Lionel's new autoracks

I just hope there a little smaller then the mth scale ones there fregin huge...

I think these are 22.25 inches...

 

Look at 21" pass cars, these will probably look similar.  What is cool is it looks like the couplers will adjust for different curve radius track.

The models pictured in the catalog look awful. I'm not buying any until I see them in person. Of course that means that by the time i actually get to see one, it will be impossible to buy any.

 

By the way, the MTH racks are NOT scale. They're way too short. I do however like them and just might decide to be satisfied with what I already have.

Pretty sure the MTH cars are just over 20" long.  I'm sure these Lionel ones will be really nice.

While I have no doubt these cars will look fantastic, I'm quite surprised at the number of folks here expressing more than a casual interest in them -- particularly since so few layouts will handle them well.

 

Perhaps Lionel will have prototype samples on display at York?  That would be nice.  I remember that's where I first saw the AtlasO 89' flats, and I thought THOSE looked huge for most layouts... and that was just a low-profile flatcar.  These autorack cars are gonna be far from "low-profile"... quite the opposite in fact!  You won't be able to miss them if they're on display. 

 

I'm just guessing here... but I'm currently thinking these cars are definitely into O99 or O108+ territory before a layout does them any justice.  And quite possibly even broader curves than that, before you're not dealing with excessive overhang issues.  The ratings in the product specs don't necessarily correlate to what "looks good" -- rather they're simply a guide to what is mechanically possible.

 

David

 

 

 

I'm interested in the autoracks, but I would like to see Lionel offer them in three or four cars sets, as well as individual sale.  Hopefully this will happen in 2013, when I have money again (after some big ticket 2012 items are paid for.)

 

0-54 sound like a dream for a 24" car, however, I guess that Lionel figures it is doable with their new coupler system. 

 

Jim

 

 

At that car length you will need to have O-110 or greater to avoid noticeable over/under hang on the curves.  You should also plan on significant clearance issues on any curves under O-84.  While the trucks/wheels won't bind above O-54, I'm betting you can see all three rails if you try to run them through an O-54 curve.

I have O72 curved track and switches, just so I could operate these long freight cars. There is just enough clearance to operate the 89' flat cars on both tracks.

 

I am looking forward to getting one or two of these, but since they are limiited edition high-priced items, it means that I will have to be very selective with the paint scheme choice.

Grand Trunk Western with the ALL BLUE sides would be among the top choices.

 

Like THE ROCK with the full side graphics.

 

Chicago & North Western Whitehead & Kales racks in 1980's safety-yellow or the Thrall Car 1993 CNW big letter scheme in traditional Yellow are two that I would consider.

 

Andrew

 

Falcon Service

As I posted in another thread, my initial beef based on the catalog pictures is using the wrong car classification marks and roadnumbers on the cars.  The Conrail one is completely off; the classification on the bottom shows it as a DTTX.  DTTX designations are for deep-well cars, like the husky stacks; it should be ETTX, and I believe that the roadnumber on that one is for a husky stack as well.

I would just like to seem them do a little more prototype homework on these scale items.  MTH too.

TTGX is for Bi-Level automobile racks with roofs.

 

ETTX is for Tri-Level automobile racks with roofs.

 

Andrew

I just hope there a little smaller then the mth scale ones there fregin huge...

ROTFLOL! You are kidding right? the MTH scale out to 70ft. theae will be 89' scale. These lionels will DWARF the MTH ones for sure!

The text says Bi-Level.

 

The images show an Auto Rack that is TRI-Level.

 

The TTX designation should be TTGX for a Bi-Level and ETTX for the Tri-Level.

 

How did they end up with DTTX. Will it be fixed before they are put into production?

 

Will they be delivered by December 2012?

 

Andrew

 

Falcon Service.

The Conrail one is completely off; the classification on the bottom shows it as a DTTX.  DTTX designations are for deep-well cars, like the husky stacks; it should be ETTX, and I believe that the roadnumber on that one is for a husky stack as well.

I would just like to seem them do a little more prototype homework on these scale items.  MTH too.

 

I can see a string of them on a big (club?) layout.....but it would take a rich man as even one is beyond me right now. But thumbs up Lionel for a great looking item.

You could buy one, if you were able to tightly focus your purchases to just one of the new Lionel O Scale Auto Racks during a one year period. That would require a lot of careful planning and strict spending.

