In the market for an 0 Gauge GG-1


RedRyder77

RedRyder77

Member
Hey all,

I have a small but steadily growing collection of Lionel trains ranging from starter kits to a few premium engines. The GG-1 engine is a personal favorite. It's "odd" look, rich history (the fact that the Beatles rode on one!) and I work right next to the RR Historical society where one was sitting waiting for restoration for awhile. Actually seeing that train in particular is what got me hot on them (pics coming soon of that engine.)

So usually I keep a "hobby fund" and start making irresponsible decisions around Oct :D but in this case, I'm thinking I'd like to score something this summer and I'd like to ask you vet collectors this: What is the best bang for the buck between the $300.00-$400.00 mark? I saw Lionel had released a set that was available with 2 different PA schemes and a very nice Amtrack that caught my eye. I believe that set was nearing the $600.00 mark. A bit over my summer budget and quite frankly I'm ok without the rolling stock, I'd just like the engine. I tend to stick with Lionel and very recently MTH. So either or will do.

The engine's primary function will be a seasonal layout and year round display, nothing too crazy but I'd like CAB-1 features and sound if possible.

So...if you had between $300.00-$400.00 to spend and were looking for a GG1 engine, what would you purchase...and why?

Thanks in advance!

Jess
 
Hi RedRyder,

I have several GG-1s in HO scale, + an EP-5 in O(I like electrics).

The first question I'd ask, if I was looking to buy an O GG-1, is what radius curves am I looking to run it on? The reason for this is that if I am using smaller radius tracks, a semi-scale GG-1 may be my only option. Lionel and Williams make these. If I had more room, with the ability to use wider curves, I might consider a scale GG-1, that isn't as scrunched up, as Lionel's semi-scale version.

As for the road name, or paint job, I've seen all kinds of paint jobs available for the semi-scale version(Williams, I think) over the years.

Of course money would also be a factor. My impression from going to one of the Greenburg Train Shows in my area, is that the scale version are more expensive, as are vintage Lionel versions.

Hope this helps.
Otis
 
Hey Otis,

Thanks for the help. We've been talking about it so much at length in my introduction thread I actually forgot to check this thread. What would you consider fast track from a Lionel ready to run. What are the radius curves? I run a larger track than that but really it's built directly off of a RTR set that once ran around a Christmas tree.

I take it you're a NJ guy? I went to the Greenburg show with my uncle last year for the 1st time and picked up a few of the Peanuts Halloween cars. There is also one that comes right around the corner from my house at the Wayne P.A.L.,it's literally a fraction of Greenburg's size but it's close and I have managed to pick up some cool rolling stock at a decent price.

Thanks again for the post!
 
Hey jess,

I found these GG1s at amazon http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_p...ds=gg1&ie=UTF8&qid=1401103271&rnid=3135774011

If the link won't work just search for GG1 in model trains and filter to O gauge.

A Williams model and adding TMCC from the Electric Railroad Co. http://www.electricrr.com/ will be the least expensive way to get remote control and stay under your budget.

You could wait and see if Lionel will be coming out with a LionChief plus version. You can write to them and ask them talktous@lionel.com

I wish I could tell you which one I would buy and why, but I have not made up my mind yet! I will let you know when I do decide. I have a feeling one will lead to another one.

The ready to run sets are a great value http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Lionel-O-Pennsylvania-GG-1-Freight-Train-Set-p/lio-6-30171.htm and you can always sell the things you don't need on eBay. I have to be honest I almost never do because I hate to break up the set, except for the track and transformer and both of those sell good on eBay.

Most ready to run sets come with O36 curves. Most scale models will need O48 or larger. Lionel FasTrack comes in O31, O36, O48, O60, O72, O84 and I have heard they are coming out with O96. Lionel FasTrack is easy to understand O31 makes a 31" circle measured at the center rail, O36 a 36" circle and so on.

I am very happy to have another Lionel O gauge man on the forum!

I wish you well in your search for one of the greatest locomotives of all time!
 
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Bruette said:
Hey jess,

I found these GG1s at amazon http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_p...ds=gg1&ie=UTF8&qid=1401103271&rnid=3135774011

If the link won't work just search for GG1 in model trains and filter to O gauge.

A Williams model and adding TMCC from the Electric Railroad Co. http://www.electricrr.com/ will be the least expensive way to get remote control and stay under your budget.

You could wait and see if Lionel will be coming out with a LionChief plus version. You can write to them and ask them talktous@lionel.com

I wish I could tell you which one I would buy and why, but I have not made up my mind yet! I will let you know when I do decide. I have a feeling one will lead to another one.

The ready to run sets are a great value http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Lionel-O-Pennsylvania-GG-1-Freight-Train-Set-p/lio-6-30171.htm and you can always sell the things you don't need on eBay. I have to be honest I almost never do because I hate to break up the set, except for the track and transformer and both of those sell good on eBay.

Most ready to run sets come with O36 curves. Most scale models will need O48 or larger. Lionel FasTrack comes in O31, O36, O48, O60, O72, O84 and I have heard they are coming out with O96. Lionel FasTrack is easy to understand O31 makes a 31" circle measured at the center rail, O36 a 36" circle and so on.

