Finally got a look inside one of these today. Since no one else answered these age-old questions...
(1) Will the boiler shell interchange with Postwar / MPC era, or any earlier Berks? With a little fiddling, I'm pretty sure it will! This means smooth, remote-controlled operation for MPC-era classics like the Chessie Steam Special, and the UP 8002 / FARR #1. As a card-carrying member of Generation X now in my peak earning years, I think there's opportunity for an "MPC Celebration series," C'mon Lionel, how about it!?
(2) Will the rear axle and/or worm wheel interchange with Postwar / MPC or earlier Berks? Don't know for sure, but I doubt it. Heck, we should consider ourselves lucky if the axle and the worm interchange with the next production run from China!
(3) What's the gear ratio? (How many revolutions of the motor does it take for each rotation of the driving wheels?) 25:1, or three times what the original was. It COULD be the same worm wheel, now driven by a single-cut worm. That's a low enough gear ratio to run pretty well without speed control, and almost as good as a recent-issue MTH Mohawk (26:1) with the same motor. Shhh... MTH has been secretly lowering its gear ratios. But more on that in another post.
Another nice feature of this berk, is that the motor is connected to the worm shaft by a universal joint. It's a teeny-tiny one. But it means that theoretically you can replace (or upgrade!) the motor without messing with the worm and worm shaft. Lionel did a good job with this one! Now they need to do the same thing with the postwar 2037 and 2034...
