VisionLine GG-1 & 21" passenger car Videos from York

Thanks for shooting/sharing the video.  I wasn't able to see these demos since I was at my table this meet.

Is it just me, or did it look like the pantograph on the right didn't go back down all the way when he lowered it? (~ 2:40 in the video)

-Dave

They said that it was pre-production, and God I hope so. Up close it looked like crap. They paint was bad, and the shell was a mile off the trucks

Same thing with the 21' passenger cars. We had one person from Lionel Tell us they were pre-production, and another Lionel Rep tell us that they we the production finals.

They need to get there act together and get on the same page.

I have an Empire State set on order with all the add on cars. Was not really happy with how they looked at York. I fell as if I should start looking for the old K-line 21" cars. I can't believe that we have to by the people for the 21" cars separately. How much extra will that cost me.

I didn't get a good look at the Log train Caboose.

I think on Thursday it was a production sample, but by Friday it became a pre-production sample!  LOL!!!   

Seriously though, Marty E over in another thread indicated he was told it was a JLC GG1 with a few mock-ups to illustrate the upgraded electronics in the Vision Line GG1.  But I gotta say, my JLC GG1's look much better than what I saw at York!  So perhaps that poor demo GG1 has been through the mill during the electronics upgrade.

David

I was talking to Lionel about the logging caboose while discussing the GG1. Evidently they felt like experimenting with their rapid prototype machine when dealing with all the logging equipment. I was told to expect it in the next catalog... It definitely got some attention.

I thought those logging disconnect cars looked quite nice.  In fact, I liked them better than the GG1, and they'll be much easier on the wallet!!!

David

I hope so as I was lamenting that I needed to find a caboose to put at the end of my logging train I ordered.

H24-66 posted:

"I can't believe that we have to by the people for the 21" cars separately. How much extra will that cost me."

On the cheap, you should figure about 25 per car for pre-painted figures that will need attention to detail (legs, back and maybe arms).

I have/had added people to all my Golden Gate Deport cars and I for one am not un happy about it. While adding people I upgrade the production plastic interiors by painting and detailing as necessary. I really feel that leaving a blank slate saved me money or from spending extra money than having to change it all anyway to my liking.

I think the big take away here is that Lionel stated they will be in the people business. As of now, the only real options are pretty crappy.

Charlie

Rest assured... if you're looking for bland interiors as a blank slate, the Lionel 21" cars will fit your bill quite nicely.  For those folks looking for "highly detailed interiors", you may be disappointed.  As with all things, YMMV depending on your expectations.

I'm pretty sure I heard Mike R of Lionel allude to people-packages making their debut in a 2016 catalog.  So that will be an option for many folks looking to populate these passenger cars.

David

In the first video linked in an earlier post Mike R. says exactly that there will be passenger packs of two dozen people each offered by Lionel in 2016. So it's official and as long as (as per other reports) you only need to deal with 4 screws to get at the interiors AND the passengers are not the generic types (usually 8 feet tall) currently available from the Far East I'm satisfied that it's a practical alternative to Lionel putting people in at the factory. 

But where's the promised "high" interior detail? (Mike also referred to that in his talk but did not elaborate). As far as I can tell the ESE has plain vanilla insides, just like David says. This is quite a contrast with some (but not all) 18" and 21" Lionel passenger cars from about 2005.

I can't see much in the photos posted to date and as the first batch of 21" ABS cars are due to ship before the next York I guess we won't have to wait until the Spring to see what their interiors actually look like. If they turn out to be old K-Line stock or modelled on that with innumerable holes in the floors I for one will be disappointed.

My only worry with Lionel getting into the passenger business is I'm afraid their passengers are going to be overpriced like many other "accessory" items are.  It would be nice if their passengers actually fit in the seats of the cars, that would be a plus.

It looks like one I scratch built when I was in high school based on my dad's HO version: