Polar Express News

Does that also mean the S gauge FlyerChief Plus Berks are close to being shipped as well?We can only hope!  

And is the PE Set a FlyerChief Plus, or just a FlyerChief, without the cruise control and ability to run on conventional AC power packs, like Lionel has been doing with the O gauge sets?

Bill in FtL

The deadline for the next issue (Sept./Oct.) has passed already.  It will be in the issue to follow, which is November/December.  This is the Christmas issue so I guess the article will fit the season.

I`ve read Lionel Representatives on the Forum here saying that they were working on putting all the Features of LION-CHIEF PLUS into the S-Gauge Polar Express FLYER-CHIEF.

Hi Round House Bill

I will be looking for your article in, S Gaugian Magazine.

Gary - Cheers from The Detroit & Mackinac Railway

Gramps,

Thanks, but my past experience, especially with Lionel, has led me to put little faith in what is said in their catalogs! Seems like one of their earlier claims was that the Berks offered for individual sale would have extra added details (plural) beyond what was on the Polar Express loco. And what about the NKP freight set and C&O passenger Berkshire sets in the previous catalog? Now, I can only believe what is said after an item is released and in the hands of the reviewers, and maybe not even then, unless there are photos to back it up.

Bill in FtL

I have just heard again from Lionel and I will have a Polar Express set in the box on Monday.  

I have a new contact there and he is a Project Manager at Lionel and is Category Manager for the American Flyer Product Line. He is located in Concord North Carolina while my older contact is Director of Product Planning and still in Michigan.  Two sources of information are always better than one.  I hope to be able to put additional information on this site on Flyer.   

Polar Express came one day late.  I just unwrapped it.  Here is your tease..... A picture of the open box with locomotive and Flyer Chief Control.

It DOES exist!

Rusty

I have never put a video clip on here before.  I will give it a try in the morning Ben.

I will say I put it together on my dining room table to test in on the Fastrack that came with it.  It runs very well and I am quite pleased.  It runs much better than the pre-production model I used at the York show in April.  I think most buyers will be very happy with it.  Scale guys will grumble as it is a toy train and not scale except for dimensions.  

Tom Hanks provided his voice to the announcements it makes which I think kids who know the movie will love it.

Flyer Chief is a good system within it's design limitations.  It is not Legacy or DCC.

More tomorrow.

This "scale guy" accepts the PE for what it is.  If it gets people into S, so much the better.

I think most of the other "scale guys" have no expectations for it being a "scale model" in the strictest sense.  Now, if Lionel were to try and pass it off as fully scaled, detailed and priced model, (and they're not) that would be another matter. 

Rusty

Bill,

Any there any changes / upgrades to the original specs/features Lionel listed in the catalog (such as led lighting in cars)?

How many voice announcements are there? Are they the identical ones the 10th Anniversary O scale P.E. has?

Could you either list them for us or play all of them in the video clip you're going to post?

You say it runs better than one you used at York? In what ways?

Thanks for keeping us informed and sure hope you can post a written review here now so we won't be kept in in suspense until after Oct. York when Dec. issue of S Gaugian comes out.

Again, thanks for your heads up.

BTW, are you getting the add-on cars to review too? 

I hope this video works.  There is a 100MG limit on size so there is not time to play announcements.  No LED lights nor enhancements from catalog descriptions. No the extra cars were not sent. I don't know what the 10th anniversary announcements are for O set.

The pre production version didn't track as well as this one and it didn't respond to the Flyer King as quickly.

No, I can't post the review I do for the S Gaugian here.  You will have to wait for the magazine.  I hope you understand I got this set especially to write the review for the magazine. Sorry.

I am sorry...Video won't play and I have no more time for this.

The video played for me OK, Bill.  Chuff doesn't sound too bad.

Rusty

Thanks Rusty

Bill the video played just beautifully. This will give us all a taste and keep us excited while waiting for ours. Too bad you were not able to test the whistle and bell features but that would be asking for too much. I only wish you would be supplied all the models before so you could test and review them in the S Gaugian all the time like all the o gauge engines are reviewed in many publications. Thank you so much for your patients and keeping S Gauge informed about the up coming products from Lionel and MTH.

