LionChief RTR Satisfaction

I've got a few LionChief sets. No problems and good value for money.  You've had bad luck, which is obviously no fun, but I wouldn't generalize from an n=2 experience.

The PRR Flyer 0-8-0 is my only LionChief testbed.

The weakest link, literally, is the connection between the tender & loco as the wires are quite stiff and they fatigue, breaking off of the connectors causing a loss of sound and/or erratic electrical continuity to the running rails for chassis ground(the tender wheels have a wiper to provide a better electrical connection to the loco).

I was going to replace the stiff factory wiring with SuperFlex, but it was much easier to just replace the entire tether with a 3 position snap-fit quick-disconnect harness using the original tender connection just for the mechanical function.

I only have one RTR set and it seems fine so far. Not that I run it much. As Rob mentioned above the wires for the tether are fragile. Mine was actually broke new in the box. It took some time as Lionel didn't want to cover the repair, but they did fix it eventually.

I have the LC Superchief set and no issues with it, but it doesn't see a lot of run time.

I have the same engine Rob mentioned which is different in name only and is a UP 0-8-0. My original engine failed and was replaced but what happened was with the speed turned up on the remote it would sporadically move and sometimes move just fine if you waited long enough but, in the end, it just stopped working completely. I still had sound, but I imagine it was the same issue he mentioned. However, if this one does fail, I will definitely be asking Rob how to fix it as I would like to learn how to work on the engines

I have a few, Santa Fe, C&NW, Christmas express and they all work fine, but my smallest curves are 072.  I enjoy them.  

The only one for me is the Area 51 Railroad Set with lighted green FasTrack purchased  two years ago during the holidays in 2020. No problems at all out of the box. Not my usual area of interest, but it's a fun set. Looks great, runs well, zero issues. I even picked up one of the add-on cars.

Maybe third-time will be a charm.  Goal is to expand with a RTR set (eventually a working Hogwarts one?) and maybe a break-up set loco or LionChief+ to run with years of MTH and Lionel rolling stock that just does not match an MTH Rudolph locomotive.  MTH electronics have been going strong for over 15 years and I am hoping to match that with Lionel even if BluTooth stops being supported.

i have 2 set and both work well. been over 2 years.  8 year old grandson loves them.

I have two sets; one of them is the Santa Fe Super Chief and the other is a Santa Fe RS-3 Scout set. Very happy with them both. Especially the Super Chief set, that gets a lot of run time and gets a lot of compliments as well.

My first RTR Lionel set was the Lionchief PE, and I've run the dog snot out of it. It has been placed on the shelf for preservation, and I now run a modified conventional RTR PE with a DC Commander, Chuff Generator and SuperChuffer. Still have the OE sounds in the tender, and I use the RTR controller for the sounds.  I am planning on trying to stuff a Railsounds board in the tender also at some point. We'll see how that goes.

@Jayhawk500 posted:

My first RTR Lionel set was the Lionchief PE, and I've run the dog snot out of it. It has been placed on the shelf for preservation, and I now run a modified conventional RTR PE with a DC Commander, Chuff Generator and SuperChuffer. Still have the OE sounds in the tender, and I use the RTR controller for the sounds.  I am planning on trying to stuff a Railsounds board in the tender also at some point. We'll see how that goes.

Jay, I like the "placed on the shelf for preservation" line

I have four basic LionChief train sets.  First one I purchased was the Tenth Anniversary Polar Express set.  I have had a few problems with the engine, including wires breaking on the tether that I managed to repair.  Having read about issues with the motor and gearing on the drive axle, I purchased a motor and geared drive wheel set, along with a few other parts for this engine during the 2021 parts sale.  Should be able to keep it running for a few more years.  Additional sets include the Santa Fe Super Chief (have all four add-on cars), and a couple of Christmas themed sets, that so far, have all been problem free.

So in summary, I will say that to this point, my experience with LionChief sets has been satisfactory.

@AJH4:

I have only 1 Lion Chief RTR set which is a stock Polar Express Berkshire and tender. They’ve run great with no problems.

Jayhawk: You’ve “run the dog snot out of it?” Really?

Everybody here seems to have better luck than my experiences.  I really wanted to like the Hogwarts Express RTR set, but I have had bad experiences now with three different sets manufactured at different times and all NIB (two shipped directly from Lionel in NC).  The family likes the Harry Potter theme even though the consensus is that the sounds are not that impressive.  I very much like the LionChief concept since you can just apply power to track and use a remote.  However, I had problems using the app on both apple and android devices for anything other than basic controls.

The first set had missing screws and did not run properly.  The second set no chuffing sounds.  Third set the locomotive just stopped working before making it 1/4 around the track and also had parts falling off of it in addition to some minor paint chips that were never touched up (and also a missing screw by the pickups).  Eventually got the third set to get going again at one point, but not very confident in it with metal and plastic parts falling off.  Poor sound quality overall and constant derailing of last passenger car around an 036 corner causing short (cars too light?).  If it were easier to upgrade the drive train and the command system, I might not mind so much and would invest more for a better product, but it seems like upgrading and maintaining these is for serious enthusiasts.

Glad the majority seem to have better luck and the skills and patience to fix and improve when necessary.  Maybe I will save up for LionChief+ or something.