Though Niche, Lian Li's PC-CK101 Is Certainly Cool
Alright, so, the last part of our story is mostly aimed at model train buffs, train watchers, and railroad enthusiasts. Hopefully you still enjoyed our little excursion, though.
You don’t have to keep Lian Li's locomotive case running all the time. The knowledge that you could, if you wanted to, is good enough. Now, it's pretty clear that this is a special chassis for a special type of PC enthusiast. We covered the aspects we liked and thought could be improved upon in sufficient depth, so let's wrap this up with a video.
Regardless of whether you consider a $300+ ticket to ride on this locomotive-styled chassis (and its propulsion kit) worth the money, you have to give it up to Lian Li for getting inventive and designing something that transcends our traditional concept of PC enclosures. Going so far as to make the train run down 10 feet of track is just cool, even if we did have to help it along a bit with our own tweaks.
With a few minor exceptions, the workmanship that went into this case and its rails is very good. We specifically like the paint job, which is robust enough to weather some fun outdoors (as you witnessed). Coarse gravel, bent rails, old grease, a nasty drizzle, and the bitter cold couldn't stop Lian Li's locomotive. After a thorough cleaning, it continues to delight visitors.
Naturally, this is somewhat of an showpiece for Lian Li, which demonstrates what a skilled designer can do with aluminum. Consider the experiment a success and color me impressed.
We want to extend our thanks to the Sächsische Eisenbahnmuseum e. V. in Chemnitz, Germany and the many volunteers there keeping the exhibits in pristine condition by donating their spare time. If you’re in the area with or without kids, do visit. You won’t be disappointed. And while Germany may be too far for most readers, the translator of this article shares the author’s enthusiasm for historic steam locomotives and enjoys visiting the Travel Town Museum in Los Angeles and the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento.
