I remember seeing the real thing many years ago. It was sitting in Williams AZ in the rail yard of the Grand Canyon Railway just across the street form the depot. It was something I had never seen before so it did stick in my memory and yes it did have the 2 amtrak locos leading.
Eric. Thanks so much for your feedback and indeed you are correct. I mam actually seriously considering buying them as I was a fan of chasing the American Orient Express. I believe for an extra $120, they could have improved the interiors and put in figures. I want to thank you for your channel. Being disabled, re-tried and an S gauge and O gauge enthusiast, I look forward to your insightful videos. They are WONDERFUL! Happy Easter, Eric!...William Gratchic RN, BSN
Another steam locomotive that would go well with this set is Frisco #4500 "Meteor", its blue and white paint scheme is similar to the American Orient Express.
Very nice. The cars are quite cool. It looks like the standard dome was modeled after a square-end dome observation. They did an excellent job, all the way around. I think that Lionel should upgrade the passenger announcements. Like the 20Th Century, Broadway, Super Chief and others, these are all Pullman sleeper car trains, no coaches. I think that the announcements should reflect that. Either way, it is an excellent train and would look fine with the Santa Fe Blue Goose or other streamlined steam engine in the lead. It not, a matching PA or slant-nose E, would look equally nice. Maybe not prototypical, but nice, non-the-less. As always, an excellent review and video.
The AOE was powered by 2 E units, reportedly damaged in a road crossing accident, as per AOE crew members. Amtrak locomotives pulled the AOE for the remainder of its operation.
That's an amazing set. I love how it looks with your lighting. It is outstanding. It would be really awesome if lionel would do a run of those in ho scale.
If they do produce a locomotive to go with these cars (and hopefully a new run of these cars at that time) I hope it's a steam locomotive in the same blue-and-white paint. There's something to be said about a luxury train being hauled behind a big, streamlined steamer in matching colors. A fantasy redeco of 611 or another streamliner would be incredible.
For anyone reading this comment who pre-ordered the new Lionel Legacy C&O F19 Pacific's from this catalog last year, Ryan Kunkle emailed me stating that the engines are now in the process of assembly and decoration and that there is a small hold up with the motors for them but that he expects them to be completed in a few more weeks from now and that they should receive them at Lionel by around May he stated to me. This was between me and him about 2 weeks ago now. So they should be coming soon.
The interior might not be correct, but that's not a big deal for me. Interiors can have their look changed on the real thing, so having a more generic look keeps it simple for production.
I loved the long shot or the ride on top of the cars around the whole layout! I also think you could run those cars with the Santa Fe blue bonnet set, the colors seem to be pretty close. Amazing train cars and amazing video!
If you are paying so much, then surely the least you should expect is that they have used the correct shade of blue for the coaches? Accept nothing else! Fascinated to see another side to you away from things survival and bushcrafty! Over here in UK we have several dining experiences you can take be it on the national railways or on preserved lines, for my folks 40th anniversary I treated them to an outing on the Keithley and Worth Valley Railway which was the nearest one to where they had courted and lived. If ever you visit the UK I’ll take you to some of the preserved Welsh lines.
Awesome video Eric. I haven't seen a lionel coach like the Glacier Park Dome car with its odd tail windows and end of train lights. Turns out this is a UP- Astra Dome/Dinner coach and was not a part of the AOE but instead a part of the Aberdeen Carolina & Western consist. I guess lionel just decided to use the dome car from the AC&W 2 pack. The real Glacier Park was a balcony observation car.
I remember watching National Geographic, Love those trains. In one segment, featured the Orient Express with Hal Linden and wife aka Capt. Barney Miller. That was very impressive when you think about it and the workers that work on that train. Mr. Eric, did you have the AmRoad Silver Streak set from the 1976 film? That's a classic,
😅 pretty cool Eric, I especially liked the WiFi camera view from the dome car, that was pretty cool, kind of gave that feel like you was on the train 😊😊
It was just a goofball railfan businessman with too much money in the 90s trying to start some kind of package vacation business. Two other companies tried to do the same thing- Iowa Pacific most recently and I forget the other one with the green paint job.
