Lionel Lionchief Plus 0-4-0 5a

Since it hasn't shipped yet, my guess would be no unless someone from Lionel wants to comment.  They're listed as shipping in the 3rd quarter, so nobody has one to comment on.

Allin posted:

Any more info than the catalog out there?

Click here.  To see what other members are saying, and to add your view points on the LionChief Plus A5 - 0-4-0, look forward to reading your comment.

Gary - Cheers from The Detroit and Mackinac Railway

The Notch 6 Pod Cast for the new Lionel catalog mentioned the 0-4-0 used the K-Line A5 tooling, so it should be scale sized (or near scale). The tender was too large but needed for the electronics.

I did some looking and remembered Lionel offered a few years ago a conventional 0-4-0 It looks nearly identical to me to the Lionchief plus 0-4-0 in the link below. Same stated price too.

http://www.lionel.com/products...switcher-94-6-11380/

I wonder if the Lionchief version will really do O-27, the Rio grande Lionchief basic is stated as minimum o-27.

Looks like we will know sometime between June and September, assuming the shipping dates are accurate to within a month.

For those not able to attend the most recent York meet, Lionel had a 0-4-0 Pennsylvania on display. It will be one very nice engine, lots of detail, lots of heft so to speak. Ryan (Lionel) told me they are made and being consolidated, shipping this summer. The engine can be seen via the TCA museum presentation video.

enjoy your trains...

 

The old K-Line tooling is really good, makes a nice looking engine.  Too bad you cannot make LC/LC+ engines 4 chuff/rev.

Ron, I also would like to see 4-chuffs and puffs per revolution.   Not sure what would make this not easy?   Would not the technology used for constant speed control allow this?   Anyone with more knowledge and expertise?  

Ken, it's not an issue of the technology, it would be very simple for the LC+ locomotives to have four-chuffs, they trigger the chuffs electronically.  You can, with a simple software tweak, have as many or as few chuffs for a driver rev as you like.  It was obviously a marketing decision for some reason.  I have previously guessed that they thought for the target market that not having as many chuffs was more "interesting" for the novice.  Perhaps there was some testing and people preferred what they have now?

Ken,

I've upgraded all my TMCC engines to 4 cuffs/rev, so I thought this would be doable too.  However, last month there was a topic on this and many of the experts here do not think it possible to get after market 4 cuffs/rev because of the way the LC/LC+ electronics work.  I'm going to take their word for it until someone comes up with a solution other than gut the LC+ electronics and put in ERR.

By the way, I already have the K-Line A5 with TMCC with added cruise and 4 chuffs using an EOB board.  The board almost didn't fit.  With the small drivers, it does sound like a machine gun if going fast.  However, it is a switcher and I run it slow and it sounds great.

ADDED: Looks like John beat me too it.

Thanks John and Ron.   So perhaps we can ask Lionel to upgrade the next LC+(+) locomotive to allow a 2-4 chuffs per revolution option.   Sounds like it would not be expensive to add 4 chuffs as a software revision, but adding a switch so the user can choose would add some cost.   Particularly when running slow, the 4-chuffs per rev would be very nice.

CAPPilot posted:

By the way, I already have the K-Line A5 with TMCC with added cruise and 4 chuffs using an EOB board.  With the small drivers, it does sound like a machine gun if going fast.  However, it is a switcher and I run it slow and it sounds great.

I suspect that is the reason Lionel decided against 4/rev. Probably a lot of folks using this engine aren't going to just poke along with it, particularly given much of the target market. Even at moderate speed, the machine gun effect would get old fast, I'd imagine, and also the impact of the chuffs would be diminished.

Well, that would makes sense, but all of the LC/LC+ steamers have two chuffs/rev.

gunrunnerjohn posted:

Well, that would makes sense, but all of the LC/LC+ steamers have two chuffs/rev.

Probably for cost and ease of production it's efficacious for Lionel to have a single set of steam electronics providing the same chuff rate in all its LC+ steamers, regardless of size.

Also, looking back at videos of people running these kinds of engines (particularly the younger set) going back to Postwar years, Stop and Full Speed seem to be the two main speed settings used.  At fast speeds, even the LC+ Hudsons and Pacifics etc. (with their smaller than scale wheels) are still going to sound like an Uzi with a stuck trigger.

This is the only picture I took at the show of the 0-4-0 LC+

Redonionite posted:

This is the only picture I took at the show of the 0-4-0 LC+

Thanks for the picture.  It's much better looking than the catalog photo, where it looks too green.