 

Andrew

The "street" price of the cars aren't to bad.  While the single car MSRPs at $150, a quick check at one of the large on-line dealers has the car priced at $107.

 

Jim

I haven't decided whether to preorder one of these cars to sample or wait and see production models. I also wonder how high these will ride if made for 054 curves, and, if too high, whether that can can be corrected. In response to the original poster, here is a sample of scale 89 foot cars on 072 curves. These are Atlas TOFC flats rated for 072 minimum in three rail. Mine are modified with body-mounted Kadees:

 

 

 

I hope Lionel takes the opportunity to add Kadee coupler mounting pads and multiple truck attachment points, one for smaller curves and one for people with large curves that want the proper truck placement.

Dan

For that price these new Lionel Auto Carriers better be as great as the Red Caboose N Scale Auto Carriers, which have amazingly realistic detail for such a small freight car model.

 

Andrew

I am all in for this set with the 2 add ons. After its released you wont be able to find them for sale. Its a big ticket set. They are going to become rare like the GATX sets. Just my honest opinion. My dealer has an order for 15 sets already and about 20 each of the add on cars.

I find it interesting that Lionel intends to make autos that can be loaded and unloaded from these cars.  You might have to scratchbuild the ramps but it would be cool to have another industry to model.  I am still disappointed about the price and (as John pointed out) the markings but I'm sure they will be a hot item.  I'm looking forward to seeing some pictures.

The more I think about it, the more I wish Lionel did NOT offer this as a set with a locomotive.  As I've indicated earlier, few folks will have the layout real estate to do these puppies justice.  And for those that do, the last thing they'll need is another locomotive.

 

But I guess the Lionel bean-counters figured they might as well throw a $500-$600 loco into the picture while folks are already spending that much on the cars themselves.  Personally, the loco doesn't do anything for me, as I prefer a slightly different CSX paint scheme.

 

Instead, I wish Lionel would have offered the initial auto rack cars as a standalone 4- or even 6-pack.  Then after the series was established, they could have thrown ONE into a set here and there for the true collector to hunt down over time. And naturally, I'm sure we'll see more of these as add-ons every so often.

 

But as a set right from the get-go?  Definitely not my first choice, as I think Lionel is forcing a behavior that wouldn't have otherwise occurred.  But it sounds like we're not going to disappoint the bean-counters after all.  

 

David

Just find a dealer who is breaking the set up and buy just the cars.

 I think that would be great. I don't see Lionel responding. I'm still hopefull they see who's buying there products. They are very innovative lately. I hope these cars are well detailed like some other recent car releases.

 I don't mean to discredit anyone, I bet they sell no matter what they are priced.. I'm always amazed at prices at first like sticker shock.

I took some photos of an OMI 89' autorack on O72 and O120 curves and jotted down a few measurements. The OMI rack measures 22.25 at the car ends. Looks like the Lionel rack will be somewhere close in length at 24" measured across the couplers. I also took some measurements with an Atlas 89' flat that measured 22.25 at the car ends.

 

The overhang at the car ends for the OMI rack =2.375 on O72

The overhang at the car ends for the Atlas flat =1.875 on O72

I noticed that the trucks on the OMI rack are centered at 3.25" from the car ends whereas the trucks on the Atlas flat are centered at 2.875 from the car ends. The truck spacing from the car ends will definitely affect overhang at the car ends and the overhang at the center of the car lengthwise. I don't know where Lionel will place it's trucks, but the overhang shouldn't be too much more or less than either of these two cars. Here are a few pics.

 

 

 First pic is OMI rack on O72 then O120 curves

 

OMI rack overhang at car center on O72 then O120 curves

 

 

Atlas flat and OMI rack coupled on O72 curves. The Atlas flat has more car center overhang due to the wheels being placed closer to the car ends.

 

 

Travis

 

Greetings from the 2-rail side of the house. I know for one I'm rally excited about Lionel’s announcement with regards to the full scale autoracks. Truth be told I just bought my first piece of scale Lionel a PS-2 covered mill gondola and converted it to 2-rail with kadee couplers, looks great! So I am in deed looking forward to the autoracks. I don't have a permanent layout but have teamed up with my friend Steve on a double track module layout with 54" and 50" radius I guess that would work out to O-108 and O-100 so problem in that area with regards to offset.

A most welocme product.

 

Walt