How Does Lionel's New Dreyfuss Hudson Compare To The Competition? Let's Find Out!

Lionel's New Dreyfuss Hudson vs the MTH Dreyfuss Hudson: Which is better?
Day 1 of the 2023 Christmas Bonanza. 8 videos in 8 days, starting on Christmas Day and ending on New Year's Day.
Chapter List:
0:00 - Intro
1:06 - Unboxing
4:26 - History
7:12 - Model Stats & Facts
10:13 - Up Close & Personal
16:37 - Passenger Cars
20:50 - Lionel vs MTH
24:12 - Startup & Demo
27:09 - Running Session
33:37 - Wrap Up
35:28 - End Credits

[@Ericstrains]

Video Notes: 1) Day 1 of the 2023 Christmas Bonanza! 8 videos in 8 days, starting on Christmas Day and ending on New Year's Day. 2) This video has chapters for those who wish to skip around. 3) Merry Christmas!

[@DJHProductions]

Unless it’s Black Lionel is going to get the color wrong. It amazes me that they made scale models of the Dreyfuss, the J engine, southern green, PRR Brunswick, Lehigh Valley red, Erie Lackawanna grey, T&P Orange, etc for years and yet they can’t get any of them right now. Even my Strasburg 90, a close to 2,000 dollar engine had awful shades of red. Unless it’s black, it’s going to be wrong.

[@GlennFresch]

It’s nice that Lionel made different versions to reflect different stages in the engines life.

[@Jeebuus]

As far as I know, the NYC's president didn't want older steam hanging around in the wake of modern diesel power because he didn't want any potentially antiquated reminders of the railroad's past hanging around to drag down their forward-lookimg image. Obviously that didn't help them in the long run and it's a damn shame that basically no examples of their most iconic steam power hung around.

[@TonyLasagna]

First thing that came to mind was the spartan helmet as well, but also could be something celestial - like the moon, even. If I owned one of these and a 3d printer, I would probably make a plate for that and run it both ways.

[@Ericstrains]

Haha. Merry Christmas bud!

[@TonyLasagna]

merry christmas my friend

[@doubleutubefan5]

When the lionel is next the the MTH, man it almost looks pure white. I am not a NYC fan at all, but those passenger cars are something! They look great.

[@LarryWGrant-dw6jo]

Wow! My,my . . .how far we've come since I got a Lionel 221W set for Christmas in 1946! I was five-years-old and that Christmas was one of the most memorable. Great choice Eric!

[@pokebreeder2517]

how much did lionel trains cost back in your day compared to now?

[@FanRailer]

Whistles 1 and 3 are probably the most prototypical for this locomotive.

[@thesheq5023]

As a primary n scaler im constantly modifying my engines cars and details. It’s something that a lot of especially bigger scales get to take for granted. Yes this set is expensive but so is o scale as a whole. It is a set that some people may want to customize or repaint it but its definitely a feature heavy set :)

[@mikestrainsthings]

In the UK and to a smaller extent here in the states that shade is called photographic gray usually used by loco works to sell their engines, and it certain looks the part fantastic paint scheme

[@user-mz6cu6qe9d]

Amazing Locomotive Dreyfuss Hudson is 3 favorite Locomotive the new lionel vision line union pacific big boy 4014 and 4013 4000 are my favorite Dreyfus Hudson is beautiful Locomotive

[@user-mz6cu6qe9d]

My Grandpa was born in 1926 He was alive when a hudson was made he die 2012

[@zachwheeler9846]

I like the MTH version since its more realistic and the extra streamlining with the tender flaps and coupler cover, on the other hand I like the colors on the Lionel version over the MTH one. Excited to see what's to come for this years Christmas Bonanza. Hope you and Lisa have great and safe Christmas! Great review Eric!

[@traviscovington4294]

Thanks for these amazing videos Eric. Keep it up !

[@paulwillard5924]

Funny how you mentioned the Spartan helmet, that’s what I thought too…😀

[@rowsdower12]

Gorgeous. Of course I'm bias as I'm a NYC fan. Especially the 20th century limited. One of my favorite historical eras in America. The non streamline Hudsons were classics. Niagaras are nice too. Holy axles on the tender batman. Great video as always

[@renegade3577]

Even though I love the variety of whistles that Lionel offers on the new models I still love the whistle on the MTH Dryfess. One of my favorites of all time!

