Modern Lionel 1970 to 2021

The generally accepted Lionel Eras are defined by time frame, not engineering (although there can be some correlation):

Classics

1900-1942 Prewar

1945-1969 Postwar

Modern Era

1970-1986 MPC

1986-1995 LTI

1996-Current Lionel LLC

I hear you Big John:  of all my locomotives, only three are digital:  1 PS-2 and 2 TMCC... and the latter two at least have serviceable Pullmor motors.  A fellow operator told me he's taken to removing all the digital components whenever trouble arises and returns to operating in analog/conventional mode.  I like the older stuff myself (especially the Pre-War), with motors you could service when needed and an e-unit you could lock into one direction if you wanted.  "Maintenance free" for most folks means "throw away or shelf display" when finished.

Postwar will be running when the last thirty years improvements have been not fondly remembered.  It was a logical progression but short sighted.  The scale size is nice and the detailing is great but the electronics were a mistake.

If I had to guess, I would put the next important step in operation as powered by battery and 'engineered' by a 'heads up display'.  All us little boys (and girls) will be finally able to live that childhood dream.

If you look back on Joshua Lionel Cowen’s youth, he was a tinkerer. And as a young man was fascinated with the cutting-edge technology of the day – electricity. He took his hobby and passion for technology and kept innovating. The super detailed 700e, the operating accessories of the Post-war era, just to name a few.

In my opinion, if he were alive today, he would be leading the charge to digital.

Just for the record, I am speaking as a person who doesn’t own ANY Lionel trains newer than 1993, (a few gifts from people who didn’t know I only run Postwar). I don’t think digital, TMCC, Railsounds, Lionchief etc. are a mistake, just different.

And you can work on them. There are many members of this forum who have gotten into the guts of the digital workings to effect repairs, custom modifications, heck they have even made their own boards.

To each their own. I don’t see myself getting into the new stuff, but not because I find it inferior. My childhood and passion are just too closely tied to Postwar. Maybe that changes some day. Who knows.

And to the OPs earlier question, most of the digital innovation is associated with LLC era. If I recall correctly, TMCC and Railsounds were around 1994, with Legacy Control/TMCC2 around 2009, and Lionchief 2013 and Lionchief+2014. I could be wrong. I dont actually own any