Saw one of these online... MTH O Scale Coors Light Beer Silver Bullet Train Set PS2.0 Sounds 30-1433-1 set
What problems do I have to look out for & what`s a reasonable price? not familiar with MTH
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No problems with that set as long as it works. Real cool features. G
They're one of the cooler fantasy sets that MTH has made. I have one with four reefer cars and the optional tail car. It is a head turner when it pulls up and all the doors open with the blue interior lights and the "fog" rolling out of the reefers. The sounds are a hit as well. I think the only downside I see is it requires a really good DCS signal on the tracks for everything to work properly. If you have any signal issues, half the doors don't open or close, really kills the effect. 
Have the same cars as John. Run mine on a loop suspended from the ceiling. Great set. Real attention getter.
Only one thing, and luckily I saw something on this before I bought mine, or I'm sure I'd have broken them too. The ladders on the engine are placed in a vulnerable position with little support. Very easy to pick the loco up and damage them if you aren't careful.
Well worth the cost.
I picked up a spare set of ladders for my engine. 
With respect to your comment of what's a reasonable price. These sets go for upwards of $700 on the secondary market when they include the separately sold add-on reefer. And this includes recent York meets where if a deal is to be had, York would be the place to find it. When you state you found a set online, if you are referring to the set currently on ebay which includes the add-on reefer all for $600 I would jump on that now even though it's missing the ladder on the back of the engine. That is a very reasonable price point compared to what I have seen the last few years plus it's being sold by a reputable shop with great feedback. Sure, you may find one cheaper at some point, but if you really want the set, now would be the time to buy.
-Greg
Check that - if you want it you can now buy it from me for $700! Just kidding 
-Greg
@Greg Houser posted:With respect to your comment of what's a reasonable price. These sets go for upwards of $700 on the secondary market when they include the separately sold add-on reefer. And this includes recent York meets where if a deal is to be had, York would be the place to find it. When you state you found a set online, if you are referring to the set currently on ebay which includes the add-on reefer all for $600 I would jump on that now even though it's missing the ladder on the back of the engine.
It doesn't have the rare tail car, that's what runs up the price. The price with just an extra reefer is so-so at $600. I bought my set for $450 on OGR, and I spent $60 for an extra reefer. The tail car took a couple years to find, that was $200! 
John - thanks for correcting my mistake. I could've sworn I saw the tail car in the pic....guess I need to move up to the next level of strength on my eyeglasses.
Sal - my apologies for the incorrect information.
-Greg
Yeah that tail car is little hard to find and when you do it's expensive! I was extremely lucky and bought mine about 5 years ago on the orginal TRAINZ auction for about $65. The set was bought a month previous for $365.... Back before the TRAINZ auctions were well known.
@Greg Houser posted:John - thanks for correcting my mistake. I could've sworn I saw the tail car in the pic....guess I need to move up to the next level of strength on my eyeglasses.
If the tail car was in the picture, I'd have bought the set!
The MTH Coors Light Silver Bullet Train Set is one of my favorite sets and is a crowd-pleaser. When I run the set during public events, I have a routine that after the reefer doors open I will say "you have to be at least twenty-one to reach in and grab a cold one." It never gets old for me, but I am sure that my fellow train runners would have a different opinion after hours and hours of hearing me say that.
I second Jim M Sr's observation that the ladders at the back of the engine are easy to damage. I took the two ladders off and put them back into the set box . . . problem solved.
Oh, there is an on and off switch for the smoke underneath each reefer. If you do not run smoke, be sure to place the switch in the off position so as to not burn out the smoke unit. I run smoke in the engine, but I do not run smoke in the reefers because it is too much to keep track of when running seven reefers (three reefer cars included in the set + three extra reefer cars + reefer tail car) while also interacting with the public. I believe that the almost neon looking blue light that emanates as the reefer doors open is enough of a wow factor.
As far as the price, I might pay as much as $750 for a new or at least a LN set (30-1433-1) with an extra reefer car (30-78040) and the tail car (30-78061) included.
Janet Mattern (TCA, LCCA, P&P, and GCMR member)
Good luck finding the set with an extra reefer and tail car for that price Janet!
