Legacy N&W J

I stopped by Nicholas Smith Trains today (Tuesday) 'cause I was in the Villa Nova area, but they hadn't received any of the new stuff yet that Charlie (up in NYC) had posted yesterday. 

 

David

I still don't think there shipped yet. I can't find any proof that they where ..

Dave I was there at NS myself today looking for some of the new stuff and so far they have not arrived. The J's along with the GS locos have been released. 

They're still on Lionel's shipping scehdule and have not been marked as shipped. (Someone needs to update the schedule...)

Got mine yesterday from Charlie at Nassau. Thanks for the super service! Will post photos this evening. 

No pictures/video yet anybody?

I called Charles ro today they have them in stock.. I have the daylight coming to bad I didn't buy it from Charles ro it be here this week.  

Here you go. Enjoy! Details are the same as the last scale TMCC "J" that was released years ago.

 

Nice Matt finish .. I don't care for glossy finishes on steamers 

Thanks for posting your photos!!! 

 

Oh... if Lionel had only added the whistle-steam effect to this production run, I would have purchased #611 AND #612.  As is, I'll likely watch on the sidelines for awhile and see where prices ultimately settle.  If it's meant to happen, it will.  Otherwise... 

 

On a related note... very glad to see the stripe is done in the maroon color that will presumably match existing Lionel 18" Powhatan Arrow passenger cars.  For some reason, the catalog illustrates this model with a much deeper "red" tone instead of maroon.  Glad to see maroon "won out" in production.    Good choice, Lionel.

 

BTW, has anyone checked the Crewtalk/Towercom announcements on some of these new 2013 steamers yet?  Hopefully Lionel has provided some variety beyond last year's highly overused "engineer-with-the-NY-accent" and "rookie-first-day-on-the-job dispatcher" voices.    Perhaps it's only wishful thinking at this point, but is there ANY chance that they'd even go back to roadname/roadnumber-specific announcements???   That would be nice, given the (initial) premium price-points for these new locos. 

 

David

Mine should be at my LHS tomorrow or this weekend.  It will be my first streamlined steam loco.  I'm really looking forward to having it and know I won't mind the lack of whistle steam (never use it on those I have with it installed) or the accents on the crewtalk, which I find annoying to no end. 

 

The stripe looks nice but as I stated some time back I plan to repaint/relabel mine in Union Pacific gray and black (think Challenger).

David,

From what I have heard the tower com announcements will be the same guys, they need to be retired. I am also concerned about the whistle, the 2005 RS version, the whistle is spot on. I hope they have that exact whistle on the legacy version. 

 

we will see and hear very soon, until then my dollars stay in my pocket.

 

dave

Did Lionel ever correct the side rod configuration to be prototypical with the tandem rods?

John, I didn't even know this was an issue, 'cause I'm not into N&W models to that level.  However, from everything I've heard to date, this latest model is a re-issue of the scale models produced in the mid-2000's as #606 (w/RS 4) and #611 (w/RS 5) -- the latest "incremental" difference here being the newest model now has Legacy electronics.  90%+ certain that no changes to physical tooling have taken place.  (Same applies for the GS-2, GS-6 and GS-64 steamers as well.) 

 

The inclusion of whistle-steam would have required some "re-tooling" per se, which appears to be something Lionel may no longer want to get into at this point with their suppliers.  Must be a tough situation that's only getting more challenging by the day over in China... so we may be entering a new era of "just" seeing re-issues of prior production runs without even the slightest introduction of newer innovations.

 

The track record spells this out pretty clearly...

• Berkshires were advertised with whistle-steam, then delivered without the feature.
• All the newly catalog'd steamers in 2012 Vol 2 are being delivered without the feature.
• Roadname-specific towercom/crewtalk has been dumbed down on all locomotives except Vision Line units.
• Word is even these latest units delivered in 2013 may be using the same "worn-out" voices/dialogue from 2011/2012.  So Lionel is even sparing the expense of recording new voice talent as part of a cost-cutting effort.

 

All of this in the shadow of some of the deepest discounting we've seen in years for 2011/2012 inventory -- particularly steam locomotives.  So why pay premium prices for the new stuff with less features??? 

 

I hope 2013 Volume 1 will prove me wrong.  But I'm not holding my breath.

 

David

Spot on david with you comments! Also LEE how could you!! I wish I had the money to get one of these as I have always wanted one and her you go painting her a new color. How could you? Why not get a used one off the board her and paint it up. That would be cheaper. besides in the conventional enviroment as you like to run them would legacy make that much of a difference in operations anyway? Just saying.

quote:

Did Lionel ever correct the side rod configuration to be prototypical with the tandem rods?

