He was for sure an asset to the hobby,now the burning question who will be the Tech guy on the east coast?

Great GUY!!!!  Met him at YORK, hope to see him again.  Good Luck JON!!!!

I dealt with Jon, concerning technical and prototypical subjects, and he will be sorely missed. Just my opinion but, Lionel has lost two REALLY great & knowledgable guys, i.e. Mike R. and now Jon Z.

The Whiz Kid working out of the limelight, Jon served as the electrical/digital genius behind the Lionel brand.  His legacy will live on in every Legacy product.

Mike Mottler    LCCA 12394
mottlerm@gmail.com

Boy, that's a surprise!  I think Lionel is really going to miss Jon, he was a major force in their designs recently!  I only can hope that Lionel has someone that's half as talented as Jon to fill his shoes.

Good luck in whatever you do Jon, you will be missed!  I do hope you'll still drop into OGR from time to time to contribute.

NOOOO Dr ZW gone!! Marty say it aint so. Wow another lionel icon retiered. This man was a genius. He left some pretty good legacys during his time at lionel ( no pun intended). He make our trains fun again and operate better than they ever had been prior to him comming there. To say he will be missed is an understatment. Any word on who is taking his place? If you find out please let us know.

Wow, a big surprise to me as well.  I've also never met Jon face to face but he spent considerable telephone time talking me through a locomotive conversion problem I was having.  He is a first class guy and I wish him all the best in retirement.

Just keep Electric RR Co. open though!

That is a shocker! A very talented guy. Jon, you will be missed. I wonder what will become of Electric RR?

Pete

Dave Olson will be stepping partially into Jon's role as well as some new faces on the programming side. Jon has left Legacy as a whole in incredible shape and Dave has the same drive and passion to see the technology continue to evolve and grow with the Lionel brand. As Marty mentioned Jon will be helping out on some projects already in the pipeline and I don't think this will be the last we see of Dr.ZW. 

It's probably an understatement to say than Jon Z. played a key role--or the key role--in just about every Lionel innovation from Legacy to today, including the Layout Control System, iPad app, iCab app, LionChief, LionChief Plus, FlyerChief, Universal Remote, Bluetooth app, locomotive features like whistle steam, swinging bell, and depleting coal load, and miniaturized electronics (and, as mentioned, some things still in the pipeline). Not to mention his Electric Railroad products. Plus, I can say from personal experience—and I’m sure others would say the same--that he was generous with his time when questions/problems arose. He’ll be missed at Lionel and in the hobby, but I hope he enjoys the next leg of his journey and that we’ll still hear from him from time to time.

Cheers!

Keith

Jon will be missed.  

I knew it was a matter time for Jon when Mike left.  Best of luck on the left coast, Jon.  Met you once or twice at out there and you were very pleasant to talk to and obviously have imparted a lot of tech on Lionel.  Where I work its noticeable when someone who had a whole career behind them retires; you cannot replace that knowledge overnight or even in a couple of years. I hope Dave and some of the other engineers/embedded programmers soaked up as much of that brain before you left. I can see the excitement in Dave, so I hope the innovation continues, as allowed by the investors.

Good Luck Jon Z!!  Next to Marty I am your 2nd biggest fan!!!!!

Good luck Jon, have some fun in retirement.

Dave

I didn't know him but I know one thing....you just don't replace guys like that...when there gone there gone. Nick

oh this is not good....not good at all  

Hey RT,

Now Jon Z can spend more time flying around with Blimpman and playing trains with you Westies.

Ted

Hot Water posted:

I felt with Jon, concerning technical and prototypical subjects, and he will be sorely missed. Just my opinion but, Lionel has lost two REALLY great & knowledgable guys, i.e. Mike R. and now Jon Z.

I completely agree!

Ted Bertiger posted:

Hey RT,

Now Jon Z can spend more time flying around with Blimpman and playing trains with you Westies.

Ted

HA!  HA!  True enough!!!

It's bound to happen!  

WOW! Good Luck and enjoy Retirement! NOW what will happen to ERR? Phasing out by years end?

Congrats Jon, Thanks for a job well done and you sure will be missed. I wish you luck on your future endeavors.

Doug

I'm not worried about Lionel after Jon.  Dave is a talented guy with a lot of enthusiasm.  I hope you folks take some time and talk to Dave at York.  He is a really good guy willing to listen to ideas and concerns and he takes it to heart.

Jon has always been a friend of the Legacy Users Group and although he never made it to a meeting, always was gracious to answer questions, many of them over and over again.  While Jon will be greatly missed, I suspect he'll still be hanging out here.  He does have trains of his own.  I hope Derek can do another Notch 6 with him.  I imagine he has some stories to tell.

I will sorely miss Jon.  I have worked with him since his days at ERR where he utilized my  operating cars from MTH and Lionel  to prototype various ERR kits (Milk, Signalman box cars -2, and Signalman Caboose)  to work with TMCC.   His help with the Acela (even though it was not created on his watch) and the R27 has permitted me to enjoy those consists.  I got re-involved with the hobby with his efforts and recommendations which were spot on. I would not have 40 Lionel and MTH command engines running on three levels (soon to be 4 levels) without his assistance and encouragement.

Jon, Many thanks to you for all you have done for our hobby.  Your efforts to assure that items worked as designed, the standardization of parts and boards,  and the many new features brought to light though your vision will continue to bring enjoyment of our hobby for many years to come.  Enjoy your retirement.

