Hello: I’m new to this forum and I am seriously contemplating the purchase of a UP FEF as offered by Lionel or 3RD Rail. I know the Lionel’s are cast and offer the new Legacy control while the 3RD Rail are of brass and have TMCC. The Lionels are getting hard to find at least in black so was thinking of a 3RD Rail unit. I have not purchased any new trains for a number of years but I am really interested in one the these. Thanks for any recommendtions.
Your post reads like you are leaning towards the 3rd rail. which is fine. Both will be good engines but the lionel will have all the latest sound features.
Thank you Sir James.
Hello, I’m also new to the forum.
I have the Lionel passenger version of this engine and I am very satisfied. Many Lionel owners feel that this is one of the best, if not the best, steam engine that they have evet produced.
However, I have a number of 3rd rail engines and when you compare them side by side to the competitors, they have a more authentic look to them . My only complaint is that they only feature the Lionel Railsounds 4 sound set ( somewhat generic) as opposed to Railsounds 5 or the new Legacy sound set which is superior.
There is nothing wrong with Railsound 4 as it was featured in many Lionel engines prior to 3 years ago and if this is not an issue you may be happier with the 3rd rail version especially if detail is important to you.
Carpe Diem!