LIONEL RED CARPET EVENT

Joe:

Are you allowed to disclose example pricing on items?  Just curious if it was 20% off, 50% off or 99% off on the items.

Thanks for the detailed summary too.  Very interesting.  I hope Mike R is able to make the move to Charlotte when they shift his unit there. 

Thanks again.

If offered again, I hope to make it the next time.  It sounds like it was a real treat not to be missed.  Thanks for providing a nice summary of the day.

I'd like to echo Joe S's comments.

I am fortunate to live a little over an hour away from Concord.  I am also a big NASCAR fan.  When Lionel got the license for NASCAR diecast, I was in seventh heaven.  Trains and NASCAR diecast all from Lionel.

All of the Lionel employees were great.  I was thrilled to get a chance to talk to these folks about Lionel trains and NASCAR diecast.  The tour of the Lionel facility was wonderful.  Walking into the archives was almost a religious experience.  The seminars were also excellent with all the presenters taking the time to answer all questions.

I picked up a few items at VERY discounted prices.  Heading for the event, I was thinking the product sales would be the big part of the event.  But, for me, it was all the other activities and conversations that were the highlight.

Lionel and LCCA, I hope you considered it a success and will do more of these events. 

The locomotives that I bought were around 40% off list. I saw one guy go out with 2 pallets loaded with product.

Thanks for your nicely done, informative, and insightful report, Joe!

I saw a mention that the Canfield, Ohio service center would be moving to NC.  Is this a fact?  I really would miss the get-togethers held at that facility the last couple of years.  From PA, it's an easy drive, not so to NC. 

I loved getting to meet a lot of the folks on here.  All you folks without avatars it would have been nice to be able to recognize you.   It was a great event.  Pricing on most things was around 40% off.  Well worth the trip.  Of course most of what is on my wish list was not available for sale but I bought plenty that became added to my list once I saw it.  I will try to give somewhat of a report on my activity later on.  Still have to unload the car!

Anyone know about the auction and which regular & archive pieces were offered?

Joe

Absolutely , not another pic taken yesterday, of the Red Carpet Event ,

just thought the morning would have been filled with them ,  Guess Not!!

thanks

Auction was a lot of unfinished/ unpainted items.  Wish I had taken my regular camera instead of my phone cam.  Nothing to me that was a HOLY COW thing there.  

The pictures above are the auction pieces. I have no interest in buying train without paint.I liked the vanderbilt--but buy a prototype and painting it doesn't show good common sense (not that I get accused of having much of that when it comes to trains).

There were several small layouts set up. I will post more pictures next week for WPF. The deals were OK, but they weren't much different than you would find at any York. The Genset Norfolk Southern could be had for $549.00. There were smoking cabooses for $57.00. There were several CSX Heritage locomotives for $329.00 (Clinchfield, CSX, C&O Chessie) BTW the Clinchfield CSX Heritage is one of the ugliest engines produced in O-Gauge and that's from a Clinchfield fan. The non-Scale Polar Express engine with whistle steam was $199.00. There was various rolling stock pieces for sale and lots of discounted starter sets. 

Scott Smith

I was tempted by this one as well as the Polar Railroad. However I have learned that steam engines that are of any color other than black kind of stick out. I was already in trouble with my wife with the rolling stock I bought--no reason to push my luck any further.

Scott Smith

Glad you guys had a good time but I really don't see from the various threads that there was really anything to buy. Being a runner the auction was also not for me. Glad I did not make the 1000+ mile drive. 

Was not able to attend ( less than 3 hrs away) but was also tempted buy the LCCA 'Tuscan' K4. Looked at the specs and noticed they didn't mention 'whistle steam' like all the other Legacy K4s so I passed. For the same $$$ we could have picked up the Alton K4 (with WS) or one of several of the Mikados...

I want to thank those who participated in the NC Transportation Museum visit on Friday. Although time was short, I hope everyone had a good time touring the museum. If you would like more information, please go to our website nctrans.org to see the many events, including off-site excursions planned for the spring and fall. 

I think my 4 year old daughter had some sensory overload when we first arrived, especially with the model layouts. We were there mainly to look and enjoy, but we ended up buying her one of the LRRC pink 6464-700 ATSF boxcars since that is her favorite color, and to start her collection of model trains. We were even lucky to win one of the door prizes. I hope Lionel continues events like this and the Christmas sale, since it does give an opportunity to acquire some trains at good prices. It also doesn't hurt that I am only 30-45 minutes away. I was also nice to meet some of the OGRF members that I correspond with from time to time. 

I would like to complement Lionel and the LCCC for putting on an excellent event. The tour and seminars were first rate. if the gig with Lionel doesn't work out Mike Regan should go into comedy. He was great. The prices, I thought were fair on everything offered. I just wished for more. I hope that the Christmas sale will be publicized here on the forum. I will definately drive down for that. And I will definately be back if this event is held again. Well done everyone!

