Lionel Trains Inc. LTI Fan Thread

Here is Lionel's Reading T-1 (6-18006) 2100 custom painted and detailed as 2124

Great pics.....my favorites from this era include:

1. D&H Coastal Freight SSS 

2. NYC Passenger Freight SSS 

3. Railsounds1 boxcars......NYC & REA

4. Steam, Clean & Wheel Grind accessory

Peter

I have just about every collector line LTI item made and its hard to pic a favorite. There were alot of nice items made then. The Steam Clean and Wheel Grind shop is my favorite, I was lucky enough to buy one over the summer still sealed, the Mi Jack Crane is another and the Lift Bridge. The Pipe Loader was pretty neat as well. As for trains, thats tough.  But the 18043 Yellow Belly is a favorite, along with the Reading and Chessie T1 which I am updating to RS 4, and TMCC, and my Lionel NS Trailer Train Triple Crown Set. The CP Rail SD40 Set, and well the Warhorse J set which I purchased from an OGR forum member David, which was still sealed, is also becoming a favorite. I got lucky on this set because the engine was NOT heavily weathered at all!!! (My other warhorses are nice as well, but I know the last two were Lionel LLC)

I have several LTI Era engines as well as a bunch of rolling stock.

I believe the first TMCC Engine was the 6-18042? B & A Traditional sized Hudson. Cab# 618. I have it. It was in the same catalog as the C&O Yellow Belly Hudson. I have that one also. I have the Milwaukee Road SD-40's from the same catalog. Only I didn't get the one without sound, I have two with railsounds. They are conventional.

I have several other pieces from that catalog. It was pretty much the catalog that got me back into Lionel. I was into Lionel when I was younger. For about six or seven years prior to 1995, I was really into LGB. I refused to even look at Lionel. To me at that time everything still looked like it did when I was a kid. UNTIL THAT 1995 CATALOG!!! It changed everything and I was a LIONEL GUY once again.

PS...Get the Mohawk. Great engine!!!

While it was meant as a cheap way to get people attracted to the TMCC system, the TMCC Geeps are pretty nice little engines for the price.  I picked mine up for $125 at a show one time.  It's got a flashing strobe on the roof, directional lights, it was upgraded to have electrocouplers by a previous owner, TMCC, RS, pullmor motor and magnatraction.  I really like the NYC lightning stripe scheme too.  I think that's what caught my eye when I saw it at the show.

I have the 1-700E and a set of the 1991 "Madison" cars with the heavy (phenolic?) bodies.

Well... from a purely selfish point of view, I'd definitely suggest you review my recent OGR Forum "for sale" listings -- especially "Part 5", 'cause there are still a few great bargains remaining on LTI-era locomotives and rolling stock. 

Seriously though, I hated to part with some of the LTI items I listed, 'cause I have some great memories of those years collecting that stuff.  But the reality of the situation was such that I had accumulated WAY too many trains that I'd never get a chance to even display much less run.  So I'm glad that so many folks here have gotten a chance to grab some real bargains in the process.

Many of the locomotives mentioned here were listed in my "Part 5" thread.  The Reading T1 and NYC Mohawk have been spoken for, but the Chessie T1 and Pennsy S2 Turbine may be silently calling your name!!! 

Best regards,

David

Art, those 1991 Madison cars represent a true Lionel classic, IMHO.  Of the many items I collected during that period, I chose to NOT sell those Madison cars when I recently undertook my ambitious "collection thinning" project this year.  I've paired those jewels up with a Lionel Pennsy GG1 (with TMCC), and I'm instantly transported back to the 1949 Lionel showroom layout where a similar train ran on that layout's "subway line".  Pure magic... and it doesn't get any better than that! 

David

I thought these engines came out during Lionel's LLC era...

Art, those 1991 Madison cars represent a true Lionel classic,<<<<

Lionel LTI in 1994 also did a set of five Bakelite Heavyweights painted in SP Daylight colors.  

Joe    

Maybe they did, I'm not quite sure.  Was it already LLC in 1995?

From what I see researching it, LLC started up in 1996 and LTI went out in 1995.  I guess it's pushing it, but I think my geep is from the LTI era.

One of my favorites from this era, the 11712 Great Lakes Express. I'll post a better photo later today, this one I found online.

I have both the Santa Fe polished aluminum passenger set which was released in 1991 with all additional cars and B-units as well as the Great Northern set released afterwards.

What was really cool was the additional Great Northern 2 car Full Vista Dome set. It featured passengers in the dome with illuminated tables and passengers. Neat stuff for that era.

Cesar

>>From what I see researching it, LLC started up in 1996 and LTI went out in 1995.  I guess it's pushing it, but I think my geep is from the LTI era.<<

There were earlier RS engines but I do believe the C&O Hudson to be only TMCC engine produced during the LTI era.

Joe

A repost of the pics, but they are my two favorite LTI engines:  18030 Frisco Mike and 18024 T&P Mountain.

There was also a traditional size Boston and Albany Hudson with RS and TMCC and The Wabash Bluebird Traditional Size Hudson also with TMCC and RS

The 2380 GP-9's appeared in the 1996 signature catalog, along with the first Commodore Vanderbilt and Warhorse N&W J, and 1996 was Lionel LLC's first year.

I remember that the Denver & Rio Grande SD50's from the 1995 signature catalog also had TMCC.

All right, that makes sense.

Better photo of the 11712 Great Lakes Express set.

Great looking set, Ed. Those passenger cars look similar to those that came with some of the old Alco 027 sets.

The NYC set - 

Boxcars/Stock Cars/Reefers - 

Flatcars & Hoppers 

Cabooses 

other stuff - 

I just realized when posting all these that I don't have pics of a lot of my LTI Rolling Stock for some reason. Oh well, gives me something to do

Daylight Set - 

New Haven passenger set

My first Lionel set was the Freight Flyer received Christmas 1987.  It was the Shop Rite super markets promotional set.  I later picked up the normally included Conrail box car as a separate sale item.

Next I received the Silver Spike in 1988.  I picked up the separate sale cars around 2004.

The last of my LTI era items (at least I think the ore car is LTI)

Timely thread. I just picked up a like new Coastal Freight Set which I believe is the LTI SSS from 1991. Really love the colorful loco and rolling stock in this great set!

Hello Christopher.............

I am thinking of purchasing a lionel U.P. #9368 bay window caboose to go with my railking challneger and could you do me a favor ?  I need to know what the measurements are from the top of the rail to the roof top of any of your lionel bay window caboose, can you do that ? thank you.......

the woman who loves toy trains

Tiffany

I just recently purchased a 1-700E Hudson from 1990 (Pictured in an earlier post.)  It hasn't been run and I will keep it in its display case since it is so detailed and well done.  To me, this was the highmark of the Kuhn era and one of the most beautiful Hudsons ever produced by anyone under the Lionel banner. Dick

Dick, glad to see you got it out of the box, since I never did. 

It's about 3'' from rail to roof

400E, I bought my Kuhn era Hudson from a lead on this Forum.  The original ownwer took exellent care of it, opening the set box and looing at the Hudson but never much else. In fact the harness located in the cab that plugged into the tender had never been loosened-- in other words it was like new - literally.  The attractive display base, with a long section of Gargraves track and the hardy plastic dome cover had never even been unsealed.  Much of the Kuhn era product is bold and colorful.  But this reproduction of the 1937-41 scale Hudson is so classic and detailed it will be difficult to top.  If anyone has it stored away unopened, my suggestion is open it up and admire it.  It probably won't appreciated beyond what you paid for it -- especially in second millenium dollars so make the most of it and enjoy it. Dick