Eric I’ve watched your videos for a long time and that vista dome ride along is one of the best shots you’ve ever filmed in my opinion. So immersive - I felt like I was riding the train!
When MTH was still making European trains, I was shocked they never considered a Flying Scotsman at that time. Weren't you, knowing the fame around that locomotive?
Wow those are beautiful! Nice touch in the figures. I do the same thing . Too easy and fun do. I like to take some creative liberty and add more details like rugs and flutes with flowers and such. Great shots of your signature tunnel districts! Super well done. Great dusk lighting affects. Well done Big Guy! Congratulations 🍾🎈‼️
Looks like an ex-SP Shasta Daylight observation car on the tail of the real thing in that one picture. I can't wait to eventually start building out my 22 car Coast Daylight.
Hi Eric, congrats on the new set. While it's a nice train, I've found the entire premise of "American Orient Express" to be an oxymoron, as it's not a train to the orient. Calling it the "American Luxury Express" would've been more inspiring to the americans who would ride it, focusing on their nation and its beauty rather than calling on the nostalgic trip to Istanbul which they'd never get to see. Just my two cents on the real train, it's still a very cool train. 👍
As an old childhood Lionel Train enthusiast, I was wondering about the length of the train (actual and model). The cars look really long. Were they that long in actuality and if so, how would they get around tight curves if they weren't articulated. The track (O-gauge) I had as a boy would not have supported such a long wheel base.
The stuff you had as a boy was semi-scale. Everything was compressed to make the models smaller so that they could get around tight curves. These are scale models, so they are larger and longer than the traditional semi scale trains you had as a kid. But they still run on the same 3-rail track…just with wider curves that can accommodate the longer full scale models.
Thanks. As a boy my very first Lionel train was set up to run around a circular track under our Christmas tree. Although I do remember some straight track as well.@@Ericstrains
Hey Eric. Thanks for sharing. Was considering them at the time but seemed pricey... may get them from my local dealer. Were you operating the set in command or conventional? I'm only asking since you were pulling with an MTH engine and I could hear the dining car announcements. Wasn't sure the DCS system could do that without the proper cables...
I took photos of the AOE as it passed through Dawson, PA in the early 90's. It actually was around in 1989 as I recall. The dining car has the wrong interior. It should reflect the splendor of the train and have the baby grand that was in it and play soft classical music. Also, there should be a car or cars with the dutch door opening and the conductor come out and passengers enter. The interiors in the cars are very poor and they should have done it right. A #611 NW 4-8-4 custom with aux tender would be beautiful. Lionel gets a big thumbs down. By the way, the blue is the wrong shade.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Can I have your attention please, The American Orient Express is now boarding, take your time please, not in a rush. All Aboard, The American Orient Express is now departing.
AOE and all the other luxury land cruise train attempts were big flops. And it is kind of a tacky "neoclassical" paint job on streamlined equipment. I don't know why anyone would want to spend tons of money on this as opposed to models of what the equipment originally was. How many people even rode it or saw it 20+ years ago?
You no known in the history port to culture your car Veronica John sorry I can’t remember the name of it but even matter 2 coaches were get the phone restored in Georgia next to a really engine steam A&WP 290
I’ll be honest, that Santa Fe Bluegoose in the backround would have looked great pulling that set.
The ‘twilight’ shot was awesome!!! Those blue cars running with the room lights on low was the best.
That shot with the camera on top of one of the cars was just way too cool!
You added another beautiful set of passenger cars Eric. They look fantastic on your layout!
There is an ho scale version of this set by Rivarossi and that set comes with an E8 locomotive.
ConCor did a very limited edition 9-car set a few years ago. Managed to get my hands on the set, and it’s now putting in miles on the layout.