What? No GRAY Vision Line Hudsons on closeout? 

I found plenty of great things to buy.  Beatles box cars.  Polar express coach.  Christmas items Scale freight cars to match my Legacy CSX.  Command Switches were super low.  As I am running on carpet in my apartment that did not make sense yet. Add on sets with operating cars.

I missed seeing the Hudson but I already have the black one. At the last York meet I tried buying the CSX Chessie from a dealer but when I opened it at my table there were some detailing pieces missing and when I took it back to him the only other one he had was also had some missing pieces so I had none. Not until yesterday, also I have quite a few engines and for some reason CSX just do not appeal to me. My first CSX engine came at the beginning of this year in the Motor City Express. Well I now have a second one to keep it company.

I also picked up the LIRR M-7 commuter set and the extra 2 cars for $272. I have wanted one of these for some time now, but like many others I have only so much $$ and I do have the 3 different subway sets. And I have been looking for one of these sets up until now.

The only disheartening thing that I did see was the Lincoln Funeral train set and the extra cars at a price a whole lot cheaper then when I bought it through the LRRC. Oh well live and learn, that will most likely be my last LRRC purchase.

This was indeed a great event. Thanks to all the Lionel folks who took the time to come in and work the event. The LCCA folks, as always were fantastic. Everyone we talked to was friendly and willing to answer any question. Even my wife had a great time and hit it off with many of the Lionel  folks and even got into bidding at the auction.

Here are a few pictures I didn't see posted

I wonder why they use the British spelling of "collectable" instead of the commonly accepted U.S. spelling "collectible"?  Both are acceptable spellings, but the use of "collectible" is far more common in this country.  I kind of would have thought NASCAR would stick with the All-American sort of theme wherever and whenever they could.

Come on Allan, we're an international hobby, Lionel have always lead the way in matters international. And besides, there's at least one Aussie Nascar driver.

Allan:

Perhaps they did that so that you sounded as if you were local when you said it.

" cole-lec-taa-bull"

Looking at all the other pictures I missed a few things going on. I didn't see Lenny the Lion, I didn't see the archives, I missed the tour my son Joshua has been getting over a cold and just wasn't able to stay long as either one of us would have liked to have. The event was well organized and was a lot of fun.

Scott Smith

It was really nice to meet Larry Neal and Archdale curve in person at the event.

All this time I was a member of the Carolina Piedmont Chapter of the NRHS and never knew that you where into O scale Larry!!

I'll be in Spencer for my birthday to Ride 630 but not before I visit Little Choo Choo to pick up a Birthday Gift!

I'm look forward to the Christmas sale since I missed out on the door buster.

Over all I would say that it was a very nice event just wished I was able to longer but I had to leave due to my son not feeling well.

Is this going to be a yearly event?

I'm glad to see some unpainted engines, hope they keep that practice going (and advertise it more).

That's about a 5 hour drive for me (takes forever to get out of VA it seems), but maybe I can make it next time.

Bob,

If you don't have to use I-95 you'll be fine. We left Friday afternoon after our girls got out of school and we may have spent at least a extra hour just on I-95. On one of the overhead signs it advised us that all 3 lanes were blocked and some other signs advised us to use route 1. The funny thing about it was all of the stop and go until we got to Richmond and believe it or not we did not see any sign of a accident. And on our way back home Saturday evening we saw a accident in the southbound lane of I-95 just above Richmond and I saw was bumper to bumper traffic in the southbound lanes all the way back to Washington. But we would still do it again, it was worth the trip.

I"ll add my 2 cents worth.....Myself and family had a great time at the Red Carpet event. Came with an empty SUV, but left with it fully laoded with all kinds of goodies.  My wife had a set "amount" I could use, well that was blown out of the water within 1 min.  (like the movie Gone in 60 seconds!).  Every penny was well spent.  Will be opening boxes all this coming week drooling at a distance of course of all the sweet stuff we got.  I told the wife on the ride back to FL today,..should of rented the largest Uhaul truck they have.

I will concur, with all who attended and took the tour, that was great to see the archives and the walls of cases full of all the number 1's in the NASCAR die-cast. 

Took approximately 300 pictures while there, of the layout that Lionel now has and around the event area.  When time allows later this week I'll start posting some of them for all to see.

As for the Lionel Service Center in Ohio, when they open that up this August, there will be a road trip from Florida up to there.

I echo much of what has been reported regarding the LCCA/Lionel Open House.  The individuals responsible did a first class job of having the items for sale and the operating layout arranged for easy passage and consumer friendly shopping.  The "hosts" were especially helpful and informative about the things to be seen.  I enjoyed seeing the auction items but decided to cut my visit short of 6:30 p.m.  Hope that someone who attended the auction will post the prices of the winning bids.

In summary:  I enjoyed the day, and am now in gear for York!