Menards lion chief rs-3 set, good stuff?

I have the John Deere version of this set. I'm not impressed, this is old stock & part of the first generation of LionCheif stuff. No Bluetooth, no volume control. There is a single switch on the bottom to turn off the constant engine noise which you will want to take advantage of, it will drive you nuts. The whistle and bell sounds do remain. The sound is below par of other Lionchief stuff. It is now compatible with the universal remote as long as it has the firmware upgrade. It will pull okay but when put under strain is wobbles pretty bad.

The construction is about 95% plastic. Very few metal parts.

Honestly, $160 is still a little on the high side.

Hmm... great feedback, good points to consider...

I have the John Deere set. With engine, cars, fastrack and transformer, I didn't consider it a bad deal.  Unfortunately,  it got me back into trains,  and I have bought a lot of engines and cars as a result of it.

I bought the engine separately, it will only run about 4 cars, the remote is nice.

The trucks are plastic very light weight engine.

Thanks! How would you rate the quality of the engine?

Sorry, jushavnfun posted while I was typing...

only 4 cars? Wow... that seems a little weak... 

You'd be much better off getting the finance dept. to approve a LionChief Plus RS-3. These are far better engines, night and day difference from those cheapo Menards engines. The LC Plus version is solid with a powerful engine and lots of pulling power, great remote control, a terrific cruise control system, good sounds including recorded announcements, and more. It'll be a lot more exciting for a kid (and you) to play with. Pick up some inexpensive traditional Lionel rolling stock on Ebay, which is easy to do, and you're set.

I would be getting the set mostly for the engine anyway, I don't need the track, and this set only has one car and a caboose anyway, so I might as well just get an engine I'll be happy with... Thought I would jump on what sounded like a good deal, but the mostly plastic construction doesn't sound appealing to me at all.

Jon,

I was able to pull more than 4 cars with my JD RS3. I had it up 8 and did move okay, but like I said I could tell that was all she would handle as it wobbled down the tracks.  It is a single motor unit that weighs 2.4 Lbs.

Id have to agree with BreezinUP ..   The difference between LC and LC+ cant be explained via text!!   If you dont need the track or the cars....  I would not get it.

Jim

better check into what that rebate really is.

Cheap crap sums it up well, IMO. 

Rebate = store credit. Useful for me. I did see the C&NW set, but I'm just not excited about the look of the steamer...

Thanks for all the feedback! I think I'll pass on this set. Maybe when our tax return comes in I can convince the finance department to allow the purchase of a nice engine...

Well, it's a good thing I posted here first instead of just buying the set. You guys made me think twice about paying $180ish for this set, and today I found an older (non-chief) RS-3 on Craigslist for less than $25!