I have caught the new engine bug and I have been comparing the Lionel Union Pacific “Building America” SD70Ace (6-28264) and Lionel CSX AC6000 (6-28298). See my table cut from the Lionel web site below. From what I can see, the differences are Legacy Speed Control versus Odyssey II Speed Control, RailSounds 5.0 versus Legacy RailSounds, Directional Lightning, Oscillating ditch lights and two inches in length. I’ve seen both at the LHS and the SD70Ace is beautiful, the CSX AC6000 isn’t. Are these differences worth $200 bucks?
I have two of the Lionel Legacy SD70Ace , one in UP and the other in BNSF. Both run and sound great, I really like the ground light that is just outside the engineers window, glowing on a spit of ground. I like these better then the CSX. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I’m not sure what about the CSX units are ugly, whether the engine model or the paint scheme, but if you think that, you might as well get the ACe… Legacy Railsounds is pretty much the same as Railsounds 5.0, and the Odysee and Legacy speed control and Odyssey is the same thing… both allow super slow operation…
I have the AC6000’s. If you like the SD70ACe better, get it and avoid shelling out the extra $200.
Just don’t give me that ugly “Armor Yellow” anyday… [xx(]
I own a CSX SD40-2 which came in the Husky Stack Set. I like this engine but it has a two tone paint scheme – yellow and blue. The CSX AC6000 I saw in the LHS has the three colors, yellow, blue and gray. The AC6000 is very big and I think it simply has way to much gray. I was expecting the two tone yellow and blue scheme and was surprised by the vast amount of gray.
I apologize. I shouldn’t have called anyone’s baby ugly.
The CSX SD40-2’s paint scheme is CSX’s newest paint scheme, YN3. All new engines are painted in it and the older engines (like the SD40-2) are being repainted in it.
The AC6000’s are painted in the YN2 paint scheme, the paint scheme from about 1990 to to 2002, when it was replaced by the YN3. (However, the AC6000’s were painted with a YN2 variant, i.e. they have thinner and yellow CSX letters than the normal YN3, which has larger and blue letters)
I agree that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It’s my opinoin that U.P.'s Armor Yellow is ugly (EXCEPT when the paint scheme is extremely fresh). Also, I also have the SD40-2 and I think that the blue is to dark. I guess were are all to picky, aren’t we? [swg]
BTW, you can get the AC6000’s repainted into YN3, but it will cost you $250 a unit.