You know that some, not all, of the J's received the single rod configuration don't you? Lionel's first 611 model came with the tandem rods. The real 611 later got the single rods.

So, what's the beef?

So how is the whistle?

A good observation.  I didn't consider used because I won't save that much buying used, given the risk I have on inheriting someone else's problems, but  mostly because Lionel's current Legacy locos run conventionally much better than Lionel of even a few years ago - the cruise is better, the sound is better, but mostly they much slower, smoother than TMCC and early Legacy locos, particularly when using the ZW-L. 

 

 

Jim, it was my understanding that all of the J's had tandem rods and that four were converted to single rods, including the 611, later.

I orginally wanted this engine as a graduation present (getting my masters degree with honors and on a scholarship with all A's), but Lionel took Way too long to get this in circulation, and by the time that it was expected to happen, the hype and excitement died on my part. I eventually settled on the ATSF 3751 and let me say its a great alternative, and it has a smoking whistle. In fact, what I was able to pay for that, I had enough for a diesel, and NW sd40-2. So, I am satisfied. Maybe some other time.

 

quote:

Did Lionel ever correct the side rod configuration to be prototypical with the tandem rods?

John,

I'm still wondering what you think Lionel did wrong?

I wanted to get this engine and while I do want a J with legacy I just don't like the side rods on the Lionel version. I don't care so much about the double rods but I don't think they look real on this version. No lubricator linkage and I don't like the finish...too bad they couldn't make them look more realistic like on the Legacy Big Boy. Those look awesome.

What, no videos?

No whistle steam  .  .  .  .  .

 

No credit card steam

I wanted whistle steam, but I bought one anyhow.  I like it.  i'll try to do a video tomorrow.  I believe it has a different sound chip.

 

doug

Big Jim, I have the 606 which does have tandem rods. However the main rod is on the outside instead of in-between the tandem rods as it should be. Maybe it's a nit but I would be happier if it was correct.

Hi Doug,

I would love to hear it, so please try to post a video, I ordered the whole set ,who knows when that will arrive

 

Thanks, Alex

 Here is a drawing showing the intermediate rod arrangement.  And yes..611 was converted later in her career.

 

As dissapointing as it is, it's not like Lionel hasn't done this before - back in the 50's when they priced their 726RR Berkshire and 671RR Turbine the same or more as their Magne-traction predecessors.

 

Besides, it's not really much different for people who have either bought Weaver, 3rd Rail or Atlas locos with Lionel RailSounds or people who have upgraded engines with TMCC upgrade kits.

Wow.  I never knew anything about this side-rod issue. Not sure I understand it fully, anyway, but an interesting side detail. 

 

As long as a steam loco has driving rods, and some sort of valve mechanism with parts that oscillate and look nice while moving, I'm pleased - although anymore I always neolube the shiny parts right out of the box: it looks so much better that way.

 

As to whistle steam, I'm not sure which of my locos have it because I turn smoke off on all and I seldom use the whistle - its just not a priority with me.  A really effective cruise control is, but all Legacy locos seem to have that locked down well.

"Worn out" voices? Well, they are getting older. LOL. 

 

I love all the dramatic language. "Adjectives R Us."

 

Sounds like Lionel issued a scale Legacy J. Can't wait for a new Empire State. 

John,

You are absolutely correct about the 606. Yes, that was a nightmare. The best that I can remember is that they weren't even correct for the single rod version.

 

However, Lionel fixed the rods when they came out with the next J, the 611. It was then that I bought the rod parts for the 611 and installed them on my 606.
From what little I can tell from the pictures above, they are still correct for the tandem rod version.

It will be interesting to hear your reports of how this new one operates on the layout. So far, it seems the only noticible improvement with Legacy will be the single hit bell (which is neat) and the (easily corrected) 4 chuffs per.

 

Our 'new' No 611 as modified by Alex Malliae has great smoke, 4 chuffs, and the RS5.0 'Multi-whistle' is very close to the 'quilling' Legacy whistle. The crew talk is good too. She should hold us for awhile...

With all of that in hand, Sam, I wouldn't give the new J a second look for the money.  Enjoy the steamer you have and don't look back.  

 

David

That's the plan David - Now we're on the lookout for a 'regular' Legacy GS Daylight!

Big Jim, thank you!

Where o where is the video?

Yes, show us the video!

(please!)