Good bye Lionel! The demise of a once great, iconic, company in my collection.

We appreciate your candor and a well done sharing. Quality control for such very expensive, high markup hobby items should be priority one for lionel. These are often small but important problems-- missing, misassembled, or broken parts that should be resolved with patience, resolved quickly with priority by lionel. We value your input gary j

All I have to say is thank you for putting this video out. I bet there are many including myself that have experienced issues maybe not to your extent but we all should not have to. Again thank you for being a voice to Lionel.

I absolutely agree. Now add that MTH is no longer a big competitor I suspect Lionel's quality and quality control will dip even lower. Always sorry to hear about people's bad experiences with Lionel, there's too many stories and the numbers growing. TX for sharing.👍

Mike, your understanding of the recent Lionel train issues is greatly appreciated. I am afraid Lionel will lose much of their customer base.

"We don't do anything on locomotives when they're damaged in shipping." Given Mike's report of inadequate packing when items are returned from Lionel, that in itself is a deal-breaker.

You pretty much summed up everything I’ve been experiencing…I have a 6 year old son that loves his Lionel trains and he has no idea the frustration I go through trying to keep these things running behind the scenes. Just like you, I have Visionline, Legacy, LionChief and they all have had at one point or another massive tear apart time consuming fix issues pretty much from the day I opened them. I stopped sending stuff back because waiting months multiple times made it just not worth the hassle. Now I’m do all the repairs myself..ugh!..Lionel Customer service has been continually rude with me as if they were on a mission to find out WHAT I DID so I’d have to pay for warranty work…From non operating electro couplers, loose/missing screws, gear issues, light issues, sound issues, paint issues, board issues and of course the absolute junk smoke units..Then trying to get parts has now become a nightmare!..I still love them when they run, but man has it been frustrating!..Great video

I wouldn't say you were ranting. I think you explained it well. You are not alone and you hit the nail on the head. Poor manufacturing and quality control. Lionel has a packaging problem too. Even simple box cars arrive with broken applied parts like ladders and brake wheels. That's unheard of. Atlas and MTH aren't like that. For what these TOYS cost it should be perfect. Thanks for this video. And one last thing. I don't want to run my trains from my phone or tablet.

Wow Michael, wow… I’m speechless. I’m a little over 30 grand into my set up and just made my first pre-order for the new Big Boy. This leaves me with a lot of trepidation and something to ponder going forward. I definitely don’t have time for the headache you have faced. Going to reconsider big purchases and be content with what I have. Definitely first world problems, and if Lionell continues to manage its customers, as you have experienced, I’m done!

I’m so sorry you’ve had all these problems. I’ve only had a couple issues from Lionel products (both most likely due to shipping). The plow on my Cab Forward was a little bent and loose in the the box when I received it and one side of a caboose’s truck was broken. I don’t blame you for stopping to buy their newer products. Videos like these are hopefully seen by Lionel so that they can focus their attention to aspects such as customer service or overall quality control. That Cobra will be nice, enjoy!

I think this is a good move. Stop “investing” in things that give you more headaches than runtime. There are other aspects of trains than just stockpiling items that you never unbox. I know I have found a whole new level of interest in just talking with like-minded train junkies and finding out how they “do” the hobby. To me, talking trains is just as fun as collecting and running trains. Looking forward to seeing where you go from here!

Long time subscriber, I wish you the best and am looking forward to all your up coming videos and what ever direction you take your train hobby in.

Hey Mike.... The last Lionel train I purchased was the US Navy set from 1994. I've heard much too much about Lionel's products lately. I'm strictly conventional....why pay the price and take any chances. I fully agree with your thoughts. Good for you ! Thank goodness for MTH. Happy New Year...looking forward to your next running session video. Thank You ! p.s. The B&O Royal Blue set behind you is a beauty ! 👍

New to the channel - awesome video! I did a video not too long ago on the “new” Vietnamese man. Flat spot box cars. My PC box had an issue with the couplers and they wouldn’t couple to anything but weaver cars. Lionel said they knew about the issue…. Couldn’t believe they’d send something out without QC. The switches also were wired incorrectly haha

Thank you! Finally, someone has posted a video like this! I have had the same type of problems over the last four years. Thank you, Mike. I'm sorry to hear you've had all the same heartache. You are doing the right thing. Are you setting up at the St. Charles show? I'll come by to shake your hand.

I’m hardcore post war Lionel trains. Lionel trains were built tough to last when they were made here in the states. And they are easy to work on and will last for years and years. Lionel went to crap once they sold out to China, they will never ever be the same and I will never own any Lionel made in China. My parents gave me my very first Lionel train set back in 1965 with the figure 8 track and loved it.

Thanks, Mike, for the Condor. I am so sorry for the issues encountered and agree with your path forward. A hobby is supposed to bring joy and fun, not what you have encountered. I wish you luck with the other manufacturers look and forward to many more years of O scale content on your channel, even if not new Lionel.

Mike, great video. I am actually taking a similar approach to the hobby now. Out of the 4 engines I purchased from Lionel in the last two years, 3 of them have issues. The one that put the final nail in the coffin was the Vision Class A. After one loop around the track it came to a jolting hault and the cab light was flickering. Gearbox appears to be locked up. The front step on the boiler is hitting the pilot light, and the rear trailing truck fell out. It’s just not worth the hassle. I’ll stick with getting some used 3rd rail stuff and be happy with that

Well, this is what happens when you have a SHELL of a company that use to be back in the days, a real AMERICAN toy company, now you have individuals who didn't have the the company at heart and sold it's soul to China, quality suffers, parts catch on fire, and when you do the right thing you are treated like a sucker.their new product line looks like a joke. Like the lady at Lionel told me WE ARE NOT LIKE THE OLD LIONEL!!! 😳 And said to myself BABY YOU GOT THAT RIGHT.

I am downsizing my collection as well. I am keeping my postwar and getting rid of modern era stuff. You are also 100 percent right about the pool of buyers, some want everything for 3 cents on the dollar.

You can't beat the quality of the 20th century post war Lionel products. Anyone who is handy can repair and service them. Parts are still available even if they are reproductions. I have Lionel and Marx trains and accessories. A close friend is a toy train dealer and he has told me of the horror stories of the current production line. I notice that most of the outrageously priced Lionel products are manufactured In China so I wouldn't purchase them even if I could afford them. I'm glad that you presented this expose.