The Lionel September release catalog

Usually, Lionel only releases two catalogs a year, with the exception of those for other scales or Christmas. This time around however, Lionel has released a small catalog showing off some September offerings. 

I'll admit, I have heard some mixed things about this catalog, but before we get too ahead of ourselves, why don't we see what this catalog is all about. Like my past catalog reviews, I won't be going over every little thing, but just the things that I feel stand out the most. 

The 0-8-0's might not seem like anything special, but I do like the trains and the fact that they have the swinging bell feature. It's also a smaller engine so for those who want to get their feet wet with Lionel Legacy but don't have large curves, this train is perfect. 

Imagine seeing this bad boy in real life. 

Yes I notice you Area 51 diesel. 

Some of the EA88 diesel's that Lionel is offering look pretty good, with one of my favorites being the Seaboard Airline with it's passenger cars. 

The exhibit cars that Lionel is offering look pretty neat too, and I'm sure they'll be a nice addition for someone who wants to run them, or have them parked on the side of their layout. 

The Bluetooth speaker box cars are where Lionel loses me. Don't get me wrong Lionel, I like the idea of train cars having sound, but this just kind of seems meh, especially when you consider how easy it is to make something like this at home. 

The Cowen Music Emporium building is a nice nod to Lionel's owner, Joshua Lionel Cowen. It also looks like a pretty good detailed building just by the photo. 

Final thoughts: 

While I don't want to bash Lionel too hard for the catalog as it is a mini-catalog as opposed to a volume 1 or 2 of a year, I can understand why people find this underwhelming. I also agree with the fact that prices are a bit too high in this catalog. 

Yes Lionel, I know these are collector trains and I know the tariffs are a thing, but I do feel there is some valid criticism to be made over the high prices. Yes trains have taken a back seat to other hobbies, but raising the prices will just drive people out of the hobby as opposed to buy them into it. 

What is the Great Train set?

Hearing that a new train exhibit has opened up is always a nice treat, and today I wanna go over one that opened up fairly recently at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, New Jersey. 

About the display

Photo curtesy of Liberty Science Center 

Located on the 3rd floor, the Great Train Set displays the 1950's on the Lackawanna Railroad. The display shows trains traveling from the Hoboken Terminal to small scenic towns in New Jersey, with a hint of coal country in Eastern PA. 

John H. Scully is the creator of this layout, and all of the scenery from the display comes from his memories as a kid in New Jersey. It can't be stated enough how detailed the layout is. Alongside 425 feet of track is 400 little people, realistic bodies of water including a lake Scully would go to with his family during the summer, a drive in movie theater, and a grocery store. 

The thing I like most about this layout is the fact that while it does capture a time and place and turns in into a miniature display, it also captures someone's memories of a time and place. Looking at this layout you're seeing what Scully saw when he was a kid growing up in the 1950's. 

Photo curtsy of the Liberty Science Center 

Other train layouts out there do try to capture a certain time period and turn it into a miniature, but this one has a personal touch to it. 

Scully and his wife wanted to move the display to a public place to be seen by many, and while there was some interest from the Smithsonian, Scully wanted the display to be in New Jersey. Luckily for him, the Liberty Science Center was more then happy to take the display in for him. 

Photo curtsy of NJ.com 

Outside of the train display, the Liberty Science Center is also home to the largest planetarium in America, and has other exhibits and shows such as Boom time, a show that shows off controlled explosions, Making Mammoths, and Universe Revealed, a exhibit about the James Webb Space Telescope and how it shows us parts of the universe we'd never thought we'd see. 

For more information about the Liberty Science Center, click here

Why I want Lionel's HO scale line to be successful

 When I had found out that Lionel had done HO scale trains before thanks to the book "Lionel, a collectors guide and history", I couldn't help but do a double take. 

At the time that I first read the book, Lionel had done O scale and S gauge only, with G scale every now and then (this was a little before the battery operated G scale trains became a thing). It honestly fascinated me to hear and see what Lionel had done in the HO scale market back then and when they returned during the General Mills era (where the company was bought by General Mills). 

For those who have read my past blogs, you'll know that my comments on Lionel's HO scale aren't exactly the most positive, bringing up them getting sued for not paying royalties on molds, high price of train sets, and fact that said trains in train sets had chugging more close to a machine gun then a train. 

All that said, Lionel is starting to make some improvements to their HO line, and they do have the Berkshire on the way as well. Truth be told, I do want to see Lionel's HO scale line be a success for the following reasons. 

HO scale is still pretty popular

Not trying to bait O scaler modelers out there into a fight behind the local train club, but it's true that HO scale and it's little brother N scale are still pretty popular these days, and depending on who you ask, even more popular then O scale. 

The whole reason for Lionel getting into HO in the first place was because of the rising popularity in HO scale, which was due in part to homes becoming smaller after the baby boom, which was due in part to an increase in homes and contractors needing to make these smaller homes/apartments to meet those demands. 

The smaller homes aspect is still a thing today, with not every model railroader having an attic, basement, or even spare room that's begging to have a massive train set up in it, and while it is possible for O scale train layouts to be set up in smaller spaces, some folks may turn to the smaller scale to fit more into what little space they got. 

