My Lionel Vision U.P. Centipede running

Thanks for video. I was wondering about the sound. Would love to hear live. Roof vent fans awesome touch. It looks huge in video. Enjoy the heck out of it. Judging by the number of steamers on sides of your tracks compared to diesels you must be a steam fan. I'm sure the centipede called hard to you to be part of your roster.  Great engine and brake sounds. Beautiful engine. 

Thank you for the comments, Jeff.  Yeah, I am more of a steamer person because steamers overall just look cooler with all those moving parts.  The Centipede on the other hand I was initially skeptical about spending $2k for a diesel but after actually running it, seeing and hearing it in action, I am convinced I made the right decision. I didn't believe most Centipede owners when they said the sound was incredible until I actually heard it with own ears.   It's just plain cool and is just massive looking.  The fact that Lionel made this engine all die-cast is what got my attention.  I don't think I would have bought it if it was a just a Vision Line plastic engine.  The last great engine that Lionel made in die-cast was the UP Veranda which is a part of my roster.  That engine by itself is probably heavier than one of the Centipede units

I'm a huge die cast fan. A good bit of my rolling stock is die cast. Nothing beats the feel and look of them, and they love to stay rock solid on tight turns and inclines. Again, enjoy the Centipide. I'm going to York and decided to come back with one awesome engine instead of a bunch of smaller stuff. The centipede is on my list and I have a feeling if I get to hear it live at York it may be coming home with me. 

Great idea, Jeff.  I am the same way.  I'd rather have one nice engine than several "average" engines.  After finally running my engines for the first time ever (some are from 2002 in sealed boxes), I've finally come to the realization that Legacy let alone Vision just blows the competition out of the water.  So many features.  I used to highly value exterior details (for display purposes) but now I think the priority for me is how many features the engine has especially since I actually run them now.  Good luck on getting the Centipede and let us know how your experience is!

I'm curious Ansonnn, what made you change from a collector to a runner? I have a friend who has been a collector for many years. He talks now and then about setting up just a small layout to see the engine in action then he decides against it. I also have many items I do not run so I guess I am a collector/runner. My thoughts are with the advent of Legacy engines it is not just the great detail you mention but what's hidden inside you can't see unless you bring her to life. My friend has many beautiful Legacy engines that he has never heard the bells and whistles and sounds on or seen the lights in action. Once they come out of the box and touch the tracks they can no longer be considered mint in box, I get that. Too bad there wasn't a way to power them up to see and hear without losing their mint status. 

Thank you. Enjoy.

Peter

Thank you very much for the video.  Nice engines.  I love the Vision line and UP, but I passed on these and your video proves my intuition right: they are just too big - at least two long- for my layout. 

They sure sound and look good, though.   Nice

again, thank you for taking the time to post the video.

Great Video....

Jeff....in today's market, for the most part, it is like buying a new car.  Once you make the purchase and take it off the lot, the value goes down.  I wouldn't worry about collecting and just enjoy the trains the way you want to enjoy them.  Run them if you want or put them on the shelf...they most likely are not going to be worth as much 10 years from now regardless of how you enjoy them.  This assessment is of course not being made by an expert.  It is just my opinion which my wife says is wrong most of the time!!

Alan

Cool video, thanks for posting.

Also never ever buy these trains as a investment, buy them because you like them. Run them enjoy them.  I run everything I have and if they have value in the future that's good if they are nothing but big paper weights that's ok also. I'm having fun with my trains and so should everybody else. 

Jeff, these puppies lose value nowadays without even removing them from the box! 

As long as new production of product continues -- largely with "incremental" improvements over prior versions, this phenomenon will occur.

The most recent example is Lionel's re-issue of the UP 4-12-2.  Don't quote me on this, but I think the re-issue came out a few $$$ less expensive than the circa 2002 version, and the newer one has the whistle steam effect -- making the earlier version somewhat "less desirable".  Yet I still see the earlier version MINT on eBay for it's original MSRP asking price.  Reality check for those sellers:  Dream on, 'cause it ain't gonna happen!!!  But they still keep listing it for more than the newer version. 

David

I spoke too soon.  My Legacy DD35 powered and non-powered have non working smoke units.  Luckily they're under warranty. 

Now my CW-80 just failed after just two weeks of use.  Seems like a common problem among members here.  Guess no more running trains till the ZW-L comes in.

Twenty-two percent failure rate and that is OK!

Would you purchase a car that had a 22.2% failure rate?  Would you go to a doctor where 22.2% of the patients are carried out to the morgue?  Would you allow your wife or daughter to go to a maternity hospital where 22.2% of the babies are drooped?

This is the kind of questions we would ask in Quality training classes when discussing AQLs.

I used to be upset with Legacy failure rate. Not anymore. Lionel warranty service makes it right in less than a week. My hunch is that due to where the engines  are built it is near impossible to have a better success rate without a considerable increase in quality control and therefore price. I've grown to accept this only because the engines Lionel has been producing are really incredible and fairly priced. Plus they are bounced around the globe till they get to our layouts. Every Legacy that Lionel has fixed for me has remained rock solid. I can live with a weeks time in the hospital for such a intricate engine if need be. 

I have all of the new Lionel vision line Centipedes road names.

They are so great that I think that I am in love with them.

The only thing that I do not like is the fragile plastic antenna stanchions on the lead engines of the Pennsylvania 5 stripe and the single stripe. They break very easily and Lionel does not have replacements.