I am very happy to have another Lionel O gauge man on the forum!

I wish you well in your search for one of the greatest locomotives of all time!
Click to expand...


Thanks as always for the great information..I had no idea of the various gauges FasTrack comes in and that's what I've been running! I'm going to check the links you provided now.

As far as another Lionel O gauge man, it's all I own! :) Some of the MTH stuff looks pretty tempting but there is just something about that orange box and the goodness inside of it!
 
RedRyder77 said:
http://www.trainworld.com/manufacturers/lionel-trains/amtrack-gg-1-locomotive-38522/

Loving this locomotive, just wondering if I can get more features for a few bucks more?
Click to expand...

You have great taste! I almost bought that very locomotive myself! I am leaning towards the Penn Central version because In my world PC was a success rather then a failure. I still can't say for sure which one I want!

You most certainly can add more features! The Electric Railroad can supply you with the circuit boards to add Lionel's TMCC and TrainSounds too. I believe they even will install if for you if you are uncomfortable with doing it yourself. (they give great instructions) and some train shops will do the work for you. I believe train World does the upgrades. Call the Electric RR and they will be glad to help you with everything. Including the locomotive I can almost guarantee you can do it for under $500 I would think it would cost closer to $400 then $500 for everything, especially if you do the upgrade yourself.

One thing to consider, once you modify a Lionel locomotive or any Lionel product you void the warranty. One the other hand I have never had a Lionel locomotive fail. I have gotten 2 brand new ones that I had to return, but if it comes form the factory in good working order then I'd say you have little to worry about from my experience.
 
My opinion of MTH is very low. Not because the products are poor, but because when I got into the hobby they never answered a single question, customer service is terrible from my experience. Lionel on the other hand has always answered my silly questions and took care of any problem I ever had. Lets face it with everything being made with such great detail and sophisticated electronics we need good customer service because no matter where things are made there are always going to be problems. I want to do business with a company that I can actually get a hold of. I have nothing but the highest praise for Lionel's customer service. That is why I am a Lionel man! That and the fact that when I was a boy I always wanted Lionel but my single Mom could not afford Lionel. She did buy me a great Tyco set! My paper route did not earn me enough to buy one either.

I do own one K-Line set, but I only had it out of the box to test it. it runs great and is well made, but not really what I wanted. I was convinced it was a good idea at the time to buy it, but now, not so much. That is something to be careful of, impulse buying can be wasteful. I don't think you have to worry about that because you are taking your time and being patient with this purchase of the GG1.

I recommend you join the Lionel Railroaders Club (LRRC) its a great program and you get all the catalogs sent to you for free and a discount at the www.Lionelstore.com store. If you watch for their sales you can buy direct from Lionel for even less then any of the dealers sell for.

Christmas time my wife buys me Lionel gift certificates for the Lionel Store and she pays $75 for a $100 gift card, combine that with my LRRC discount, after Christmas sales and usually free shipping after Christmas that makes for some really deep discounts.

One more thing, here is another great dealer and my local hobby shop. http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/ They don't have as big of an inventory as Train World but they are generally lower priced on Lionel then anyone else.
 
s453.jpg
 
That is a beaut!!!...I didn't see this for some reason!! Wow, thanks for posting. What a great picture of such an awesome machine!
 
The Beauty is a Beast!

Wikipedia says it was capable of Continuous: 4,620 horse power (3,450 kW) and for Short duration: 8,000 horse power (6,000 kW)

That is impressive for a locomotive built from 1934-1943.
 
It absolutely is! I have decided the Amtrack is the one for me..it looks like TrainWorld has the best deal (and a ton of others. For 69.99 they have a Williams 44 Ton Switcher, nothing special but 70 bucks is the right price for me to "experiment" with another make of O gauge.)

They have it for 279.99 and I guess with shipping it's probably going to be around $300.00 when all is said and done. I live in NJ and probably could head out to NY to just pick it up and check out the store BUT Brooklyn NY is an absolute NIGHTMARE to drive through if you're not familiar, and I'm not.

That being said, in about a month I have a few weeks of training to do which will involve working night hours and driving a good 10 hours a day--something I'm looking forward to about as much as I'm looking forward to being kicked by a horse--SO, after completion of the training that GG-1 in all it's Amtrak goodness will be a gift to myself!!
 
First of all, that would be my choice as well, I love the Amtrak Colors, but I bet by the time I buy one I will buy the Lionel Penn Central, maybe Conrail, I am defiantly flip flopping on this issue.

http://www.lionel.com/Products/Finder/ProductDetail.cfm?ProductNumber=6-38522&CategoryID=177 Always look up every purchase at www.Lionel.com It has saved me more then few dollars. In this case you have made a great choice for a good price. You will love this locomotive and it will run on all of your track!

Conventional RailSounds sound system for this Conventional locomotive (no direct cab control). Lionel's conventional RailSounds are great!

