I just received a pristine, as far as I can tell, MTH/Lionel Hiawatha passenger set from 2010. It apparently has Proto 2.0 , so if/when I hook up my system I can see how much it has been used. The folks packed it without a trace of a finger print! No chips or scratches, **** it's beautiful! Unfortunately I'm only able to set up a train once a year around the tree, and if you guessed I just started doing this in my adult years when Lionel first put out the Polar Express, you are correct. I did refurbish my father's 1936??? American Flyer Zephyr that he received as a child that my Grandfather purchased from the store front window of Burlington Railroad off of Michigan ave. in downtown Chicago on Christmas Eve. Very cool, but noisy! Every year or so I try to add another O scale train consist to my collection. I've been using Lionel 48"/54"? Fastrack, but from what I have heard the subject matter train requires O72. Can anyone verify this? Last year I upscaled and got an MTH 20th Century Limited (came with a Commodore Vanderbilt logo on the observation???)Premier with the DCC? remote. It ran great, but looked awkward on the turns. If I absolutely need to go to O72, I will need a new Christmas tree skirt and see if it will fit. I've been leaning toward realism, but this will look much more "Natural" under the tree! The shiny enamel paint on the metal body is right up the alley of trying to create a "Ralphie" Christmas. Also, this set comes with 3 passenger cars. How many more can it pull without overstressing the engine? My 20th Century looked as though it was chasing it's tail...too long!
