LionChief Remote

The LionChief Remote is a remote introduced in 2013.It was originally called the TrainChief remote but was changed due to copyright reasons.

Lionel has sold several versions of LionChief which they have not clearly differentiated! All LionChief remotes have a great, intuitive speed and direction control. Simply move the knob from the center to the right to increase the forward speed, turn to the left to slow. And from center move the knob to the left to increase the reverse speed, turn to the right to slow. Two year old children have no problem using this remote!


 * 1) The original LionChief remote control was sold with an engine and it was directly paired to that engine. The engine had great sounds activated by the engine moving and by buttons on the remote. The remote control had a button for a horn or whistle, a button for a bell, and a button to activate the crew talking. In 2017 Lionel added Bluetooth capability to new Lionchief engines allowing them to be controlled by smart phones. Bluetooth does not work with Lionchief engines introduced in catalogs before 2017. In 2021 Lionel added the capability to record your own voice with the smart phone app but this feature is only available for select engines starting in the new catalog. So there are three iterations of the original LionChief remote.
 * 2) Lionchief+Plus was introduced in the 2014 catalog and it included the capability of controlling the couplers on the engine from the remote control. The Lionchief+Plus engines had a few extra enhancements such as speed control, fan driven smoke in steam engines, and a switch that allowed it to be controlled by a conventional Lionel transformer. In 2017 Lionel added Bluetooth capability to new Lionchief+Plus engines allowing them to be controlled by smart phones. Bluetooth does not work with Lionchief+Plus engines introduced in catalogs before 2017.  Many new Lionchief+Plus engines were introduced in the 2018 catalog, but by 2019 this line was dropped. So there are two iterations of the Lionchief+Plus remote.
 * 3) Lionchief+Plus 2 is much more expensive because it has additional electronics and features, but the remote control must be bought separately. A universal LionChief remote that can control three trains costs an additional $50. The Lionchief+Plus 2 engines can also be controlled by Lionel's Command Control or a smart phone. In 2021 Lionel added the capability to record your own voice with the smart phone app but this feature is only available for select engines starting in the new catalog. So there are two iterations of the Lionchief+Plus 2 remote.