Jon,

Best wishes for a happy retirement. Thank you for all your contributions to our hobby. 

Jim

I would also like to publicly thank Jon for all his efforts in the hobby. Although I have never met or spoken with him. Just corresponded by email. 

Perhaps not well known is how much Jon helped myself and other members of the Lionel Collectors Club (UK).  When he first started with Lionel,  correcting 50Hz frequency issues with the CW-80 transformers amongst other things. 

This was a massive change from the past where the club had tried to contact Lionel with U.K. specific problems and met with no response.

If we had a problem or a item could apparently not be sent to the U.K.. We could ask Jon. And on every occasion he would do his best to help. I am sure he had much more important things to worry about. 

Jon, Have a great retirement.

Best Regards

Nick Hannaford

Take one part Reagan and subtract

Take one part Zahornacky and subtract

The result is five times the number of people in minus creativity and stability for Lionel. Does anyone need the telltale to know the tunnel is coming?

OK, everyone. Pile on Scrappy 

Scrappy...take a chill pill dude. 

Best wishes and good health in your retirement Jon.

Scrapiron Scher posted:

Take one part Reagan and subtract

Take one part Zahornacky and subtract

The result is five times the number of people in minus creativity and stability for Lionel. Does anyone need the telltale to know the tunnel is coming?

OK, everyone. Pile on Scrappy 

The Sky Is Falling!!!

I remember when John brought his prototype board to York and everyone was all "Wow!"  John said something like "it's pretty good but it can be better" and he improved it.  And he came out with more and more products then finally Lionel stood up and took notice, as they should.  

Best to you, John Z!  

Jon,

Enjoy your retirement, and thanks for all the good stuff you did at ERR and Lionel.

Your face should be on the Mt. Rushmore of Lionel innovators.

Darn, Jon was the best.  Have fun.

John,

That photo of "Chicken Little" is so Millennial. Makes him look like a nerd. BTW, very few folks know that the sky did, indeed, fall on his sorry ___

LOL 

"If we had a problem or a item could apparently not be sent to the U.K.. We could ask Jon. And on every occasion he would do his best to help. I am sure he had much more important things to worry about."  Through Jon working with Albrecht in Germany thru me on the 50 cycle issues, I was the conduit to indirectly assist Lionel and Jon in  the resolution of the  50/60 cycles associated with the TMCC crane. I met Albrecht through Jon's connection and Albrecht stays at my home during York week since 2006?.  I was fortunate to be able to stop at his house when I was sent to Rome, Tunis, and Paris for work.  The url to photos I took of his layout in southern Germany may be found here.  https://clarityphotos.smugmug....youts/Germany-Ogage/  Please excuse the orange cast of the photos - result of the timber roof and all the UP consists.  Jon,  Thanks for introducing me to Albrecht.

Good luck in your retirement Jon, your shoes are some big ones to fill.

Come on John and Marty, cut Eliot some slack.

His "No whistle steam, no credit card steam" campaign was a key element in getting Lionel to offer the whistle steam again after dropping it for no apparent reason.

I think no one would argue that in a perfect world, it would be nice to have Mike, Jon, Ryan, and Dave at Lionel. Any one of these guys seems to have a full plate when dealing with 1000 Lionel items at a time.

Having said that, its not the first time Scrappy has caused a derailment, I mean....... derailed a thread.

Rich has retired too, theres no one to keep him in line.

Jon made a big difference and I would not be surprised if he continues to do so, if not through direct employment at Lionel.  Some may not realize Lionel was not his first career, nor his first effort to commercialize whiz-bang new technology.  Smooth sailing and good health to him.

Thanks for all you have done for us train folks over the years, it is much appreciated and it will surely be missed!

Hope you enjoy a very long, healthy and happy retirement!!   Good Luck to You!!

Fellow Forumites,

Thanks so very much for the kind words and well wishes.  I plan to continue doing projects for Lionel when requested, and help Dave when possible.  The engineering department is in great hands with Dave and team.  In the near term, I will be spending time on remodeling my commercial properties; and have a sizeable investment planned in time and money to support "AgShift(.com)".  Sustainable farming is a growing (no pun intended) concern for the future of our children and the planet.

Looking back on the involvement of the hobby, I just wanted to share my limited expertise when possible.  I had the honor of working with some of the brightest and dedicated folks at Lionel and in the hobby,  and I really enjoyed the experience - 12+ years just flew by!  Hanging with Neil was something I will never forget; some awesome days just sitting on the floor at his place drawing "pictures" in the carpet with our fingers to flesh out ideas!  I really did not fully believe his concept on how the LincVolt car created more energy than it used when running, but he was pretty convincing!  Maybe it does!  So many others I could mention that were my inspiration... Lou Kovach, Carl Tuveson, Ed Boyle, and Jim Rohde, Rudy Trubitt, Dave Olson, Ryan Kunkle...  these folks made the magic happen; I just had fun being part of the team and helping while running the Engineering department.

And to all the folks on the OGR forum- a big thank you for a wonderful community of hobbyists to be a part of.   And special thanks to the early adopters of the ElectricRR tech!  Hopefully soon I can free up some time to work on my layout again!

Happy Railroading!

jon

Good man, wish him well in his retirement!  Rich also.

PCRR/Dave