I remember seeing the real thing many years ago. It was sitting in Williams AZ in the rail yard of the Grand Canyon Railway just across the street form the depot. It was something I had never seen before so it did stick in my memory and yes it did have the 2 amtrak locos leading.
For the price, Lionel should get the interiors correct.
For the price they should be hand delivered on a red carpet, but what are ya gonna do.🤣
@@EricstrainsWith a marching band! 😅
@@arrowguy173 Hell yeah!
You know the railroad invented the red carpet! Look it up on the lake Superior railroad museums channel!
Thank you nice looking consist.
Eric. Thanks so much for your feedback and indeed you are correct. I mam actually seriously considering buying them as I was a fan of chasing the American Orient Express. I believe for an extra $120, they could have improved the interiors and put in figures.
I want to thank you for your channel. Being disabled, re-tried and an S gauge and O gauge enthusiast, I look forward to your insightful videos. They are WONDERFUL!
Happy Easter, Eric!...William Gratchic RN, BSN
Another steam locomotive that would go well with this set is Frisco #4500 "Meteor", its blue and white paint scheme is similar to the American Orient Express.
That would be a good match. I've got that locomotive.
Very nice. The cars are quite cool. It looks like the standard dome was modeled after a square-end dome observation. They did an excellent job, all the way around. I think that Lionel should upgrade the passenger announcements. Like the 20Th Century, Broadway, Super Chief and others, these are all Pullman sleeper car trains, no coaches. I think that the announcements should reflect that. Either way, it is an excellent train and would look fine with the Santa Fe Blue Goose or other streamlined steam engine in the lead. It not, a matching PA or slant-nose E, would look equally nice. Maybe not prototypical, but nice, non-the-less. As always, an excellent review and video.
The AOE was powered by 2 E units, reportedly damaged in a road crossing accident, as per AOE crew members. Amtrak locomotives pulled the AOE for the remainder of its operation.
This was a great looking train to ride in partnership with Amtrak.
The sky cam shot was epic!! Really cool set.
That's an amazing set. I love how it looks with your lighting. It is outstanding. It would be really awesome if lionel would do a run of those in ho scale.
You always have something cool to show thank you for sharing Eric
You are the man Eric when it comes to trains,I really love your layout,not super cluttered, plus that bridge is awesome ,aloha
Thank you very much!
Yeah, the bridge. Awesome design, detail, and weathering that takes my eyes from whichever train is going over or under it every time. 🙂
Looks awesome!
The Lionel American Orient Express reminded me of a VHS tape I had as a kid that featured the real American Orient Express
Great cars just don’t like the gaps between the cars looks like another midafternoon to a Lionel product
midafternoon? I was thinking more like mid-morning🌞
If they do produce a locomotive to go with these cars (and hopefully a new run of these cars at that time) I hope it's a steam locomotive in the same blue-and-white paint. There's something to be said about a luxury train being hauled behind a big, streamlined steamer in matching colors. A fantasy redeco of 611 or another streamliner would be incredible.
A cool European steamer to use with it would be the LNER/BR 4-6-2 A4 Mallard in its blue livery.
For anyone reading this comment who pre-ordered the new Lionel Legacy C&O F19 Pacific's from this catalog last year, Ryan Kunkle emailed me stating that the engines are now in the process of assembly and decoration and that there is a small hold up with the motors for them but that he expects them to be completed in a few more weeks from now and that they should receive them at Lionel by around May he stated to me. This was between me and him about 2 weeks ago now. So they should be coming soon.
a very nice set of cars !!! they look great going around the layout !!!
Can tell the cars are very well-made
The interior might not be correct, but that's not a big deal for me. Interiors can have their look changed on the real thing, so having a more generic look keeps it simple for production.
Really good video Eric
I loved the long shot or the ride on top of the cars around the whole layout! I also think you could run those cars with the Santa Fe blue bonnet set, the colors seem to be pretty close. Amazing train cars and amazing video!
