My father got a new MTH G5 20-3658-1 (from the 2016 vol 2). There was a one for sale, on display at the hobbyshop, but my father asked to order a "new" one, where the one can stay on the display for grabs at the hobbyshop.
Next week. New off of the pallet at the hobby shop, the clerk pulled the new engine out of the box and ran conventional on the 8 foot test track. Found out the "new" G5 in conventional mode took off when fired up for the first time. With a quick press of the buttons, the locomotive was unlocked from "direction lock". The smoke starting to puff and it smells a bit odd, like fried Circut board. All switches were in the proper position. After everything is ironed out, there may be a half mile and about 10 minutes of run time on this piece.
Bring it home and brought this "new" locomotive out of the box and fired it up. I found out this "new" locomotive has 8 hours and 150 miles of run time, compared to the 10 to 15 minutes and 5 miles of run time- which is tested at the factory/ or HQ, and displayed/ran at a hobbyshop before purchase.
Another footnote I want to ask about: On the layout, under DCS and power is on, but the engine is powered off. An engine would move in the direction without sound upon the scroll of a thumbwheel. This engine would fire up upon the scroll of thumbwheel (not the startup button). Is this a new feature to MTH models? Or can this be a glitch? The engine just doesnt seem right and before I take it back to the hobbyshop, Yes its under warranty, but I do not want to give the hobbyshop the run around over it. I need your input. Does anyone own this model? Thanks in advance.