Any word if it will make O-27 curves?

I have the conventional classic A4. The locomotive & tender negotiate 027 curves but the coupler on the tender doesn't swing far enough to the side on curves. Anything attached to the tender derails on 027 curves. The derailments occur on traditional 027 profile track. I don't see the problem on Fastrack 027 curves. 

Fastrack O27 curves?  I don't think those exist, last time I checked, Fastrack was O31 and larger.

Well that explains why it works on Fastrack. �� Thanks.

I am using old MPC era O-27 track, so the minimum curve is rather important, that and I really lack space. so far Lionchief Plus has been able to run on 0-27. Hence I need to know; maybe they will adjust the couplers in this run?

Mike CT posted:

I did a (4) chuff modification to my Weaver A5.  Surprisingly the wheels are so small that an older Digital Dynamics TMCC upgrade with sound quickly puts all those chuffs into a blurr.... that continues when the model stops.  

The Weaver brass model.  May be a little nicer model, IMO.

 

How did you trigger the chuffs? Its difficult to get narrow trigger pulses with reed switches or cam lobes without modifications. I have switched to optical sensors on the drivers. Two benefits are synchronized chuffs and ability to get narrow trigger pulses. That, coupled with dynamic braking on the fan motor gives distinct puffs even at moderate speeds. 

Pete

I tried optical sensors, but that was still somewhat messy and very dependent on the specific locomotive.  I now use a tach strip and encoder on the motor flywheel.  I can calibrate it to any number of chuffs I want, and even experiment easily with different rates.  I can also set the duration of the chuff pulse in software.

I'm curious Pete, how did you implement dynamic braking on the motor?

I am just using a 39 ohm 1/2 watt resistor across the motor leads. Since everything I have done so far uses my own circuit I just make sure I can handle the slightly extra current. It means using a 1 amp regulator instead of a 100 ma one. I experimented with different resistor values. Its a trade off between extra current draw (quicker braking) or longer coasting and less current requirement.

Pete

I thought that might be the plan, I figured I'd ask in case you had something really clever that you devised.

Just curious, how effective was a 100 ohm resistor?

I don't think I ever tried any that high. Maybe 47 tops. As for clever, small footprint was the goal and I have no intention to market these. I understand there is another device out there that performs similarly but I can build ten of mine for what that one costs.

Pete

I wonder if the the tender headlight works.

I have the Southern Pacific Daylight A5 0-4-0 Switcher. This is the conventional engine. Before offering these with LC+, Lionel offered them in conventional with Railsounds and wireless infrared tether, smoke , etc (fully loaded, just without command control).

I picked this up for a steal - under $200, NIB from one of forum sponsors. List price was in the neighborhood of $500 IIRC. It was cataloged a year or two ago.

It runs like a top - works fine on 027. Both headlight and tender light are on at all times, no directional lighting. Fine with me. Couplers are the usual "plunger/thumbtack" couplers. The sounds are absolutely stunning - Legacy quality sounds. It was described on line, in the catalog, and on the box as having a fan driven, synchronized smoke - the smoke is synchronized to the chuffs but it is a puffer smoke unit (which I prefer).

 

I would expect at least all the features on my conventional A5 from a few years ago, maybe even more.

Looks like the K-line A5... sorry if it has been discussed before.

For an item i heard shipped in August i have heard very little about it.

Mike CT posted:

Four magnets installed on the inside of one of the drivers. I  drilled/dremel-ed small holes to recess the magnets.  

Let me introduce you to the better way to generate 4-chuffs. Chuff-Generator

Any new information?

http://www.lionel.com/products...-locomotive-6-82975/

The minimum curve is O-31

Before I bought the LC+ I had asked at the York show issues  to run on 027 track. I don't recall exactly the possibility but I determined it would not be an issue for me. As I now have the Pennsy 0-4-0 I do not have any problems using 027 and switch track

Redonionite posted:

Before I bought the LC+ I had asked at the York show issues  to run on 027 track. I don't recall exactly the possibility but I determined it would not be an issue for me. As I now have the Pennsy 0-4-0 I do not have any problems using 027 and switch track

How does the whistle sound like?

Compare.

Relay chatter is background noise. Also 2026 whistle was at 18v so it's really loud.

Whistle sounds about right for the 0-4-0, that's the one I put in for upgrades.

"TrainWorldTV" made a new video about the 0-4-0 A5s!!