Lionel 2024 Volume 1 Catalog - First Impressions (Fixed Audio) 

On the other hand, a "New" condition 2035 will likely set you back $200+. Add in remote control, better smoke, better sound, and you're right in Lionel's ballpark. But, like you, I don't mind keeping the originals running!

@@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks additionally, if you go to discount retailers like TW, you can order the full set for a little over $13 more than Lionel’s sticker price for just the loco

Fair points, fellas. Just don't see the need to replace or duplicate my new-to-me 224 prairie, at least not without the new one being on sale or discounted. One thing that kinda gets me scratching my head is if you buy the new prairie separate-sale, the catalog says it doesn't come with a remote, which admittedly ain't great. Another thing that made little sense to me was the hotbox reefer being $300. Makes me glad I found the old version for $40!

@@Shipwright1918 oh 100%, the new ones are definitely more in the range of newbies wanting all the new features on an old chassis as well as public operators (what I do). I’ll still be running my 665 and 1666 on my displays, but this’ll be great for if I really need to just leave something alone for a long while

That would've been a no brainer for them to do lol. I was thinking that too.

@chicagolandrailroader or they should make a simple set of Trolley like full circle of track with Trolley like they did with the Micky Mouce 100th set. As for the traditional O sets wish they would make a turbine set like they use to do back in the 50s but with the new bluetooth added on.

Thank you!

Glad you enjoyed it

Prices for EVERYTHING are out of hand.

@@ToyTrainTipsAndTricksvery true. Which make it hard to defend spending spare money on very expensive trains

Thanks!

Thanks for the information!

your welcome@@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks

Maybe!

Cool!

There were some new Flyer Christmas and Polar Express items.

$2100 in 1971 is $16,000 today with inflation. Then add in the various government-mandated safety, emissions, and fuel-efficiency standards and you get $35,000 - $40,000 for that car today. A $50 train in 1971 would be almost $400 today with inflation alone - not counting improvements in features. Menards has the advantage of selling at wholesale - there is no "middle man" dealer to support.

@@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks Lionel 10-20 years ago used to sell the same trains using the same tooling and casting methods for sub $300 train set range at places like hobby lobby for example. Their is a reason why the toy train market has fallen a lot since the early 2000's, and even more truth to why they don't sell their trains at retail stores anymore, because they simply cant sell enough sets at the prices they ask for now. It is the same tooling and die-cast molds for the last 20 years, with just better, but even cheaper to produce now electronics. So riddle me why the price keeps going up, if they are constantly refining their electronics systems and don't invest much back into new tooling when it comes to casting new models. It's simply because they have become lazy and like to stay in business by making money off of people willing to buy this nonsense. I could buy a new motorcycle at these prices which is something you certainly couldn't of done with model train prices back in the 70's. Even if you factor in the newer steel tax, it takes Lionel less than $300 in materials and reused tooling to make some of those $2100 sets they are selling. Even after other expenses like labor they are easily doubling or tripling, or even quadrupling the actual worth of the set, which in any market is called being scummy and price-gouging. They didn't do this 10 years ago, not much has changed with their tooling and design since then besides bluetooth (Sub $5 bluetooth controller boards) and little more realistic sound and smoke. so what actually makes them think that this is a good idea? Well, people like you still support their blatant price-gouging and do it with a smile. These are Toy Trains, not Enthusiasts and rich-dads only trains. The sooner you realize most of your followers are budget modeling orientated, the sooner your channel will explode. You obviously understand inflation and the current economy right now, so what makes you think anyone else will buy this over-priced garbage. At-least with a car or motorcycle they actually have a dealerships for every brand and in about every state for every brand, which might make it worth the mark-up if you know they'll have you covered if something happens to your vehicle. On the contrary you spend $2,100 with Lionel, notice something wrong, you cant take it to a local dealer because their is next to none, and good luck with Lionel's online support number, they'll really make you feel like an important customer to them. To sum it all up, I would choose Menards anyday because the John Menard is actually a train-hobby enthusiasts and has been doing things that have been lighting a new fire for people trying to get into the hobby on a budget, and they do work by dealers, every one of their Menards stores is a dealership for their trains, meanwhile Lionel could've had the same opportunity but decided to stop making cheaper sets that could be sold at places like (Walmart, Hobby Lobby, etc) and started to only take money from people that have a lot of it, and had no problem screwing over every one of it's customer's that had supported them on a lower-budget spectrum. They also had no problem killing K-line because of something that could've easily been resolved in gentlemanly fashion but instead they decided to kill off one of the most budget-friendly companies for literally nothing except hurting their own sales in the future where their would've been people that got introduced into the hobby through K-Line and then "leveled up" toward Lionel but now it's just a dying hobby because Lionel wants to be a monopoly so bad. Sad that people who say they support model trains still support the shell this company has become. Literally pathetic to think that Lionel cares for you or the hobby at all. All they care about is money, and you darn well know it!

@@unitytwins6652 Looking at a CTT from December 2000, there is an ad for online discounter eHobbies. The Lionel NYC Flyer set was on sale for $144.95, which is $260 in today's dollars - with no LionChief, sounds, or Bluetooth. A Lionel C&O NW2 with TMCC is $449.95 ($800 today). Charles Ro was selling "9700 Series" boxcars for $32.50 ($60). Keep in mind the catalog price is the MSRP - not necessarily what the local shop will sell it for. Graphics have improved. Sound and control have improved. Simple inflation accounts for the rest.

Have the same train of thought. When MTH was the main competition to Lionel price items were reasonable. Now without MTH gone as we once knew it Lionel's pricing has gone through the roof even with today's extreme inflation. For some years now Lionel's quality control still a concern. Example two year delay for the brass hybrid Strasburg engine .@@unitytwins6652

​@@unitytwins6652 Yo calm down, like you need to take it down a couple notches, I know it's scary seeing the world your and your parents generations created, and you don't have long left with it so I don't know why YOU are mad at the prices, but it's 2024. Lionel and every other manufacturer than bachmann know that there aren't 5 year olds that play with toy trains anymore, and produce "high quality" *depending on manufacturer, scale detail and operation oriented models, not toys that are designed to run around a little loop of track on the floor at 90 mph, flying off the track breaking themselves. Modern model trains are built and marketed towards the modeler, the person that's recreating the 1910's or the 2020's, not the person who wants to play trains. If you want to do that, buy vintage stuff. If not, there's something really easy you can do: complain silently and on your own, or directly to the manufacturer you have an issue with, not some random person on youtube who has no control over anything, or go onto those youtube channels that post historical films from the 1940's to 1980's, there's lots of people that complain about the modern world they created on there, so you'll have a lot of people to talk with. Have a day, and don't take your grievances out on random people, it's 2024 you'll get your ash handed to you.