My grandsons love the crew talk! I enjoy the sounds of the diesels so much I added it to my B&O boxcar I run with my Chessie B&O GM50 GP7. It runs great and now has all the modern Lionel sounds! I have not yet heard the sounds from a GG1!

You can still remotely control this locomotive's track voltage and sounds with a Lionel Legacy Command system. I will run my conventional trains with RailSounds on Legacy track command, no further upgrades, maybe, at least at first!

If that is not good enough, I am happy with running conventional through legacy, but maybe you would a like to add Lionel's original cab control system TMCC(Train Master Command Control) You can add TMCC boards to your locomotive. You can send your locomotive out or do the installation yourself. The hard part is done, mounting the speaker and venting the sound. The parts are about $125.

I like your choice! That locomotive should run under a Christmas tree, you might have to have two Christmas trees!

I forgot to mention TMCC is fully compatible with Legacy, that is to say all the TMCC functions will work.

As far as I know all Lionel 3 rail products can be controlled by Legacy, some products will need to be adapted like those made before Lionel's FasTrack. All of Lionel's products made for 3 rail FasTrack are compatible with Legacy Command Control.
 
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Hey Louis thanks as always for the great post and helpful info. I actually haven't purchased a command control yet but I've wanted to for awhile, one of those things where every time I go to pick one up I see some rolling stock I'd rather have. Plus at the time it wasn't something I really "needed". I do have a few things that I'm sure could benefit from it though. One in particular is the US Army engine which I think was the old #44 but the number may be different on this reissue. Part of the problem I have with that is there are a number of features, one of which is the missile launch that I have to operate manually simply because there is nothing on my conventional transformers I can use to launch them.

Another piece I REALLY want (was hoping it would come down in price but doesn't seem that way) are the cranes equipped with command control and the really nice LED lights. The MOW version is really handsome. A few years back I saw it being demonstrated at a show and it was spinning, moving barrels with the hook and boom all via the command control system.

I do enjoy the conventional transformers and could probably make due with them but as my collection grows and newer pieces become more sophisticated, I'm thinking that I will be purchasing command control sometime this fall.

I've also been looking at a few select MTH engines and their premium stuff looks to have some features where a command control would also be beneficial.

Back to the GG-1 there is something about the particular engine we're talking about that being "conventional" makes it a bit cooler to me. I like the idea of it just being an old fashioned, rugged O gauge engine, no gimmicks just a beautiful engine with lots of power!

Thanks again for the info, hope you had a nice Father's Day!
 
Hey RedRyder!

I know exactly what you mean about too many things I want!

I am not certain because I don't have first hand knowledge but I think for the missile launcher all you need is a section of operating track and a push button switch to activate it.

I love those TMCC cranes and work caboose, of course I want the Chessie B&O version. I would not expect the prices to come down.

I have been waiting for the Lionel 990 command control system for over a year. I just learned that Lionel has them in stock and I am waiting for my local shop MB Klein/Model Train Stuff to take delivery. I have had more fun then should be legal without it.

As for MTH, they make beautiful stuff, but I have sent them a half a dozen emails and they have never answered a single one. Lionel answers the same day or next morning at the latest. I refuse to buy from a company that ignores me. Another thing is I don't believe Lionel and MTH are compatible with their control systems. I believe you need MTH's control system to run MTH trains, but I could be wrong.

I am sorry I took so long to get back to you. This summer was very busy with my grandsons being off from school. Those boys wear me out, but they are so much fun!
 
Hi Louis!

No worries about being busy--glad you're having fun with them! I never emailed either of the company's but the one thing I can say about MTH is their Facebook is probably the best way to reach them. They post a lot of pics and it's pretty informative. I actually ordered that GE Hybrid but had a few questions beforehand (it's back ordered anyway)...I posted a question on their facebook and they answered me directly in the very next post, probably about 20 min later. Again, I've always been a Lionel purist and almost felt guilty looking at MTH but....I'm gonna live a little and give it a shot!

I'm still in the market for that GG-1. I'm thinking in Oct. Every year my family has a "holiday kickoff" party where the night before Thanksgiving everyone get's together for a few drinks and some finger food. Part of that tradition is having my Christmas layout up and running and my trees are up--my uncle's and cousins come and play around with it a bit and I like to show off something new :)
 
Hey RedRyder!

That is good news and I will look for them on Facebook. They surley do make some fantastic stuff and they just to add to our dilemma they also make a few GG1 locomotives, just what we need, more to chose from! I have not pulled the trigger on one yet either. I am leaning towards Lionel's conventional in Amtrak colors, the model looks better to me and the road number is accurate.

I love the idea of the Holiday kickoff! I have my tree up on thanksgiving day with only lights on it and of course trains under it then we decorate it on "black" friday! I run 2 LionChief sets
under my tree, the Polar Express and the silver Bells set. Any kid that can hold the remote can operate the LionChief system. Last year my youngest visitor was my niece's 18month old son and he loved playing with it!


Living room Christmas trains (2).jpg
 
This year I am going to have for me a new Lionel Amtrak GG1 running under the tree!

I ordered this one from modeltrainstuff.com

GG1 Amtrak #926.jpg
 
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