Very interesting set -- I was intrigued that Lionel numbered the berk "2765." While there was a real C&O 2765, built by Alco, it apparently was scrapped in 1961. However in 1993, NKP 765, built by Lima, was cosmetically modified and renumbered to resemble the original 2765 by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society for a set of excursions. So this loco would be perfectly suited to operate 1941-61 OR in the 1990s in excursion service -- pretty cool!
I'm 69 and grew up with postwar. I'm a true toy train runner--a couple of banquet tables, green tablecloth, some animated circus rides, Lionel vintage accessories and I'm ready to run trains and change the layout if I get bored. These starter sets are ideal for me: what fun to have Zombies on the loose, or Area 51, or The Broadway Limited, or just a road I don't normally run. These fit right in with my MTH subway sets, Postwar and Railking engines. For a toy train guy, this is my idea of heaven. I really appreciate you showcasing these Chris. At these price points, there's no excuse not to have a train set! Greetings from Portland!
You never cease to amaze me. Always like a child I would think you would not be interested in starter sets with all the high end engines you have.still a nice little set
Very cool set Chris. It looks great even next to your scale trains. I think a slightly longer tender would make a world of difference, maybe even, gasp, six wheel trucks. But even as it is, a very nice set, and with road specific dialog! Wow!
A sweet comparison of the Lion Chief product with the Legacy. Obviously, the Legacy Berk is miles better in features and looks, but the Lion Chief is a great looking consist for a starter set. The road specific chatter rank as a great feature for this rtr offering. Thanks for the review, Chris.
That's a pretty nice set, especially considering almost a $1K difference in price to the scale locomotive. I have three starter sets, all w/ road-specific dialogue. Can't understand why they can't do the same with the scale versions. The Lionchief starters are simple, and fun to run- and I find the whistle is much more responsive than many of their higher-priced brethren.
Nice review, thanks. Looks to me like it would be easy to synchronize the chuffs to the cylinders rather than to wheel rotation. That, I think, is the biggest difference between the two Berks.
I really like that set. The locomotive reminds me of the polar express Berkshire. It’s so nice that people with tighter corner layouts can still have find a Berkshire to fit there layout. Thanks for taking the time to show off this more budget friendly set Chris.
I order a lot of British engines, and the primary retailer I use lets you layaway your purchases in order to ship in bulk for a lower overall rate. This means that I get big bursts of that new engine feel all at once, usually with somewhere between 5 and 10 engines. A high that doesn't hurt you in the long run!
Luv RTR sets - great video Chris! I have a small layout so the smaller semi-scale trains work just fine for me but I enjoy the heck watching the bigger trains run on layouts such as yours.
I remember getting my Blue Comet and N and W set back in the day, both were 300 each and i got both of them and they were fun to this day. I still have them just not as into with them since I bought more of them. But from time to time I will put it out for nostalgia.
Your Lionel scale C&O Berkshire 2687 is modeled after the Pere Marquette Berkshires that were acquired when the C&O absorbed the PM in 1947. Those Berks were built with chime whistles similar to the NKP Berks. So, unless the C&O swapped them out for a single note hooter the chime whistle is more or less accurate. BTW, Fort Wayne is using the brass chime whistle from NKP 700 (ALCO built) on 765 instead of the steel whistle that came on all the S2's built during the war. It sounds quite different than its original whistle which is quite mellow in tone. Enjoy your new train.
Nice looking starter set. Awesome that you are doing your part getting people into this great hobby. My 1st RTR set was you guessed it a Lionel Sana Fe Super Chief set with a EMD FT Engine. Great video as always
“Oooh! I like that one!!” - Luke, my 3-year-old son That is an excellent set, Chris! Lionel has done a marvelous job with their train sets over the past few years - lots of fun features. We have four Ready-to-Run sets, including the Super Chief and the Polar Express. One set in particular, the BNSF Tier 4, has road number specific crew talk. Really makes that engine stand out! As always, excellent video, my friend!
A well-done and fun video Chris! Oh yeah, opening a set box is a rush, no doubt about it. I haven't done it in a while (haven't needed to) but I haven't forgotten! Space availabilty being what it is I only save engine boxes and set boxes, everything else gets recycled. Thanks for posting!
Train sets are so cool. A favourite of mine is a gauge 2 AF 1433 set. Just they're so nice and play ready: has the little mailbag catcher attachment, massive size, bulk, lights and brass fittings, just adds up to a wonderful experience.
Excellent video Chris! I will say: Road number specific dialogue is actually more common on LionChief locomotives then you might think! I’ve got the Lionchief Union Pacific Flyer on my layout, which also comes with road-specific dialogue. Many of the more recent Lionchief starter set releases do!
Very interesting Chris, I have never given much thought about my collection. You just made me realize that even though I have hundreds of engines, even more cars, track, and all my accessories. None of them are new and are all considered used. I have received some very old items that I suspect have never been run in their original boxes. Always blows me away. Last year, I purchased a 1950 736 Berkshire and tender that appears to have little to no run time. Feels like I should go to confession for committing a sin for running it. Makes the hair stand up on the back of my head each time I run it. Fortunately, I'm going bald and will be able to run it soon without consequences.
Normally, the 2700 Berk's had the headlight below the smokebox. The ones with the headlights ON the smokebox were bought second hand from the Pere Marquette railroad and were listed as the N3, or 2600 class.