[@Calebro4]

That was a really nice side-by-side pan over comparison of each engine. Very easy to see the differences.

[@bxjibaro73]

@Eric's Trains - YES!!!! Finally a compare & contrast episode. It's not so much about which it better, but more about what does each one offer and which would you personally prefer. THANKS 4 THIS ONE ERIC! Hope to see more "Compare & Contrast" episodes like this from your well informed perspective. 👍🏼 👍🏼

[@shafiqshabazz2462]

Always love the unboxings.....

[@donaldwiller9238]

Great job 👏

[@joshuacantu101]

Excellent video thanks Eric

[@asdfdsa45]

Whistle #4 is ERR's medium steam loco whistle.

[@Brayden4472]

Whistle 2 is my favorite! Great video Eric

[@gustavovasile428]

GREAT VÍDEO!! MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY!!

[@AJSparacio413]

Merry Christmas Eric!! I think Lionel’s version if the Dreyfuss looks amazing. I love anything New York Central!!

[@Porschedude8]

Excellent! 👍👍

[@Ericstrains]

Many thanks!

[@johnpandolfino8663]

Simply stunning.....

[@theracetrackroute]

Eric, Legacy Station’s display shelf sounds like a dangerous place, certainly not your first time where you ended up buying something you weren’t originally going to. 😂

[@gordonsnell6735]

Very cool Eric & by the way your green locomotive looks cool to me as well, still both of the hudsons looked pretty cool side by side

[@TheGermanKnowsBest]

Whistles 2 and 3 sound really good. Those sound like the historical Hudsons ❤.

[@njhirailers-lionelambassad6894]

Eric, 100% agree the new Lionel engine and cars are absolutely fantastic. They look great. It’s a hobby, enjoy the trains

[@houseofjax21]

Great video thank you sir.

[@Ericstrains]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@mattmatulewic]

Another stellar video from Eric!

[@Ericstrains]

Thanks!

[@johnpandolfino8663]

Merry Christmas!!!!!!🌲🦫🍩👌👏😎⛄🎁🧁🎉🎉🎄👍🇺🇸🎁

[@dougmasters681]

Very Cool! Yes,I agree with you Eric. Spartan Helmet!

[@Ericstrains]

Thanks!

[@HunterLohseRRVideos]

My main focus in the railroad hobby is preserving movie film of all the great trains from the Golden Age that Lionel and MTH produce in O Scale. Color footage of the Century Super Hudsons exists and some of it can actually be seen in a preview here on KZbin! Herron Rail Video released it on Glory Machines Vol. 1 back in the 80s. The actual color on them as it appears on the film seems to be about in between the MTH colors and the recent Lionel Legacy release. I want to say Lionel is closer, as the prototype appears to my eye to be about two to three shades darker than theirs. No bias toward either brand as I do not own any O gauge (yet).

[@ChazzLyons]

Fantastic Eric, I like the Lionel version it has killer sound & looks great! I choose whistle #3 🤗

[@jackdeyoung2576]

Picked this up at Brady's Train Outlet with all 8 cars. It's going to be a good 2024 Christmas! Great vid as usual!

[@garys0scale525]

I have the Christmas Doodlebug and would love to add passengers. I hope you do a video on that, because it looks really tight inside.

[@pyrerock]

If you wanted an "in story" explanation for the difference in shades, you could say that the Lionel version represents the train in its later stage of life and thus the paint is just faded with age.

[@Ericstrains]

Ha yeah maybe

[@remie4494]

Merry Christmas Eric!🎄🎉

[@Ericstrains]

Same to you!

[@TestBenchRRCo]

One thing to keep in mind about locomotive paint back during the steam era: not every shade of grey, blue, white, etc is the same even if it’s for the same parent RR. The RR’s used whatever paint was obtainable at the shops to closely match the color specs to keep costs low; so if there were 10 Hudson’s in a yard, not all of them had matching paint.

