MTH Railking Aerotrain

$250 is a decent price for the set.  It does fine on smaller curves, at least on my Fastrack O36 curves.  The rear truck on the engine is an odd design and I had to do some surgery on mine to get it working properly.  The little wheels on that truck were not turning properly, now they are.  It's not the best mechanical design on the planet, but it's a pretty cool looking set and isn't the norm.  I added LED lighting and passengers to mine.

bought one from a forum member recently for $250 with the 4 extra cars (great price) have not seen one for less then $250 without the extra cars. I am not able to run it yet (still remodeling the basement for a layout). I love the way they look.

I have the first Locosounds version. It has outstanding low speed operations and very good sounds. It is so good, it has made me think 3 times about converting to PS2. To date, no PS2 conversion is planned. I routinely run this on 036 FasTrack.

BTW, if anyone has add-on PRR AeroTrain cars that they would like to sell please drop me an email. It is in my profile. 

Tks,

Gilly

I added some cars to mine as well, but I didn't get it for $250 total!   Mine is the PS/3 version, and I have a total of seven cars which makes a nice looking passenger train.

Mine ran under the Christmas tree on O-31 fine. I like mine....and it's pretty much scale!

gunrunnerjohn--can you post pics or video of your aerotrain with the new lighting?

I know we discussed adding lighting to the cab in another thread and would be great to see what you did to yours.

Hi Coach Joe • This is a three year old YT Video about the RailKing Aerotrain.

Done by: p42Amtrak 83's channel. 

Joe,

You won't have any problems on smaller curves.  I ran mine on O-31 and never had a issue.  In fact, because of the smaller car sizes, it actually looks good on tight curves (unlike many regular passenger cars). Bottom line: It's an awesome train, You'll never want to take it off the track, and $250 is a good price. 

http://youtu.be/6S1664igoZs

Thanks for all the responses.  the one I'm looking at is a PS2 from 1999.  Does that sound like the correct year for a PS2 NYC Aerotrain?

I will say that the 1999 PS/2 will be the 5V board, so I'd factor that into the pricing.  Many of those boards are dropping nowadays and that will require a replacement board, current MSRP is around $230 for the replacement.  Just something to consider...

My Aero train PS3

Nice to see you back Spence.  Good lookin' train, time to pick up a couple more cars.

That's about right, I have the engine and seven cars, it makes a nice looking train, just about the right size.

I had the Locosounds version. It was a great runner, nice slow speeds. I'm primarily into tinplate these days, but often wish this was one I didn't sell.

Here's a video. I had one extra car, I think it made a nice improvement in the feel of the train.

Tim

Thank you for that heads up John.  That would double the cost of the set foe me.

Gary & Spence,

   Great video's and the trains seem to be just slightly different, I can't believe Brian

Passenger Train Runner does not have one of these incredible passenger trains!  way cool stuff no doubt about it!

PCRR/Dave

It's not chiseled in granite that the 5V sets will fail, but it happens a lot, so the possibility is much greater.  Also, there's much less on the 5V boards that can be repaired, which is why the 3V boards are so much more desirable.  Truthfully, I'd rather have the PS/2 3V board set than mine with the PS/3 boards.  While I don't have any evidence that the PS/3 boards fail at a higher rate, we're back to the inability to fix much on the PS/3 board set if it does fail.

Love that AeroTrain!  I have a PS2 PRR version with a total of seven passenger cars...perfect length train for a small layout.  It runs fine on small curves...I've run mine on O36.

I have since added cab figures and swapped out one red taillight for a a solid LED.

Here is a video of mine after I upgraded to O60 and O72 curves...

I am having a similar issue with one of the Aero passenger cars.  Wheels won't turn.....what did you do to repair that?

Sounds like I should just send my Aerotrain to you for LED cab lights and surgery!!

I've never had an issue with the passenger cars, those wheels are fixed to the frame.  Since there are only two wheels, not much to go wrong there.  If you look at the axle block, it is cocked to one side?  If the wheels won't physically turn, clearly that will cause a problem!  The good news is any needed parts will probably still be around as they released this thing at least three times.

For the engine trailing truck, I used a tiny washer to space the screw properly so the wheel could turn.  I also added about 14 oz of weight, primarily to the rear, that helped as well.

I'd give the axle a good soaking with this... LUCAS

Gilly

My Aero with added cars.

I have the original-original offering with the PRR version in LocoSound.  I don't recall the year.  Runs good, but the cars are dead weight & cause quite a drag on the loco.  Because of this, I have noticed that heat build-up can be felt thru the top of the loco shell.  I have not pressed my luck by operating with more than about six cars.  Anyone else notice the loco getting warm on top? 

I haven't really had an issue, I ran it about 1/2 an hour with the seven cars after all my fixes.  It also has more weight than the stock locomotive, I added a bunch of lead.

Axles on the cars MUST be well oiled with a good lube. After that mine ran on O-31 for hours one Christmas. No issues.