There have been several posts recently about the Acela which have prompted me to finally pull mine out and give it a run. I hope the short video I attached works (sorry for the mediocre quality... was using my handheld iPhone). The set (plus the add on cars) has been in the box pretty much since I purchased it when it first came out. I did try a test run when I bought it, but setting it up while crawling on the floor leaves much to be desired. It was WAY easier connecting all the cars when it is sitting on a level track 40" off the floor. As you may be able to hear in the video, it definitely needs a good oiling and probably some lube, so my next project is set. I did have one or two cars with blinking lights, so I will need to carefully examine all the connections after I service all the cars.
One thing I didn't realize until I got all the cars on the tracks was that the passenger coaches are 21". I passed on all the new 21" cars as I felt that they would be too big for my layout (16' x 14', outside mainline is O-82). Even on my widest curve, there is a very noticeable overhang. So, I think I'll stick with shorter cars - but the Acela is just too cool 
) that one can view a Lionel Acela running perfectly in TM's Lionel Nation 2. It happens to be my set and it was unboxed, assembled, and run on the day of the video shoot with out a hitch. The critical trick in the train's set up is to insert each coach between the engine units one at a time and to test for full operation before inserting the next coach. In this way, one verifies that the IR tethers are, indeed, aligned. This procedure will also indicate which units if any may have problems when one is unboxing a mint set for the first time. Yes, the Acela can be a PITA, but I have never in all of my years seen visitors go as crazy over a train as they do when viewing an Acela running full tilt with all of its features working properly.
