Lionel 6-21791 TMCC Freedom Train Alco PA - info?

There was no unpowered unit, just the locomotive. The loco itself was one of the newer, scale locomotives - not the original PA from the late 90's.

I have the sets also, which i like except for one thing. Every time you blow the horn, it plays a few notes from the Star Spangled Banner. No real horn sound to blow like a grade crossing signal. This is another not very well thought out idea from the Moreau era. Should have used a softkey button for that.

The set is very good, but the cars have a few inaccuracies (see www.freedomtrain.org) and while the horn is neat, it can only play the one tune.  Unlike the American Freedom Train of 1976 which had 27 cars, the Freedom Train only had seven cars and the Lionel set makes a good full scale model that you can run on larger layouts.  So don’t forget to buy the three car add on set.

Thanks guys - not interested in owning one, just curious as I like PAs and had not seen this one before...

Chuck:

Not Moreau era, but rather a set created by my group. In fact, probably one of my favorite projects, even though it was a sales disappointment.

We wanted to include the first 2-1/2 bars of the National Anthem because that's what the real train could do. If I remember correctly, the "6" softkey used with some steam RailSounds to control an alternate air horn (i.e. Daylight, Niagara, etc.) wasn't available in the diesel code as the 6 is only used for "down-revving."

So we stuck with just the "patriotic" horn since we couldn't do both. I think you can still get a short regular horn by just tapping the horn button, which gets you a quick single note before the rest of the Anthem starts. But I agree it would have been nice to have both options.

Regards,

Todd

Hi Todd,

 Question, and you are probably the only one with the answer. How did the real PA diesel play the first notes of the Star Spangled banner when there is only a single chime note horn on the engine? I never read about this 'feature' on the '46 Freedom train.

Thanks, Chuck

PS, We miss you at Lionel!

As a professional Railroader, after hearing about that horn from guys that remember the prototype, I wonder how?what produced that as well. I think I'll make a call, in the mean time, Todd may have the answer. 

Todd, I love my Freedom Train and have a nice file of information, photos and memorabilia on it!

SAM

The train ran from Sept 47 to Jan 49.  The timeframe for my layout is 1948 because the Lionel model of the FT will be a center piece of my new layout, parked at a station with a patriotic parade going down main street.

Ron

Sorry I missed the follow-ups.

Chuck, good question on how the horn worked, and I wish I had the answer. I did a little Googling to see if I could find something to refresh my memory, but I struck out. I do remember the notation came from a binder of reference material I borrowed from Andy Jugle, a friend of mine and follower of the Freedom Train. (Andy, along with a few others, had the FT produced in American Flyer years ago.) Beyond the mention of the train's horn playing the first few measures of the National Anthem, we took it from there. "O say can you see" requires only 4 different notes, and we guessed that was a reasonable thing for 1940's technology to replicate. How it was done with a single-note horn is beyond me -- and I suppose it's possible that it was nothing more than a little PR hype.

Sam, thanks for your comments. Personally, I thought the set was a real stand-out, but it just didn't resonate in the marketplace. A LOT of work went into its creation - custom artwork and fonts for EVERYTHING, unique "blanked window" tooling for the exhibit cars, delicate but durable etched-brass plaques, etc. And SandaKan absolutely knocked it out of the park on producing what we wanted.

Ron, I'd love to see the layout photos someday. I think you're right in that the set could be a great centerpiece. As an aside, it wasn't until about two years ago, while visiting a friend and his train collection, that I saw the loco and all seven cars displayed together. (We never had the luxury or space to do such things while at work.) It reminded me that we did some really nice things during that time!

Regards,

Todd

Have the entire train and love it.  Only problem is with the smoke unit.  It is installed incorrectly.Not a big deal, just keep it turned off.  With all the cars (7), the train is a long one, but a great runner.