If you are paying so much, then surely the least you should expect is that they have used the correct shade of blue for the coaches? Accept nothing else! Fascinated to see another side to you away from things survival and bushcrafty! Over here in UK we have several dining experiences you can take be it on the national railways or on preserved lines, for my folks 40th anniversary I treated them to an outing on the Keithley and Worth Valley Railway which was the nearest one to where they had courted and lived. If ever you visit the UK I’ll take you to some of the preserved Welsh lines.
Awesome video Eric. I haven't seen a lionel coach like the Glacier Park Dome car with its odd tail windows and end of train lights. Turns out this is a UP- Astra Dome/Dinner coach and was not a part of the AOE but instead a part of the Aberdeen Carolina & Western consist. I guess lionel just decided to use the dome car from the AC&W 2 pack. The real Glacier Park was a balcony observation car.
I remember watching National Geographic, Love those trains. In one segment, featured the Orient Express with Hal Linden and wife aka Capt. Barney Miller. That was very impressive when you think about it and the workers that work on that train.
Mr. Eric, did you have the AmRoad Silver Streak set from the 1976 film? That's a classic,
😅 pretty cool Eric, I especially liked the WiFi camera view from the dome car, that was pretty cool, kind of gave that feel like you was on the train 😊😊
I know its not prototypical but the Big Boy would have been nice to see leading it or the evolution hybrid. Great looking cars tho Eric.
Very nice passenger cars. I never knew there was an American Orient Express super cool. Great video Eric!
It was just a goofball railfan businessman with too much money in the 90s trying to start some kind of package vacation business. Two other companies tried to do the same thing- Iowa Pacific most recently and I forget the other one with the green paint job.
It actually did just fine until the 2008 recession put an end to it.
Eric I’ve watched your videos for a long time and that vista dome ride along is one of the best shots you’ve ever filmed in my opinion. So immersive - I felt like I was riding the train!
Thanks 👍
When MTH was still making European trains, I was shocked they never considered a Flying Scotsman at that time. Weren't you, knowing the fame around that locomotive?
Beautiful cars
I already agree! I love both real version and model of the train! What dreams!
As one who got photos/videos of this train many times while it passed through Georgia, I can tell you that blue shade Lionel used isn’t even close.
Wow those are beautiful! Nice touch in the figures. I do the same thing . Too easy and fun do. I like to take some creative liberty and add more details like rugs and flutes with flowers and such. Great shots of your signature tunnel districts! Super well done. Great dusk lighting affects. Well done Big Guy! Congratulations 🍾🎈‼️
Damn nice looking set of passenger cars Eric! Loved the video as always. Rob from S/E Va.
I wish they made this in HO scale! That is, they properly released it by someone like Walthers or Rapido.
Great share Eric very cool. Lionel does some fantastic stuff. Have a great day 😎🚂
It would be pretty cool if Lionel did a fantasy scheme F40 and P42 to match the set. I only wish these were available in HO scale.
It would!
That short dome car is an observation car as well, perhaps was modeled after UP or SP.
awesome
loving the onboard camera this is a great addition to your videos. I hope you'll do it in all future videos 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
That is So cool Eric !!!!
Those would look sweet with an MTH 22-3671-2, the blue royal hudson.
I like how you used a p42 to pull the train. The closest I saw to 84 was 81.
Stunning 💰🦫👌🖖👏🇺🇸💪👍😎🍩
I cringed when one of the cars hit the tunnel at the end lol... gorgeous set, I'm an Amtrak f40PH guy. (MTH)
Great classic video
Looks like an ex-SP Shasta Daylight observation car on the tail of the real thing in that one picture. I can't wait to eventually start building out my 22 car Coast Daylight.
Super cool cars, also the thumbnails are Killin me lol
It's RBP Eric back with another legit review 😂
AWESOME!
Thanks!
Hi Eric, congrats on the new set. While it's a nice train, I've found the entire premise of "American Orient Express" to be an oxymoron, as it's not a train to the orient. Calling it the "American Luxury Express" would've been more inspiring to the americans who would ride it, focusing on their nation and its beauty rather than calling on the nostalgic trip to Istanbul which they'd never get to see.