[@allegheny48]

Actually the NYC stocked specific shades of paint per the DuPont Company's paint code numbers. Passenger equipment, engines included, were always kept clean and paint touched up when needed until WWII basically put an end to such things. But one has to keep in mind that paint from that era wasn't as impervious to dirt, weathering and power washing as many of today's paints are. Therefore the colors tended to fade much more quickly than they do today. The Lionel Smithsonian Dreyfuss Hudson, released in 1993, was painted the exact shade of gray as the prototype Dreyfuss Hudson.

[@ironhorsehistorian9871]

Lucky to have one of these beauties in N scale

[@louisletourneau3429]

Glad you have one , who made them in N scale ? And the grey is similar to which one ?

[@ironhorsehistorian9871]

@@louisletourneau3429 con Cor did but some on the market came with a Kato drive

[@railmastergaming]

whistle #3 was my favorite by far! Also i definitely favor the original grey over the light grey but after watching the model run the light grey started to grow on me and it doesnt look so bad now.

[@markgouthro7375]

Thank you, it will always look like a Spartan helmet for me now!

[@Ericstrains]

It does!

[@ericwilliams2619]

I really like the lionel legacy dreyfus hudson extraordinary camera work and onboard footage 👍🏻✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️

[@mrlee54]

My favorite whistle on this steam locomotive is number 3 and bell number 2 is my favorit on this steam locomotive. And to anyone who doesn't think, that the color of the locomotive or it's passenger cars is painted right, you could always paint the locomotive and it's cars yourself, after you have bought the train.

[@johnlamprecht7523]

Old Hickory??? Great find, seamen and sailors love em for keeping a good edge

[@garyjust.johnson1436]

Merry Christmas 2023!

[@Steven_Williams]

Happy Holidays Eric!

[@jameskubajak8489]

I'm thinking about calling Lionel about a new idea for a twin diner set. It's for the late 50's (1959 to be precise), and includes dialogue from Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest.

[@OG-Productions]

Great video Eric’s Trains

[@BrennanLepene]

I wish I could have one! It even has the 765 whistle!!!

[@HotRodRodney25]

merry christmas eric n lisa

[@GlennFresch]

The level of detail on the new Lionel passenger cars is quite impressive. They seem to be approaching a fine scale level.

[@daivdwalker2374]

1st whistle and 1st bell for me Merry Christmas Eric and Lisa looking forward to 2morrow's video also

[@Ericstrains]

Merry Christmas!

[@Shipwright1918]

With the scale stuff, I'd argue all the various makes are pretty similar when it comes to particular models, as they're all modelling the same prototype. Main differences are special features/electronics and final price. The nice thing about MTH is that the control/sound system remains the same through their entire range, semi-scale Railking and the scale RK Imperial and Premier lines. As you say, more bang for your buck.

[@traviscovington4294]

It’s crazy how Lionel reccomends 0-72 for that Hudson while mth is 0-42. Very odd. Thoughts?

[@wyattbrownlee3108]

I think a lot of it has to do with the tender. If you compare the two you can see the lionel train has more wheels on the tender compared to the mth

[@ldever3]

MTH has huge gaps between the cars. You always have to trade off something to get something.

[@gizmotrains]

100% the tender is the limiting factor. Tried with my O63 loop and although it did make it through the curves, it was barely and not happy. O72 is accurate and a must.

[@asteroidrules]

It's a bit of a recurring thing, MTH stuff generally handles tighter curves than Lionel.

[@AJSparacio413]

Is the MTH Dreyfuss a Railking one?

[@TheMarkaorso]

You done a wonderful job happy to see it I have been doing train shows I still need to get better in my videos I doing right now Washington State History Museum from Dec 22 until Jan 1 any help would be great

[@northpennvalleysteamrailroad]

Cool comparison 😊

[@Ericstrains]

Thanks! 😀

[@maxwellwalcher6420]

I love Hudsons.

[@richardkessler]

I'm a new subscribed but long time model train lover... Your imagination and layout is mind blowing... For the comparison today..I prefer the color on the MTH....

