New 57' Smoking / Freight Sounds Reefer

I saw somebody review this item on YouTube and I don't recall Seeing The LED light on that 1 either

https://youtu.be/EjEXTrpuHRU

Did Lionel make two models of these?

One with their tooling and now one using the old Weaver tooling?

I'm going to have to pull mine out and look as I haven't run it yet.  This is a good question.

They made one of these as an add-on car for the new Area 51 Set which should be out soon. At the time they were cataloged, I didn't preorder as I wanted to see how these turned out and read some reviews. So this thread is perfect. Looking forward to some feedback.

I watched the YouTube video about the new Conrail version and the reviewer didn't talk about an LED light and I didn't see one either.

Here is the description from Lionel:

• "Ice cold" smoke effect
• Green LED check light comes on with smoke unit
• Opening side doors
• Opening generator compartment door with generator inside
• Die-cast trucks with rotating bearing caps
• Operating couplers with hidden tabs
• Scale coupler and 2-rail convertible (parts sold separately)
• Separately applied detail parts

RAILSOUNDS INCLUDING:

• Diesel generator sounds
• FreightSounds when in motion replicate the sounds of the train as it rolls down the track

I just watched the video and didn't see it but on one side of the car there's a panel with holes in it, the green led may be behind that panel. My old Weaver car is like that.

Doug

I see no point in the smoke feature. 

Maybe one of the Lionel people will chime in on the mistake.

Another observation about the reefer car in the catalog is the fact it depicts the door closed with the smoke seeping out around the edges to give illusion that the cold from inside is escaping but per the instructions you have to keep one of the doors at least halfway open during smoke operation. Thus, a different appearance all together. Now it just looks like someone left the door wide open as it rides down the rails.

@tom21pa posted:

Maybe one of the Lionel people will chime in on the mistake.

Or......maybe not....

So does anyone know it these are made with Lionel or the Weaver tooling?

So I have seen photos of the Union Pacific, Conrail, Southern Pacific and BNSF versions of this new reefer. The BNSF version seems to be the only one with the LED visible just outside the main door. I looked in the compartment behind the smaller door at the end of the car and there is no LED. I am curious if Lionel only put the LED in one version and advertised it all the road names. 

If I had one of these reefers I would  park it at the loading dock behind the  city hospital.  That's  where the Covid Vaccine  is kept. Dave

These look like they do not have the little sliding door or the generator with the three leds like the weaver car I have. Iam I right?

Just watched the video, no light, not see the point of the constant smoke effect, not a big fan of having the doors open.  Best feature generator start up and railsounds. I wonder if the generator cycles on and off. $200 car 😕

There is a small door located at the end of the car that opens. The generator inside does not have an LED (see pictures). I got mine for $150 from a local dealer. The sounds start up on their own when track power is applied and they stay running the entire time. The sounds change from a constant humming sound to traditional rail clickety- clack with pops and bangs when the car is in motion.

@BobbyD posted:

So does anyone know it these are made with Lionel or the Weaver tooling?

That’s the Lionel tooling. The Weaver doors were cast in and didn’t open. There are also a few subtle differences in the body, such as vent location and along the roofline. For those curious, here is what the Weaver LEDs look like. It also appears the diesel/compressor access door is a solid piece with the Lionel tooling. The Weaver car has a true screen so the LEDs are visible even when it’s closed.

The Weaver sounds cycle between the on-board diesel power plant, a compressor sound, and “off.”  The LEDs cycle red, yellow, green.

RM

The Weaver car is pretty sweet. Does anybody have the part number

Just received my BNSF reefer - when powered up, it does have a green LED under the Plate C marking.

RockyGN, I don't see a photo in your post.

Well, there you go, the only version that seems to have the LED is the BNSF.

Wondering if you have the old ice cold express reefers to see how match the new BNSF reefer.

@John Hon posted:

Wondering if you have the old ice cold express reefers to see how match the new BNSF reefer.

Eric's trains did a review recently where he compares the old version to the new one. https://youtu.be/SW6YQLgPr40

He did a great review, I cannot believe Lionel needed his car for re-designing it. This day and age and company needs a collector's item. It was super cool of Eric for letting them pick it apart. I ended up getting the ConRail and Santa Fe version and neither of them have the green led.

I got the up version. I love it only issue was one coupler kept popping open. Had to get a replacement truck of ebay as I destroyed mine trying to fix it. Other than that I want another one now. I am going to try to get the santafe one next.