Lionel 4-4-0 General tender

[keltuc]

Hi there, I introduced myself in the Welcome new members! thread but I can't seem to find my post there. However, I also asked a question there which is probably better suited to this section (yeah, I'm a newbie!) .

I was wondering if there's a sound-equipped tender which would suit the Lionel General 4-4-0 (North Pole Central). I also have the Polar Express in O-Gauge and I love the optional Train sounds tender that I bought for it.

I was also wondering - if there isn't a sound-equipped tender for purchase that would be suitable for the General - has anybody successfully swapped out the inner workings of a train sounds tender and put it into another tender which wasn't already sound-equipped?

Thanks for any assistance!

~ Kelly (a somewhat rare sort - a female model railroading fan!)

[UP2CSX]

Welcome aboard, Kelly. Nice to have a female modeler here, although we do have a few others.

Are you sure you don't have the 4-4-2 North Pole set with the smoking engine? I have never seen a North Pole set with the old time General 4-4-0 engine. When did you buy this set?

[keltuc]

Thanks for the welcome, Jim. Yes, it is the old time General 4-4-0, but it wasn't purchased as part of a set, it was just the locomotive and tender on it's own. The tender has North Pole Central on it. Purchased last year. I don't have any still photos of it close at hand, but you can see it 'in action' in a couple of my silly train videos on youtube, under keltuc. I've seen similar General loco and tender combos (just different colours/themes) on eBay which say they're equipped with Trainsounds. Hmmm.

[CBCNSfan]

Hi Kelly. welcome aboard. Sorry for the delay on displaying your second post. The Spam filter stopped it from being displayed. Guess it was the link to the video, it does that on occasion to new members, a bit of a pain but I can guarantee you that it is worthwhile having considering some of the stuff it stops.

Now to our members who profess not to have the room for a layout, I suggest you watch Kelly's video..
Nice work Kelly enjoyable watching well done.

Cheers
Willis

[keltuc]

Thanks Willis! Sorry about that - I think my very first posting probably went to the spam folder as well since I included the same link in it.

I definitely don't have the space for a permanent layout. I'm in awe of other peoples' amazing layouts. So for now I just enjoy running the trains wherever I can find the space to set them up without tripping over them, and also enjoy trying to figure out different track configurations. Oh yes, and I drive my friends crazy by sending them links to my few videos, which - if they aren't model railroad fans - are probably not very compelling to them!!

[CBCNSfan]

Thanks Willis! Sorry about that - I think my very first posting probably went to the spam folder as well since I included the same link in it.

Hey nothing to be sorry about, I don't know about the first posting I didn't see it. The Spam filter doesn't delete a post it just makes it invisible to the membership. Admin and moderators can see these posts and either delete them, or approve them. So if one of your posts don't show up just be patient and it will be approved by the first admin that sees it. After you've posted a few times the filter OK's you at least it seems that way. Click on the link below it'll take you to the coffee shop where the every day chit chat takes place. There's a couple more ladies posting there.
http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/f...=15114&page=89

Cheers
Willis

[UP2CSX]

Kelly, that was an outstanding Christmas layout. I really like the crossing with the signals and bells. Very nice job for a Carpet Central railroad.

I'm no Lionel expert but, as far as I can tell, the General was sold in two versions last year. One was the standard W&A Civil War version. That does have train sounds in the tender. The other is the one you have, which was a less expensive model that omitted the train sounds. Did you buy it at a big box store, like Toys-R-Us or Walmart? It looks like that engine was made for that market.

I haven't seen any place that lists the tenders for sale separately. You should contact Lionel and see if it's possible to order a tender and how much it costs. If so, you could get the W&A tender and just swap the shell with the one from your Christmas train. It appears the shells are identical except for the paint. I suspect this might be a costly option, compared to just buying the standard General with train sounds though. You'd have an extra engine for less than $100 and still be able to swap the tender shells back and forth, so you could have train sounds in which ever one you wanted to run. Give Lionel a call and see what they have to say, but I think that a new General is your best option.

[keltuc]

Thanks, I'm just making do with what I have! "Carpet Central RR" is odd, but has a certain ring to it.

Oh no, the Toys R Us and Walmart here in Ontario don't have any such thing in them - and that's probably a good thing! I purchased it online, not from eBay, after much comparison shopping.

That probably is the best and most likely option - getting my hands on an identically-sized & designed tender that does have train sounds and just swap the shell rather than the innards. But I think I shall have to write to Santa early this year and request that for next Christmas!

Thanks for the ideas!

[NYO&W]

Hey, Kelly. Nice carpet layout and I love the videos!

[keltuc]

Thanks Nick! I had a lot of fun making those. I've had to ignore my carpet railroad for a bit lately. Well, ignore isn't the right word. "Try not to step on it" as I go about my day is more like it! The carpet railroad actually grew a bit since Christmas because I can't bring myself to put the North Pole General away, and now the Polar Express Berkshire on a separate track has joined it - in the same very limited living room space! One day when I have a bit more time, I'll attempt some more videos.