[@pearsooo6972]

Nice

[@Burmn]

Nice piece. That MTH sounnd set is starting to show its age I feel like I hear that same chuff/whistle a lot. The obvious solution is to put the Lionel guts in the MTH tooling. lol

[@zacnadurak7994]

merry Christmas eric

[@railchief74]

Actually the Commandor Vanderbilt was the first streamlined engine in 1934. Despite the controversy surrounding the paint job on the Dreyfuss, I honestly don’t have a problem with it at all. As for the whistle-I think the first sound file works the best like you said. The MTH one may be more prototypical, but Lionel’s model has much better sounds. Great work on the Review and the Video Eric.

[@Per-MichaelJarnberg]

The whistle 3 sounds similar to the 3 chime Hancock whistle on the SP4449. The engine looks phenomenal I can’t wait to see more Lionel and other train videos in 2024

[@ryantaylor3278]

Although the color may not be prototypical, I actually think the lighter grey looks better on the engine. It's more attractive to me. The only thing I'd change about the color is all the black detail below the shrouding and the truck and tender wheels were dark grey instead of black.

[@GlennFresch]

On the MTH vs Lionel engine appearance: the Lionel clearly has more detail. The MTH obviously has a more realistic color. The Lionel almost looks like an overexposed black and white photo. I’m hard pressed to pick a favorite.

[@johnandrus3901]

A very fine set. The color is a bit light, but at least the cars match. The crew talk is still a bit of a let-down, though. Have a great New Year.

[@billcrowe7111]

Hi Eric, great vid. You know you will get the other 2 cars. 😅

[@brianlohr3412]

nice train set !!!!!

[@backonpro5679]

Nice model, but they REALLY missed the mark with they gray. Considering how expensive model trains are, I’d say the complaints are more than justified

[@Adamdaj]

Merry Christmas! The nose on the Dreyfuss reminds me of a HOBART Mixer or some sort of machinery for in food prep industry. Other than that, it is very impressive and looks good on a layout.

[@Ericstrains]

Ha, that's funny. I worked with those mixers back in the day. Haha.

[@Adamdaj]

@@Ericstrains I didn't mean to sound disrespectful. The nose looks like the mixing bowl,

[@dizguy89]

Great vid!! I got the whole set, going to slowly be picking it up cause it is a really expensive set for sure! I really hate that they don't put people in their cars anymore, another expense Ive just had to factor in now. Where do you get your people Eric? I have at this point both the broadway, north coast limited and the 20th that need filling out with people.

[@user-nl7we4fq1e]

Both of mine are much darker. The Smithsonian version and the later 5452 which both match my only two Smithsonian brass pullmans nicely…

[@bupbead2731]

I might pick one up tbh.

[@doubleutubefan5]

I love how we got an onboard ride on top of the tender. I wonder if there's any way to get a camera facing to the rear inside of that observation car? I know there's like small cameras that are attached to wires and they're barely noticeable. I think that'd be a really cool project. I might have to do that. You gave me a good idea

[@Ericstrains]

Like a camera facing out of the back of the observation car?

[@doubleutubefan5]

@@Ericstrains yes. I haven't seen anyone put a small camera INSIDE the car. I have seen those small cameras used for looking in pipes or on robots. That would be sure cool to try. I'll have to start after the holidays.

[@davidjenkins1484]

Really enjoyed this review. It is, very comprehensive, shows everything and compares to MTH. Nice job documenting the sounds of the locomotive and SS diner. It was all excellent. The 5454 color is very different from the cars but compliments them very well. I have the 5454 and the 5449 as well as the cars. Your review identifies the function of the different cars, I think better than other reviews and now I know how to order and run my consist. Thanks for your educational and great work!

[@lbeyyt6581]

Those cars are really nice

[@insAneTunA]

The fact that the Lionel is less glossy also makes it more realistic to me.

[@joeorillio1007]

You do realize that the term "varnish" referred to the High Gloss these crack passenger trains at the time were finished in.

[@insAneTunA]

@@joeorillio1007 That might be the case, I am not an expert by any means. But I can imagine that the trains were not looking shiny and glossy all the time. Maybe right after a cleanup if they ever did that at all. But I think that the trains would have looked a bit mat colored and dusty for most of the time. But I did notice the clear difference in surface finish from the trains that were presented in this video. I have nothing against perfectly clean looking and shiny trains. But for realism I prefer the weathered or the less shiny trains. But that is just a personal preference from a person who only enjoys looking at it. I can also imagine that some collectors want to keep their trains in mint condition. So it is all good, sort of speak.

