hey everyone. I know there has been some great anticipation for this set. I figured I should share the fun! Enjoy, and thanks!
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Very nice. Enjoy.
Hello,I did check out your video,I am a subscriber to your channel.Your work keeps getting nicer,I enjoy everyone of your video's.Thanks for sharing this cool set with us.Would love to hear you talk more during your presentations,but they are outstanding without narration.
Great images. Nice train, hope you enjoy running it!
How well does the whistle steam work?
Looks like a really nice set. Thanks for sharing. 
Nice to see that Lionel provided nice packaging for this set! The last few sets have not had any packaging to contain the cars and the engine. Nice job Lionel!
Good for you!
Enjoy!!!
Chief Bob (Retired)
Originally Posted by Nick PghTrainFanatic:
hey everyone. I know there has been some great anticipation for this set. I figured I should share the fun! Enjoy, and thanks!
Very nice! Now, not being a Slobbering Pennsy Fan, I always thought that the 6755, which is in the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum in Strasberg, PA, is an M1b. Where did I go wrong?
Originally Posted by kjstrains:
Nice to see that Lionel provided nice packaging for this set! The last few sets have not had any packaging to contain the cars and the engine. Nice job Lionel!
Absolutely a nice touch! The MTH twin husky-stack sets (CSX and UP) only had the individual components packaged in a brown shipping box, and Lionel took the same approach for the N&W Pocahontas passenger set. 
So I was beginning to think this was the "new norm". But thankfully, this set and the recent SP "Oil Can" TankTrain set from a couple of years ago had nice set boxes inside the outer shipper. I think the NYC Water-Level freight set also had a nice set box too. Definitely adds to the "feel good" factor when purchasing these sets. 
David
Thanks for posting your video, Nick. Nice to see your beautiful layout again!
David
H W,
6755 started life as a M1a, was re-built in 1953. From Wikipedia:
The 6755 was built by the Altoona Works in 1930. The 6755 was a class M1a and was used predominantly in freight service, though it would occasionally be used for passenger trains. In 1953, the locomotive went back to the Altoona Works and was rebuilt into a class M1b. The locomotive continued to be used for freight service until January 1957 when it was retired from the roster.
Nick,
Great looking train enjoy it, good luck too.
JohnB
is it me or does the spacing between the hopper cars look awfully big?
NICK
REALY NICE ENJOY IT
STEVE
Originally Posted by 20centuryhudson:
is it me or does the spacing between the hopper cars look awfully big?
Yes. Think of the cars as being fodder for upgrades.
Originally Posted by JohnB:
H W,
6755 started life as a M1a, was re-built in 1953. From Wikipedia:
The 6755 was built by the Altoona Works in 1930. The 6755 was a class M1a and was used predominantly in freight service, though it would occasionally be used for passenger trains. In 1953, the locomotive went back to the Altoona Works and was rebuilt into a class M1b. The locomotive continued to be used for freight service until January 1957 when it was retired from the roster.
JohnB
OK, but did Lionel, and MTH for that matter, produce their models based on the 6755 that is preserved in the PA RR Museum, which is actually an M1b? How would someone that is not a SPF tell the difference between a real M1a and an M1b?
Thanks for posting this Nick, great job.
What caught my eye was the insanely close spacing of the engine and tender. Does this model make use of the newer(ish) kinematic coupler?
Thanks again.
Charlie
H W,
The easiest way of telling the difference between a M1a and a M1b is the pilots. The M1a has the old fashion step on pilot and the M1b has a streamline pilot. Similar to the upgrades the Pennsy did on the K4s.
I don't want to guess what Lionel or MTH were thinking but if it is a M1a model it was how the 6755 engine was built and if it's a M1b its how it looks today at the PRR Museum. Lionel and MTH both built M1a and M1b engines.
JohnB
Love it!
Sweet looking set!
I have two GLA hoppers and they are quickly becoming my favorite pieces of rolling stock.
Enjoy.
Originally Posted by JohnB:
H W,
The easiest way of telling the difference between a M1a and a M1b is the pilots. The M1a has the old fashion step on pilot and the M1b has a streamline pilot. Similar to the upgrades the Pennsy did on the K4s.
I don't want to guess what Lionel or MTH were thinking but if it is a M1a model it was how the 6755 engine was built and if it's a M1b its how it looks today at the PRR Museum. Lionel and MTH both built M1a and M1b engines.
JohnB
John, with all due respect the cast pilot does not signify that the locomotive is an M1b. You're correct in that some of the M1a's were rebuilt into M1b's. The spotting difference is the attachment points for the thermal siphons (the siphons themselves are internal to the boiler) which rise in a diagonal line at the rear of the boiler above the firebox. If the siphons are there, it is an M1b. If the sides of the Belpaire are smooth (no siphons) then it is an M1a.
Here are two photos of M1b's, you can see the siphon ends above the running board in front of the cab.
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/prr6704.jpg
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/prr6792.jpg
M1a locomotives could be found with step pilots:
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/prr6758.jpg
with slat pilots:
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/prr6759.jpg
or with cast pilots:
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/prr6778s.jpg
The lettering on the Lionel tender is the "condensed" style that PRR used in the 1930's.