Just my two cents on the real train, it's still a very cool train. 👍
Well seeing as it as a real train that actually existed there's not much point in debating it lol.
Great video again
The ending clip😂
Beautiful passenger cars
In a future video can you do the Disney Berkshire from Lionel?
Absolutely stunning. Especially with steam engine 💙💙💙💙
Thank you very much!
We used to call them Hoogies, with a large helping of mustered and pickles.
As an old childhood Lionel Train enthusiast, I was wondering about the length of the train (actual and model). The cars look really long. Were they that long in actuality and if so, how would they get around tight curves if they weren't articulated. The track (O-gauge) I had as a boy would not have supported such a long wheel base.
The stuff you had as a boy was semi-scale. Everything was compressed to make the models smaller so that they could get around tight curves. These are scale models, so they are larger and longer than the traditional semi scale trains you had as a kid. But they still run on the same 3-rail track…just with wider curves that can accommodate the longer full scale models.
Thanks. As a boy my very first Lionel train was set up to run around a circular track under our Christmas tree. Although I do remember some straight track as well.@@Ericstrains
best, thumbnail, ever!
Could you imagine a Lionel legacy steam engine in Amtrak paint? Which locomotive would be a good candidate?
Hey Eric. Thanks for sharing. Was considering them at the time but seemed pricey... may get them from my local dealer. Were you operating the set in command or conventional? I'm only asking since you were pulling with an MTH engine and I could hear the dining car announcements. Wasn't sure the DCS system could do that without the proper cables...
I was using DCS for the engine and my legacy remote for the dining car
What kind of drone are you using for the flyover shots? That new angle is 👌
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Do you always run your dome cars backwards?
What type of camera are you using for riding on top of the cars?
A digital camera
I took photos of the AOE as it passed through Dawson, PA in the early 90's. It actually was around in 1989 as I recall. The dining car has the wrong interior. It should reflect the splendor of the train and have the baby grand that was in it and play soft classical music. Also, there should be a car or cars with the dutch door opening and the conductor come out and passengers enter. The interiors in the cars are very poor and they should have done it right.
A #611 NW 4-8-4 custom with aux tender would be beautiful. Lionel gets a big thumbs down. By the way, the blue is the wrong shade.
Doing specialized custom interiors would make the cars even more expensive. I'd rather detail the interiors myself.
Wasn't the original pulled by a pair of F-9s? Mabey F-7s?
All the pics I've seen featured P42's, but I'm sure at some point they were.
Railcruise America was a revival that I think got some of the AOE equipment, had some ex VIA F units.
AOE leased CSX's F units temporarily.
@EricesTrains I have a question for you what Ho scale switch engine should I get for my Ho scale layout
Please get a C&O H7-Class.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Can I have your attention please, The American Orient Express is now boarding, take your time please, not in a rush.
All Aboard, The American Orient Express is now departing.
NOTE: ANYONE owning ANY Lionel scale dome cars, DONT BREAK/CRACK the dome! You cant purchase/replace the dome section!
How did you make mth engine run with Lionel sound car?
I didn’t. The engine is running with dcs, the sound car with legacy
@@Ericstrains just was wondering was it hard?
How come i cant hear this video? I have andriod.
Imagane if Lionel made a Genesis in the same paint sceme as the passenger cars
You didn't have to chop the legs off?!!!
👍🏻💫💫💫💫💫
ridiculous price! I'm done with new/modern Lionel due to their pricing policies.
Ok
*Promosm* 😡
AOE and all the other luxury land cruise train attempts were big flops. And it is kind of a tacky "neoclassical" paint job on streamlined equipment. I don't know why anyone would want to spend tons of money on this as opposed to models of what the equipment originally was. How many people even rode it or saw it 20+ years ago?
I love spending money on big flops.
You no known in the history port to culture your car Veronica John sorry I can’t remember the name of it but even matter 2 coaches were get the phone restored in Georgia next to a really engine steam A&WP 290