The reefers can also make a pretty cool Halloween car with aliens in suspension.
Boy, imagine pulling up and having the doors open and there's all these green aliens suspended in liquid bottles. Scary stuff.
If you have the DCS Remote but not the Silver Bullet Engine, can you still operate one of the Reefer cars and all it's features? I a reefer but no engine or rest of the set.
Nope, the reefer gets it's commands from the locomotive. I conventional mode there is a shoe for operational tracks, but I've never tried it.
This set is really neat! I had the chance to get one when it first came out but passed on it and have regretted it ever since! However, this begs the question of why a technology like this wasn't used in the subway cars for automatically opening doors like the Lionel set.
I don't understand why MTH didn't pursue the command operating car technology after the Coors was such a hit. That is the big hole in the MTH command lineup, they only control locomotives or accessories (with the AIU). No command capable rolling stock, other than the Coors set.
@gunrunnerjohn posted:I don't understand why MTH didn't pursue the command operating car technology after the Coors was such a hit. That is the big hole in the MTH command lineup, they only control locomotives or accessories (with the AIU). No command capable rolling stock, other than the Coors set.
I agree. I would be nice to have some command rolling stock like we do with Lionel.
@Former Member posted:Saw one of these online... MTH O Scale Coors Light Beer Silver Bullet Train Set PS2.0 Sounds 30-1433-1 set
What problems do I have to look out for & what`s a reasonable price? not familiar with MTH
@GGG posted:No problems with that set as long as it works. Real cool features. G
I would say the only thing lacking in this entertaining set is a pair of lint-free inspection gloves to avoid fingerprints on the mirror-like finish.
@gunrunnerjohn posted:The tail car took a couple years to find, that was $200!
I recall @jim sutter selling the Coors tailcars for $58 plus tax in 2008. Suffice to say, along with the tailcar purchase, an engine and several pieces of rolling stock, his pup Molly earned a few biscuit treats. Jim's Train Shop was a wonderful train store experience. Although I could only visit the store about 3 or 4 times a year, I can't imagine nor recall ever seeing anyone walking out without buying items.
@gunrunnerjohn posted:I don't understand why MTH didn't pursue the command operating car technology after the Coors was such a hit. That is the big hole in the MTH command lineup, they only control locomotives or accessories (with the AIU). No command capable rolling stock, other than the Coors set.
Good point, especially how with the Coors Train set release MTH touted the great potential of using the same car function communication technology in various future product releases. I wonder if the "tech" was a either financially not feasible to be put into individual items or certain components were at the end of their technological-production life ...or a combination of both.
I asked same question and I guess they were concerned about signal strength. But a freight train with opening box car or dumping something, plus the caboose with a swinging conductor would have been neat controls. G
For independent cars, I would have thought they could have made a much smaller DCS board that didn't depend on the locomotive relaying the signals. I suspect that's what nixed the idea of cars based on the technology of the Coors Silver Bullet train. If you had an operating car, you'd have to have the electronics added to the locomotive to pass the messages on to the car using the Coors technique.
Can you operate this set if you do not have DCS at all? I have basically everything else including the MTH explorer module to be able to run MTH locos from my wifi, just haven't gone all in on DCS. Also have Legacy remote and several different tranformers both Lionel and MTH. Is it possible to run all the features like the doors and sounds without DCS?
The DCS Explorer is a DCS unit, so you can run it with that. If you run it without DCS, you won't get nearly the effect. There is a shoe on the refers to operate them, but obviously you'd only be able to operate one at a time unless you line up operating tracks and push lots of buttons at the same time.
I've never tried it without DCS as I'm sure I wouldn't be impressed with the operation.
Let's be clear here.
The operating reefers (30-78040) that are included with the 30-1433-1 Silver Bullet set do not have shoes that allow them to operate independently on activation tracks. You must have the Silver Bullet engine to operate these reefer cars. They can be operated (with the Silver Bullet engine on the same track) in conventional mode using the bell / whistle button sequence to activate the PFA. The Silver Bullet engine is required to trigger the operation of these reefers in conventional or DCS mode. No activation track is needed nor can be used to operate the 30-78040 Silver Bullet Train reefers in any capacity.