[@SchaeferOGaugeLoggingRR]

So I am going to start off by saying in general I am not a Hudson type fan. They are ok. They just do not do much for me. And the Dreyfus has always looked strange. Just getting the negative out of the way up front. I think the new one is very nice looking. While I get that there are some that are upset that the grey is not as dark as previous models, I think it is pretty sharp looking. It looks like a great engine. Like you, if I had bought one, I would have gone for one of the long tenders so I could get the water steam affect. I love that feature on my Niagara. Although the color swapped blue one would be intriguing.

[@scottaldridge7888]

Beautiful models both the Lionel and MTH. Thanks for sharing.

[@ThunderboltSirenStudios]

BFIMO for me is going to have to be the running gear light because you just don't see that on many models, and that's what I think makes this model unique.

[@alexanderdeburdegala4609]

The more complex running gear of the MTH I find infinity more attractive

[@michael61985]

If i was in this hobby i would want realism in my locomotives and the rolling stock as well

[@TrainLover-wt9ix]

Whistle 2 and 3 and bell 1 fits the locomotive

[@louisletourneau3429]

Very nice locos , wonder which grey is closest to the real NYC grey . Is there still cars of that set in museum somewhere ? As for the whistle I prefer the #3 but I never heard the real one ..... Great video , thanks !!!

[@ldever3]

I actually prefer the look of Lionel’s semi-fantasy paint scheme. I don’t model NYC, so for this I don’t care. I do model Southern, and that Atlantic should have been black. As prices increase, I think Lionel owes us correct colors. That tender is awesome, even more so than the engine, at least in my opinion. In any case, this set is beautiful.

[@marvelllesmana4527]

My fav whistle is number 4

[@krtrains123]

I would like to see a comparison with the 18027 from 1992 , thanks for the video

[@DRCRailroard]

Merry Christmas Eric, it's a gorgeous model. I've always found the streamlined steamers to be a fascinating design. The Lionel color scheme looks great. I find it acceptable. I like whistle 3 and bell 4. I'm not a big fan of any of the talking sounds to have an opinion. Its interesting that you refer to the drivers as box pox. I've always referred to them as box spoke hence the shortened spelling boxpok. since the design is based off of the combination of both the Box and spoke wheel designs with a shortened spelling. Box pox sounds like it has some kind of virus like chickenpox. Boxspoke would be more suited to the actual design than anything involving chicken disease. Is boxpox the accepted pronunciation for this design? If it is they should change the k to an x. Just curious.

[@charlesbrown959]

Thank goodness for MTH.

[@alexanderdeburdegala4609]

I don't know if you've done this kind of video, but for us amateurs could you do basics video ex. What kind of tracks you use and why?, what kind of transformer you use and why?, and other tips for those of us starting out, but past the "Kit in the box" phase.

[@Eyrrll]

I don’t get hung up on how prototypical my trains are but I will say that I just like the colors on the MTH better. That said, if I had shelled out thousands of dollars and didn’t get what I was expecting/wanted, I would probably be upset.

[@CoalChrome]

MTH did a Dreyfuss last year or the year before as a limited release, so the features might be different

[@DjsOgaugeTrains]

Thanks for showing the Lionel dreyfuss next to the Mth. Yeah Lionel is waaaay off on the color, but the entire set looks good! And that Kermit the frog Atlantic…. Yeah terrible green. For the money we spend on these models IMO, Lionel needs to be more consistent on getting colors right on scale models. I’m Not bashing Lionel, I love their products. But this is an area that needs improvement, especially as prices continue to creep up. Merry Christmas and thanks for the video!

[@user-mj1mt4ys9k]

My favorite whistle is number two and my favorite Bell is number one

[@Bigboy4018]

I like the lighter grey color. Whistle #1 sounds the best to me.

[@boombox4037]

Whistles number two and three are my favorite their my kinda whistles for a star Hudson lol

[@boombox4037]

My favorite bell is number five as well

[@desertmetallica]

During your intro, What’s behind your left shoulder on the bridge? 1:03