Hi Chris, in 2015 I got the 0 8 0 and 3 Madison cars Lionchief set and that was the start of my 0 gauge layout in the back yard. Now the 0 8 0 is very close to the Yard Goat in scale and i now have 3 of them that i run the heck out of them and they just keep ticking. They look swell hauling scale freight cars consist. Thanks for the morning coffee break...
The good conductor on my right shoulder says no not now. The bad conductor on the left has me thinking do it. This is a presentable train without selling my TV to get one. As always thanks for the great display and excitement my somewhat clueless knowledge of trains.
I was looking for a complete setup for my niece for Christmas. Boy is Lionel's site terrible. It's difficult to know what ships in the box, how power works, differences between standards, etc. I've been surprised at the bar to entry. I'm a computer engineer who has led a difficult life so complexity of devices or websites is no issue, but a person should not have to work so much to get up to speed with a consumer product line. I was hoping to see the train on the track it ships with but that's ok. This was a great video and I've very much enjoyed the other ones you've done. I haven't run a train in 40+ years despite cherishing and adding on to the family train. But I have a 3 year old niece who is likely going to get some completely age inappropriate Big Boy or something.
Hi Bill! I understand that the information is not always clear about what is needed for the different types of control, etc. The good news is that sets like the one in this video include everything you need to get running out of the box. You can purchase additional track to make a larger setup as well. As for the other control systems that you may read about, such as Lionel Legacy or MTH DCS, neither of those control systems have new hardware available at the moment. Both companies are working furiously to get them shipped this year but it is a challenge if you are trying to get started and are looking to run a scale engine with these features. One benefit to Lionel is that all of their engines can be run using a free Bluetooth app on your phone. This works regardless of whether the engine is a Lionchief model like the one in this video or a scale engine with the "Legacy" control system. Sorry for the long reply but I hope it helps...a little :) Take care!
How are train friend Chris hope you re having a great week time flies when you're having fun or having fun just running trains thanks for sharing always enjoy your videos Chris hugs for everyone GOD BLESS STAY WARM :-)
Just to clarify, that 2765 is just NKP 765 from 1993, and the scale Berkshire is a former Pere Marquette Berkshire when the PM was absorbed into the C&O
This is a very nice looking set, it looks like the freight cars even have sprung metal trucks? And separately applied handlebars on the side of the caboose? It’s nice seeing a slightly more ‘stepped up’ RTR train set
When Lionchief was introduced with the sets, it was the end of true O-Scale starter sets. When I grew up (I was born in 1976), our starter sets had a transformer, not some dumb plastic remote that needs batteries. We need to return to actual *TRADITIONAL CONTROL* with the starter sets, hell Lionel should add a switch to the Lionchief engines in the starter sets so you can switch between transformer operation or remote. Because not every family will want to lay a little extra for “Lionchief Plus”.
@@carrielynne19 I've experienced similar issues with my Lionel polar express I just acquired. The smoke unit is already broken, and one of the axles is bent, so the locomotive waddles. I'll send that out to a hobbyist, because I don't trust Lionel. If they can't even make a functional train out of the box, I don't trust them with fixing their mistakes.
The legacy challengers, Dreyfuss, big boys, SD40s, F units & more are rebranded off each other. What I’m saying is literally every model train is renamed for another railroad, number board, etc.
Amazing train RBP, this was awesome. I recently just got my fist O-scale locomotive and tender. Guess what. ITS A NYC RAILROAD LOCOMOTIVE!. Sadly. I have no track or remote so I’m waiting until I have the cash to buy track lol. Anyways, amazing video
What an awesome set! One of my favorite road names. Did you do a scan with mini prints? That looked like a mini you in the video. Looks sound and runs great. Thank for sharing.
I like the lionchief set, but I would be happy to spend $100-$200 extra for Lionel to make it a lionchief plus. At least that way it would have a fan driven smoke and remote coupler. I'm hoping oin the future lionel will offer sets with a plus or plus 2.0 locos.
Hi Chris, i noticed in video your trains are displayed on the wall. Curious about how to do this ? is it a specialized train shelf ? Could you show us in a video ? Thanks for your passion it is contagious.
Great question! The metal shelves are built just for trains. You can get them from Glenn Synder Display Systems (I think they have stock now but need to double check) or MrTrain. A quick Google search should get you in the right direction for them. I also built floating shelves for some other trains as the aluminum shelves were out of stock for most of 2022. Thanks for watching!
That little Berk looked great pulling the scale cars, however, up next to the scale engine, it does lack a little, but what it lacks in size it more than makes up for in pulling power!
Nice video. The C&O is one of my favorite railroad too. My GF often kids me about the C&O as those are her initials and claims that I buy and custom paint cars in C&O to get her into the hobby.
I like the ready to run sets but you need a semi scale layout. I don't like them with scale. Speed control is a must have for me. I got rid of all my engines that don't have it but I think someday I will build an all semi scale layout and have for example the Startrek, Christmas and Army sets so long as they have speed control.
I'm more of an HO guy but I do have several O Scale starter sets. A 1989 Desert King set, a 1993 NYC Steam set, 2004/5 Polar Express Set, and a 2006 Pennsy Flyer set. If I do get into O Scale I plan on doing it in traditional/post-war/semi-scale because it is cheaper and more condensed in size than scale O. Also, it is hard for me to justify paying over a $1,000 a piece for a loco when a high-end HO unit is half or a third of the cost (same can be said for semi-scale O) since I don't make that kind of money for Scale O. Maybe if I was a millionaire where money was no object and I had a ton of space I could justify Scale O.
