Will LionChief eventually be abandoned by Lionel for LionChief Plus?

What did Lionel say when you asked them that question?

I hope so. I like starter sets, and if it's only a Lionchief set, I probably won't buy it. For me, it would at least have to be Lionchief Plus

There's a lot more in the LC+ than the LC locomotives, so the set prices would go up a bunch.  I don't see Lionel doing that, they want the bar pretty low for entry so people will buy the starter sets as an impulse buy.  The difference between $200 and $400 or more is huge on such a purchase.  Most LC+ locomotives alone go for at least $300 on the street.

I predict the trend towards phasing out conventional control in favor of LC and LC+.  Variable AC power supplies for starter sets eat into the profit margin.  LC will fit nicely in the void.

Bruce

They might do so, so anything Lionel Lion Chief loco will have Lion Chief plus, cruise control and with transformer power.

From what I understand, the basic LionChief does not allow you to use conventional control, but the Plus has a switch to allow you to use either, correct?  If that is indeed the case all models should have the Plus feature, as they have already lost two sales to me.  I am not interested in remote controls.  

 The extra FC features may simply be there as a draw for a scale that can use fresh faces (more than O).

  It might also be, that "normal Chiefs" may get older + features on occasion, just for a draw also.

 Progress would be a good reason.

 Any improvements to a "+board", and a "plain" train might get an upgrade.

In the end

You might be right on the phase out Bruce.

 Weaning us of AC, could easily be a long term goal.

But there is an "exclusiveness" factor tied to its use.

  Other mfgs would also be quickly relieved of the need for rectification, and the extra costs too. Hard to say who will benefit the most from it today. But I think Lionel is at least posed to do it now if they choose.  

 I did get the feeling the quiet death of the Pulmore was the beginning of something sinister .

Actually, I was personally not all that sorry to see them go.  Modern can motors offer much better speed control, much quieter operation, not to mention the possibility of easily adding cruise control.  I'm hard pressed to think of a feature of the Pulmore motor that I miss when compared to current can motors.

Lionel needs the entry level pricing so I really don't think all their sets will go to plus.

I really like the Lionchief sets.  I recommend then to people who ask me where to start in the hobby.  The only thing I wish they would change is the chuff sound.  I would like to hear some up and down change in the sounds.  The best starter kit railsounds I have heard are from the conventional Lionel 6-30200 NYC Flyer set.  If Lionchief had these chuff sounds, Lionchief sets would be perfect

Only the Ozone scented air

Look in the latest catalogs over the last year or so. There are very few conventional only sets left, this is already happening. If I remember correctly the conventional sets were mostly the 'dealer only' sets and there was only a handful of those.

I don't see the LC sets being replaced by LC+ either. I agree with the others saying LC are their entry level sets and I think that was the whole purpose of LC in the first place. We may see some higher priced sets offered with LC+ features, I think that would be a good idea for Lionel. With the report here on the AF Polar Express set, that may already be in the works.

Yes - LionChief Plus, has speed control and this is a very helpful for going up and down grades. Lionel on their high end models, call this feature Odyssey. 

     I remember when Odyssey first came out, and this is a excellent feature, then and now. This is also a big plus on LionChief Plus, along with many others.

Gary

• Cheers from The