Nassau Lionel Operating Engineers, Lionel Ambassador and home to 41 members is located in Levittown, NY.
The Nassau
Lionel Operating Engineers, Inc. have been an established member of the
community since 1983. During that time, the club averages 10 open house days a
year and takes their portable modular layout to four community events annually,
benefiting local community organizations and veteran groups.
Each holiday
season, the members of NLOE construct static displays in at least four public
libraries featuring Lion trains – ranging from pre-war to modern era.
August 16, 2016 Event -
Nassau Lionel Operating Engineers at the Long Island Children’s
Museum with 915 people in attendance!
September
Event
The Nassau Lionel Operating Engineers conducted their
September 2016 Event at the Bellmore Presbyterian Church in Bellmore New York.
The event was in conjunction with the church’s Annual BBQ for its parishioners.
Event: October 9, 2016 1PM – 4PM Nassau Lionel Operating Engineers Club 2953
Hempstead Turnpike, Levittown, NY
Recap:
October 2016 Open House
On October 9th,
2016, the Nassau Lionel Operating Engineers held an “Open House” inviting the
general public to come view our layout in operation. In spite of some very
inclement weather, close to 200 guests attended.
The layout
was fully stocked with Lionel trains of all eras, from “postwar” to “modern
era”.
Guests watched
the trains in operation and everyone had a great time.
We also had
the modular layout running with a recently released LionChief starter set. It
was a big hit with the children as they got to operate the train on their own.
November 2016
Ambassador Event
On November
5th, 2016, the Nassau Lionel Operating Engineers held an “Ambassador
Event” at The Methodist Church of Bellmore Winter Craft Fair. The public came
to view our Modular Layout in operation and purchase craft items for the coming
holiday season. Over 300 guests attended.
Running on our modular layout was the recently released LionChief Pennsylvania Flyer
starter set. It was a big hit with the children and parents as they got to
operate the train on their own. The layout also features remote controls for operating
Lionel’s famous “Bumper” type motorized units and accessories.
Upcoming events:
Learn More
What else have the Ambassador’s been up to? Check out their product reviews on new and old product below:
Product Review –
Southern Pacific 86’ 8 Door Auto Parts Boxcar
Originally built
in the 1960’s, Hi-cube boxcars were heavily used by the railroads, most
commonly to haul parts to the automobile assembly plants. In 2015, Lionel
introduced a version of this car which had four doors at the center of the car.
This piece was very well received by model train enthusiasts especially those
interested in modelling the more modern aspects of railroad operations. In
2016, Lionel expanded on this by introducing an eight door version of this car.
The eight door version has two sets of door which are equally spaced between
the midpoint and end of the car.
This is a
very long car with the car body itself measuring 21.5 inches and extending out
to 23 inches from end of coupler to end of coupler. The external height measures
4.25 inches from top of rail.
The
car has Lionel’s new “Kinematic”
couplers which allows for two of these cars to be coupled together with only a
small 1.125 inch gap, while at the same time enabling these cars to navigate a
smaller diameter curve without the two cars making contact with each other.
Lionel rates the minimum curve as O54, however we tested it on an O48 FasTrack
curve and it was able to negotiate the curve without a problem. The car also
comes with the mounting pads needed to install scale couplers.
The paint and
graphics are rich, crisp and very nicely done. The car has lots of molded-in as
well as separately added details which make it an excellent representation of
the prototype.
When
combined with the earlier released four door version as well as Lionel’s
Auto-racks, this makes for a great looking freight train.
(6-82420 Southern Pacific 8-Door Hi-Cube Boxcar)
Product Review – Lionel
Scale Steel Sided Reefer
Lionel first
issued their scale steel sided reefer around 2003. Since then, it has been
produced in a variety of road names and graphic variations. This review will
focus on a recent release, the Nathans 100th Anniversary Steel
Sided Reefer, 6-58266, which is an uncatalogued item produced exclusively for the
Nassau Lionel Operating Engineers.
As was often the case with the
prototype reefers, this car is very colorful and nicely decorated with Nathans
colors, artwork and images. This car comes with die-cast metal sprung trucks
and operating couplers which include a hidden uncoupling tab. There are many
add on details such as ladders, grab bars, brake wheels, chains and a roof
catwalk all of which provide a very realistic look.
The roof hatches can be opened allowing
for easy access by railroad workers who are restocking these cars with fresh
ice ensuring that the cargo stays refrigerated on its long journey.
The car has
“hinged” style doors which can also be opened revealing a cargo load inside the
car. In this case, obviously, it is a load of Nathans hotdogs in nicely labeled
boxes.
There
are also many separately applied details on the underside of the car such as
piping, tanks and pumps.
The hinged
style door on this car has been the most common, but in previous years Lionel
has offered the steel sided reefer with two other door configurations. One is a
plug door which allowed for faster loading and unloading. The other is a
combination where one door was hinged and the other a plug door.
Lionel will
be releasing this car again in 2016 in their Vision line. Included in the 2016
Volume 1 catalog are two 3 car sets, one in Union Pacific’s Pacific Fruit Express colors and the
other decorated for Santa Fe. One of the cars in each set has freight sounds
and all three cars have different road numbers.
The UP Pacific Fruit Express set is SKU# 6-83545
The Santa Fe set is SKU# 6-83549
These cars look great either as a unit train or just added to a mixed freight consist.
View Video of NLOE Club Lionel Pennsylvania Flyer with Lionchief Control Review
(6-30233 Pennsylvania Flyer LionChief Remote Control 0-8-0 Steam Freight Set (Loco #421))
View Video of NLOE Club Lionel Texas Special Station Sounds Dining Car Review
(6-82887 Texas Special 21" Streamlined StationSounds Diner)
Product Review – Disney
Series – Winnie the Pooh 50th Anniversary Boxcar
This review
will focus on one of the latest issues in Lionel’s long association with the
Disney Studios. This boxcar commemorates the 50th Anniversary of one
Disney’s favorite characters, Winnie the Pooh.
This car is
very colorful and nicely decorated with Pooh Bear logos, artwork and murals.
This car comes with die-cast metal sprung trucks, operating couplers and doors
that open.
The box is
uniquely decorated for this car and is sure to attract the attention of Disney
fans young and old.
The Winnie the Pooh Boxcar is SKU# 6-82913
**The information about the clubs is provided by them and may or may not be accurate depending on changes in membership, 501c status, etc.. Lionel is sharing their content and not validating it’s accuracy”.