Screen shot from the 30-1433-1 manual on how to operate the Coors Set reefers in conventional mode without DCS:
This text is directly from the manual of the 30-78040 reefer car manual:
RailKing Coors Light The Silver Bullet® Steam Locomotive Set2The Coors Light Silver Bullet Operating Reefer car was designed to complement the complete Coors Light Silver Bullet Train Set (M.T.H. Item number 30-1433-1). The operating reefer car features (opening door, flashing interior LEDs and blowing smoke (frost) cannot be activated unless the Silver Bullet locomotive is on the same track. The locomotive does not need to be connected to the reefer car but does need to be within six feet in order for the digital signal transmitted from the locomotive to be received by the operating reefer car.
MTH also made another Premier line reefer (20-94124) in 2007. This reefer has the power pickup shoes and will only operate when on an activation track. The Silver Bullet engine can not activate the operating mode of this reefer car.
References - MTH Manuals:
Silver Bullet Set 30-1443-1(LINK)
Silver Bullet Add-on reefer 30-78040 (LINK)
Premier Coors Reefer 20-94124 (LINK)
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@H1000 posted:Let's be clear here.
The operating reefers (30-78040) that are included with the 30-1433-1 Silver Bullet set do not have shoes that allow them to operate independently on activation tracks. You must have the Silver Bullet engine to operate these reefer cars.
You didn't bet a lot of money on that, did you?
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Yeah, I'll take that bet any day and twice on Sunday.
I own two of the Silver Bullet sets, three additional add-on reefers and one tail car. Of all of ten operating reefers, not a single one has a power pickup shoe on either truck. As an added bonus, I snapped a photo of the tail car.
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Well, I have one right above your post with a shoe, that's why I assumed they had them. I've never tried to use it on an operating track...
John,
Where/how did you get a spare set of ladders fir your Coors Light Silver Bullet engine?
I noticed I am missing one an right.
Mike Marino
I ordered them from MTH, but I see they're out of them now.
I think I remember Rich Foster say some sets of Coors light cars had the pick-up shoe truck, but the sliding shoe was not active. No need for it. You might try yours John and see if the car operates with a remote control track
I don't even have an operating track on my layout, I'm strictly command.
Turns out I found the missing ladder in the packing in the original box!
Hi. I’ve been using the Lionel Chrome Burlington F3 AA to run my Coors light tank cars etc ending with the RailKing Coors Light Caboose
a lot cheaper than buying a whole set with the prices these days
@ford2005 posted:Hi. I’ve been using the Lionel Chrome Burlington F3 AA to run my Coors light tank cars etc ending with the RailKing Coors Light Caboose
a lot cheaper than buying a whole set with the prices these days
The revived popularity of this set amuses me. I remember going to York shortly after it was introduced, and they were everywhere at blowout prices (as low as $300, IIRC). Now it has a cult following. 
Not for me, though.
The set was a great novelty idea at the time. The chrome, sounds, music, smoke and design all brought together in one set. This set would make a great decoration in a bar and advertise beer at the same time. The cost could then be partially written off as a business expense. 😁
I added two of the seperate-sale cars to my set before the tail car was announced. I did manage to get one of those when it came out, but haven't run it yet.
One thing to note about this set, despite it being a RailKing model, the rotating 'big wheels' at the rear of the locomotive (intended to to give it a snowmobile-ish appearance) give it a clearance profile much larger than typical RailKing equipment. While that doesn't hinder its turning radius, it does mean it can foul trackside equipment lying low and close to the railhead such as certain third-party switch machines.
---PCJ
Yep, one liability of the Silver Bullet engine and cars is they are wider than standard O-scale stuff, so that is something to consider.
I see one of the issues that is prevalent with these sets afflicts your set as well. Unless you have a perfect track signal, adding cars usually results in one or more cars not reacting to the command to open/close the doors.
@RailRide posted:---PCJ
Amazing video PCJ . Really nicely done .
