Lionel's new ESE 21" Cars

Long story short, I don't think anyone knows for sure anything about the new 21" cars- other than Lionel and they aren't saying as of now.

I know that's not the answer you're searching for, but it's the truth as of now.  Good luck.

The pre-order date is a couple days away.  

However, dealers like Charlie Ro typically order extras.  Charlie also publishes a price for early-buy and regular sale -- and sticks to those prices after items hit the street.  So you pretty much avoid the typical pricing games when some sellers push prices up toward MSRP after Lionel delivers product.

It will be interesting to see how close to prototype Lionel produces these cars.  When they did their last ESE in 18" aluminum as a Century Club II offering, the cars were just standard cars with ESE car names -- nothing unique as far as window/door configurations as I recall.

David

Sadly, I wonder if Lionel even knows anything about the finer details of how products are being produced nowadays in that far away nation.  Isn't this the same group that couldn't even tell us if their CZ observation car was being produced with a dome?    Folks had to wait for delivery to get the definitive word.  

David

Here are a couple pics of the cars, one original, one as it appears today. Both are coaches which comprised most of the cars on this train. Illustrations in the catalog don't show any cars that look like this but that doesn't mean they won't be correct when they ship. Too bad you have to commit to buy them to find out.

Pete

Ceratinly not "ethical" but you are able to "back out" of a preorder without penalty from some dealers. Certain dealers have stated they "understand" and aren't terribly concerned as everything will sell eventually.

I suppose the more "honest" option is just to preorder and take delivery and keep it "sealed" until you see pictures of "others" on the forum or elsewhere.

If its wrong you can turn around and sell it yourself. Lionels BTO leaves a higher demand from procrastinators once the item is delivered.

It would be nice to see a sample of Lionel's new 21" cars at York, but this may be too soon. I am confident though that the cars will provide major changes from the 18" aluminum cars of late, particularly the window treatment.

Let's give them a chance to show us first before all of the second guessing. 

If not during York this April, we likely will see something in October. Regardless, I'm going with optimistic thoughts on the cars.

Yes, the CZ set was a mess, but hopefully Lionel learns from their mistakes. I have a good feeling already the new cars will be far more faithful than the Century Club versions. Whatever the reason, I still preordered the set and am awaiting a beautiful train nonetheless.