Lionel Diesel compare 1950 to 1996?

I think that is an apples to oranges question. The newer ones would run better if you are talking about an engine with TMCC.  Early fifties F3 engines would have horizontal motors which would make it run quite different from a later fifties version upright motors, not can motors. Gear wise you could say older with metal gears much better then the plastic gears. As for sound no comparison. Electronics with horn over battery operated horn.............Paul

Like Paul said it is like comparing apples to oranges and buying what pleases you. The postwar engines are simple, durable for the most part, more toy like and usually one can fix things when they break. The modern stuff runs smoother because of can motors, more realistic (better graphics), slow speeds, control features and much better sounds. Reliability can sometimes be a problem with the modern stuff because of the electronics and complexity of components now. In my case I have a little of both modern and postwar and enjoy each for their unique traits and benefits.

As for F3s I can't say but I do have three Dash 8 40-Cs from the mid 90s. The low point for them is the plastic drive gears. I have one that has a gear issue and is out of service because of it.  As for running they are Pulmor motors and perform well and the horns are much better than the 50s postwar horns.

I like the older Lionel engines for durability. The newer Lionel engines have better sound but the gears might go bad after a couple of years because of being plastic. With some of the newer Lionel engines you might need TMCC just to get some decent sound out of them, I'm not sure as I don't have any TMCC engines.

Lee Fritz

Have old and a few modern .When it comes to gears metal will easily outlast plastic ones .Electronics scare me when it comes to modern as they can be expensive to repair vs old simple horns but sound quality goes to modern for sure.

If i had to rely on reliability alone only old wins hands down for me.

Dieseler posted:

Have old and a few modern .When it comes to gears metal will easily outlast plastic ones .Electronics scare me when it comes to modern as they can be expensive to repair vs old simple horns but sound quality goes to modern for sure.

 

I agree with you about electronics on the newer engines, the stuff can act up. The sound quality could be better on newer engines. Also the newer gears are mainly plastic or some compound that is derived from plastic and it don't last that long in constant service.

Lee Fritz

If you are not fixated on the Lionel brand, as so many are, the Williams F-3 is a dead ringer for the postwar Lionel F-3. Plus it has can motors and an electronic reverse unit. It out pulls the postwar version and can easily be fitted with command control and cruise control.

Certain vintages of the MTH RailKing F-3 are also dead ringer copies of Lionel. They have all the features of the Williams, plus DCS.

RoyBoy posted:

If you are not fixated on the Lionel brand, as so many are, the Williams F-3 is a dead ringer for the postwar Lionel F-3. Plus it has can motors and an electronic reverse unit. It out pulls the postwar version and can easily be fitted with command control and cruise control.

Certain vintages of the MTH RailKing F-3 are also dead ringer copies of Lionel. They have all the features of the Williams, plus DCS.

I agree! I have the Santa Fe Super Chief 2333 F3 POWERED A-B-A SET from Williams by Bachmann and they are Great looking, pulling, and sounding for the money. Can't go wrong with them.

Here is a look.

Sweet looking for sure, adding...."I did not know that..." as well,

Thanks Gents! <Salute>  

Another vote for the Williams F3s. I've slowly been acquiring a number of the Williams AA units (getting harder to find new, especially for certain road names) and they are great looking and pretty much bullet proof runners. 

I have many post war and modern era (70s, 80s, 90s, TMCC, Odyssey, Legacy 00s, 10s) Lionel diesels and I run them a lot, for an hour or more non-stop at a time. I have not yet had any problem with plastic gears (which diesels have them, anyway ?) and I have not had any electronic problems with the newer ones, except for those smoke fan motors that seem to fail frequently.

Most diesels that are conventional only respond very well to my Z4000 throttle and can run smooth and steady without jack rabbit starts.

I am a collector/operator which is why I have all decades on the rails. 

All of these have Plastic gears. All early to mid 90s and are conventional only. I have never had any problems with their electronics.