car manual was posted a couple of weeks back when they shipped. Both of them refer to being able to run the cars with a TMCC CAB 1 although if you do run both of them as TMCC cars, I don't see how you could operate the full "quilling" feature. I can't see that the manual says otherwise but I have only scanned it.

Maybe somebody will do an experiment when the cranes arrive (due at Lionel 9 May). 

Can you post the legacy boom manual?  I just searched the Lionel Support website and came up empty.

I think my TMCC crane already 'quills'.  Can't see how you can improve that much.  Why would you buy the boom car without the crane first?  That is truly the cart before the horse.  Good luck.  Great toy train.  Don't see how Legacy is going to improve it much, and not going to try to find out.

William - I'd have preferred NOT to buy the boom car without the crane car.  But such are the peculiarities of Lionel's shipping schedule.  The boom car shipped last month.  The crane car doesn't ship until May at the earliest.  So I have a matching crane car on order with the same supplier I just bought the boom car from.  But nevertheless, I'd have preferred to order both together, pay for both together and receive both together.  

I agree that I'm not sure how much of an improvement the Legacy version will be.  I suppose they could make the Railsounds better but overall I'm guessing they'll be very similar to the earlier version if not identical save the different paint job.  

mopac01 posted:

Can you post the legacy boom manual?  I just searched the Lionel Support website and came up empty.

The manual is at the bottom of my first post above. You have to go to the Lionelsupport.com pages to find it and search the owner's manual pages by one of the Legacy crane SKUs - I used the SP version number, 6-81881. This is the page I was directed to (but I can't guarantee this link will work!): 

https://www.lionelsupport.com/...1&productNumber=

If you already have a TMCC crane car manual you will not notice a lot of difference except for the pages devoted to CAB2 operation. Same goes for the boom car manual.

At the York meet last spring, I had the opportunity to ask Mike R. a quick question about the Legacy sounds. I understand that the main thing is the quillable horn, which he said is what makes this sound set "Legacy."  I don't think any of this batch of cranes has a steam whistle whereas a few of the TMCC versions did. I don't mind that because the sounds of the TMCC version were great and I don't expect them to have changed much. 

The mismatch between the boom car and crane release dates is also understandable. The cranes are one of (if not the) most complicated pieces of rolling stock ever issued by Lionel, as anyone who's ever had to open them or (worse) re-string the crane will know. I can't imagine it was easy getting them manufactured.

Thanks - but I was referring to the boom car manual.  I found the crane car manual on Lionel's site and saw it attached to your original post above.  But you also mentioned in your post above that the BOOM CAR manual was posted some time ago.  That's the one I was asking if you could post.  I can't find it on Lionel's site.  All I can find on the Lionel Support page is the crane manual.

Gentlemen,

   I pre-ordered a MOW Legacy Crane Car also, have not heard anything yet.

PCRR/Dave

mopac01 posted:

Thanks - but I was referring to the boom car manual.  I found the crane car manual on Lionel's site and saw it attached to your original post above.  But you also mentioned in your post above that the BOOM CAR manual was posted some time ago.  That's the one I was asking if you could post.  I can't find it on Lionel's site.  All I can find on the Lionel Support page is the crane manual.

Apologies, my mistake - it was the crane manual I saw a couple of weeks back and confused it with the boom car manual. So we have the manual for an undelivered item on the support website but not the one for the delivered item. This has happened before but it's no big deal.

Maybe somebody who has the boom car will review its manual and post a copy here otherwise I will do so when I get my SP version this weekend.

Thanks.  It's so funny that the manual for what they've released in not on the website while the manual for what they've not released isn't.  

The MOW version of the legacy boom car arrived today!  I like the color much better than what the catalog showed.   I had seriously considered waiting to see if the 2016 catalog would have a UP version.  But I figured by the time I found out, it'd be too late to get the MOW version.  I'm glad I didn't wait.  This thing will look good in a UP train or a Kansas City Southern train.  And I doubt Lionel would ever do a Kansas City Southern version of the boom/crane.

So can I basically set this up in my CAB2 as shown in the manual and press the various buttons on the CAB2 and hear the corresponding sounds now without a legacy crane car?  I know that's a little goofy but would assume that would demonstrate that the boom car was functionally ok.  Or do the crane and boom somehow talk to each other?  (I just have a Christmas tree layout, so I don't want to pull everything out if the boom car can't function at all without the crane car.)  The crane car isn't supposed to arrive until the middle of May.    (This is about as odd as getting a tender as one Lionel part and waiting for the engine part to ship as a separate unit 6 months later.  I just don't get this unless there's some market for mix and match road names.)

I believe you can MOPAC. The crane and boom get programmed with the same id#.

If Lionel offered. with sound, a combined Boom Car and Boxcar, would it be called a "Boom Box"?

If you don't remember the 80's, ignore last transmission.

Nice one.  My first run Pennsy crane is black and the tender car is yellow, so it is ok if they are not the same hue.  Well, it's ok to me.  Couldn't you program both in Legacy and get all the same features?  That is a good question.  It would seem you could.  Good luck in getting a crane.

Yes, they can be programmed and controlled with a CAB2 and the icons do represent what they do and they do it well! The crane and the car work in perfect unison, and guests of all ages and genders always are really impressed with the operation.

It's a long story, but I ended up with two sets.

First I ordered a Burlington Norther new crane. A matching boom car did not come up soon after that, so I bought a used car by itself, but Santa Fe. A few weeks without receiving the car after it was supposedly shipped, both the seller and I decided that the car was lost, so he refunded my money.

In the meantime, a new Santa Fe set became available at a very good price, so I bought it. Lo and behold, the same day I received the new Santa Fe crane and boom car set, I received the used Santa Fe crane car that we thought was lost! The seller had shipped the car to my old address. I paid him back his money and I kept the car.

Now I had a brand new SF crane and car set, a new BN crane, and a used SF car. All worked (functioned) beautifully. I painted the used SF boom car to match the BN crane, used transfer decals, and the BN set looks great. The BN set is 'steam', and the SF is 'diesel'. The only differences are the sounds of the motor and the whistle.

The new Santa Fe set.

The repainted BN car. (Looks OK, but this type of detailing is not my specialty)

The BN crane and car set.

And that's the rest of (my) story.

Alex