Happy Railroading

Don 

Don:

I do the reviews on all Flyonel locomotive products for the S Gaugian and have for many years.  I will do MTH now too and I am waiting for the F3's now.  The problem is always timing.  The Polar Express came 2 weeks after the deadline for the October/November issue pushing it back to November/December.

In the current issue I gave up the space for my Roundhouse column so they had room for the interviews of Matt Ashba (Lionel) and Andy Edleman (MTH) because i thought the interviews were more important.

The whistle and bell work fine I assure you.  You will like the set especially if you have young kids or grandkids.  Play the movie for them and then set up the Polar Express.  It will make this toy train come alive for them.  There is even a Santa's bell with the set.

Remember, if you can hear the bell ring you stall believe in Santa Clause. 

Bill

Thank you so Much.

Don

I`m glad LIONEL/AMERICAN FLYER made sure the Engine works properly before production. The Video worked just fine for Me. In your article Andy of MTH said they probably will make a separate Item to upgrade the S-Couplers to a Muscle-Wire Remote-Control Coupler - if they can successfully work that type out technically - because they just could not work out a Coil-Fired Coupler system, I think that's a good way to work out the problem. Thanks. Now to wait for the PE Issue and the MTH F-3 Review.

The videos played fine, Bill (all three you posted.) Understand about review not be posted here as I figured that'd be the case. BTW, was there any problem with the observation  deck on the observation car coming loose as it frequently does for the o scale RTR observation car? (Did you have to mount it on the car or was it already premounted when you removed it from the set box?)

Did you use the Lionel smoke fluid that came with the set? I wonder how the smoke volume would be using JT's Megasteam -- much more robust?

Thanks for posting video.

The observation deck was already attached to the car and there was never a problem of it coming off.  These cars are a remake of the earlier Flyonel heavyweights so probably not related at all to the O gauge cars in their construction.

I have never used Megasteam and there was no smoke fluid in the box.  I always use Lionel smoke fluid in my Flyonel because I assume they designed it around their smoke units. 

Bill, if no starter bottle of smoke fluid included as with o gauge P.E. sets, has Lionel also omitted spare traction tires with the Flyonel set? Btw, do you know whether any of those earlier Flyonel heavyweight cars came with detailed interiors? If they did, which ones so I can start looking for them to eventually upgrade the P.E. cars.

Again, thx

The set came with no extra traction tires.  No, the earlier Flyonel heavyweights did not have detailed interiors.

Thanks much Bill!

Loco has good proportions - a good look.   Cast in handrails?

The coupling spacing on the cars is good, tight, and looks good going round the curves.

The track looks better than in the catalog.   Not as good as it could be - Kato looks better.  

Yes. cast in handrails, but that has been known since the first catalog announcement several years ago.  Track is standard Fastrack.

Looking at this year's catalog the 5 berks to follow have some different features from the PE.  The new berks will have a flickering firebox in the cab, LED headlight, and an ElectroCoupler on the tender.  The description says they will add a button for this coupler on the Flierchief hand control.  The PE description says Directional LED tender light and there is one.  The description of the 5 new Berks doesn't mention it.

Let's see what really comes off the assembly line for these berks. 

Bill,

Thats a great video, thank you four taking it and sharing with us all.

If you got that production run unit, can the pre-ordered units be very far behind?? LOL

Looking forward to seeing your full review.

Aflyer

Much nicer than the O gauge version where everything is shortened - that Berk is a nice looking engine, and the tender is doubly nice...

I didn't call Charles Ro, but I did just check their web-site and it is still saying PE sets expected 11/10/2015.

Aflyer

I just saw this. I don't do S scale but in this case I may be up to buying PE. Will there be add cars ? How is the detail on the berk. Is it comparable to the O Scale Legacy Berk.?

Wow-e-e! YES!!!

Have to in earnest start planning the holiday layout. Anyone know what issue of OGR that how to article about the Henning's Trains Polar Express around the tree display is scheduled? Hope it'll be sooner rather than later this year to give readers a chance to gather materials and build it if they so wish, or even possibly down scale it to a manageable residential size for the new FlyerChief S gauge P.E. due this Fall. 

I can't tell from the video, but is the snow on the passenger car roofs molded in with relief, or is it just a painted effect?

Bill in FtL

I thought the same thing when I first viewed the video.  I suspect it is the back-lighting (from the window in the background) that is fooling the camera lens.