MTH Rail King Santa Fe Northern No. 2927 (2007, Vol. 2)

My version is a little older/earlier but I agree it is one of the nicer MTH RK locos.

I had to weather mine just a bit.......

Old no. 2926 is still going strong for me with a great smoke unit.  That is a nice weathering job!  The new Rail King Northern (no. 2929) has been problematic for me with the wireless tether.  In some of my videos you can see it just sitting on the sidelines.  The new MTH wireless tether is similar to tethers employed in N Gauge and relies on a metal strip that extends down the connecting bar.  This metal wire seems need to remain in contact with the metal post on the tender body for the locomotive to operate.  Also, the electronics no longer plugs into the side of the cab but connects to the underside of the tender.  As the locomotive travels around the layout, the electronics coupling can become separated.  What I have seen is that Santa Fe Northern no. 2929 can come to a sudden and abrupt halt after several trips around the layout.  It will start again when I cinch up the electronics or move the metal wire to the tender post.  I am thinking of returning it to MTH but am wondering if this may be more attributable to design and, therefore, not so easy to fix.  I never had a problem with the wire plugging in to the back (side) of the cab on the older MTH steamers.

Here is a more revamped and edited video that will eventually replace the video I have up on You Tube.  The video puts no. 2927 through her paces leading up at the end to taking charge of a seven car "Chief".

Very nice video and a beautiful engine, thanks for sharing.

Thanks, Alex

Thanks, Alex.  Will have some nice video up next weekend on weekend at the movies.  I caught a northbound Kansas City Southern "rattler", both standby and pacing, running more than 60 mph on BNSF trackage rights south of St. Joseph, Missouri.  St. Joseph is a town of 80,000 but the BNSF, former Burlington, main is set up close to the banks of the Missouri River so the trains don't slow down when they pass through. 

If you do return the PS3 version to MTH, I'd be curious as to what the fix is.  I plan on buying the the UP FEF when it is released next year and would think it may suffer from the same problem.  I would hope that MTH would address any potential problems prior to releasing them.