HO scale train sets 

While I do wish Lionel would shake their train set line up a bit (diesel sets, different types of steam trains), I do appreciate them both fixing the chugging sound and in general, making train sets. 

As I stated in my response to MTE's video defending Bachmann, it bothers me how Bachmann is really the only manufacture out there making HO scale train sets, even though HO scale is over-saturated. 

Yes guys, I know that model trains have taken a 4th row backseat to tech and other hobbies, but people are more inclined to get into model railroading if they've got some type of starter kit that tells them everything they need to know, as opposed to just telling them "hey, just buy some track, a powerpack, a train with a couple of cars and your good to go!" 

There is potential

For as rough of a start that Lionel has had with HO scale, they are trying to turn the ship around. Lionel's in house Berkshire looks like their legacy Berkshire if it was HO scale, which is a good thing, and they have other realistic options as well. 

Back in my blog going over their summer catalog, Lionel offered HO scale cattle cars that made real sounds, which I thought was pretty neat as we don't really see that type of stuff in HO scale. 

Personally, I would like to see Lionel put some of their legacy features into HO scale. I know not all of them are going to make it in (Sorry folks who want their HO scale trains bells to actually ring when they press the bell button or the coal cars to go down), but detail and sound features would win over the proto-typical crowd. 

They made an HO scale Halloween train set 

Look I know Halloween and trains don't mix as well as Christmas and trains, but it was nice to see a Halloween train set in HO scale that's not from Bradford Exchange. 

Bachmann 2004 catalog overview

 

Back to the old memory well with Bachmann trains with it's 2004 catalog. Last catalog I went over (the 2002 one), introduced Thomas and friends to the line. This one includes Bachmann's own DCC controller: the E-Z command. 

The E-Z command controller came with the benefit of giving those who had DCC trains easy access to use them, while also making it affordable. Bachmann also had some trains come with the DCC controller, which is something I'd like to see them do again. 

As I stated in my blog about Analog vs. Digital, while I can't exactly praise Bachmann's DCC controller as I don't have it yet, I do appreciate Bachmann and other companies out there making DCC controllers that are dummy proof/easy to use. Especially in my case as someone who wants to use them mainly to control the sounds of the trains (horn, whistle, bell). 

Revisiting the most useful engine in Sodar, Bachmann releases some new Thomas sets with Deluxe Thomas with Annie and Claribel. This set comes with Berdie the bus, Sir Tophamm Hat, and Harold the helicopter. 

Unlike the regular Thomas with  Annie and Claribel set, this one comes with a 56x38 oval as opposed to a 36' circle. 

One set I failed to mention in the 2002 catalog was the Silver Star. 

Yes guys, I know me saying "man I wish Bachmann would remake this set" is getting a bit old, but come on now guys. A 6 x 3 8 figure train set? That's something you don't see everyday. 

The Special Force and Desert Force set is also on the list of remakes as well, though I do recall Bachmann releasing a camouflage train set recently (around 2022 or 2023). 

Old tyme village freight and  express were still being offered at this time, and I honestly do wish I could pick both these sets up. I know they wouldn't be in scale but these two sets would look great running in someone's Christmas village set up for the holidays. 

The one silver lining is that while Bachmann doesn't offer them in train sets, they do sell 4-4-0 Americans alongside fright cars and passenger cars similar to the ones offered in both sets. 

The Irish Railway set is interesting as it's a European train set, even advertised as HO/OO in the catalog. 

While Bachmann does have an European branch, it is kind of cool to see them do some European trains for America. 

Over in G scale there isn't too much to talk about, but I do like the North Pole Special train set. It's similar to the "Night Before Christmas" set, but with a few more cars to it. 

Over into the Spectrum side, Bachmann comes out swinging with "The George Washington." 

A DCC ready 4-8-4 J2 carrying 8 well detailed passenger cars. 

It does bring a smile to my face to see Bachmann do these types of train sets every now and then. I do recall Lionel did the George Washington before in one of their catalogs or O-scale, so it's nice to see an HO scale version for those who don't have the space or money for the bigger scale one. 

The Keystone is a train set I'd like to see Bachmann remake/offer again. I'm more of a smooth sided passenger car type of guy but seeing the K4 carry those heavyweight cars just looks and feels right. If anyone has model railroad set in the transitional era, this set would fit right in. 

moving over to On30, we have the Jingle Bell express. I really like this set. The colors of the steam engine and the freight cars really stand out, and I can see this train running around a dimly lit Christmas village. 

For those that aren't into Christmas villages though and want an On30 narrow gauge layout, the Ohio River & Western train set would be a great start. 

Final thoughts: 

While not as much to cover as the 2002 catalog, I do like what Bachmann had to offer here, including the E-Z command. Bachmann making their own controller for DCC trains really shows that their in the market not just for the casual train collector, but the more hardcore hobbyist as well.  

What were your thoughts on this catalog and what train sets did you like/would like to see Bachmann start offering again?