MTH's Premier PS3 Union Pacific FEF is my new, absolutely favorite model locomotive, and likely to remain so for a long time. Northerns have always been my favorite type of loco, and this FEF is big, beautiful, detailed, and a splendid runner.
I had only recently received the new Premier PS3 NYC Niagara freight set - another big Northern packaged with five reefers and a caboose, so this was sort of deja vu all over again. But different, too: this loco is very special, as I'll discuss below.
And yes, for the record, with the Niagara set and this FEF set and the recent MTH BR-44, my train budget for the year is blown, blown, blown. Not to mention some Menards cars arrived as I was writing this. But MTH seems to be on a roll lately, turning out superb steamers, and I will buy no big Northern before its time . . . and when its this good, it's time to buy it when it ships.
The Facts: I ordered it from Patrick's Trains late last Monday afternoon, when i saw that MTh was shipping them. At that time Patrick told me he did not have them in stock but expected them by the end of the week. He shipped it Wednesday and it arrived Friday. It was in the same size of box as the Niagara set (no surprise) and had the same number of similar size boxes inside, too. Again, no surprise. I took out everything and inspected it. All was as it should be.
Lights, sound, and smoke are superb. There are videos later. Like the Niagara, the firebox flicker is particularly good. It never goes out entirely like some I've had, but instead varies between a medium and high glow in what is probably a slightly overplayed amount and frequency of variation, but it looks good. The rest of the lights are constant intensity and various colors, etc, and they turn themselves on and off as I imagine they should (as far as I know anyway), and the look quite authentic. The chuffing is excellent, perhaps not quite up to Legacy standards, but it's nice and dynamic enough. I would not want to live on the difference.
The bell is, well, the usual generic choo-choo-train bell - like I said with the Niagara, I think all the manufacturers use one sound file for every loco. The whistle is very deep: the lowest steam whistle sound I have ever heard (video sound later), but without the depth of, say, a steamship whistle. It is not my favorite whistle - it seems too deep and too devoid of higher frequencies, but it is loud and definitely distinctive. And smoke? This smokes as good as the Niagara, which is to say incredibly well, this time from its dual stack. Just fantastic.
It runs very well. Maybe its just me, but recent PS3 locos seem to run better than past ones, even early PS3, in conventional (all I run them in) and particularly, they seem to pay attention to the direction button better than other locos, never getting confused with what I want them to do. This loco is a perfect conventional runner: It responds dependably to the direction switch or throttle shut downs whether short or long. It runs smoothly at low speeds (<10 mph at around 8 volts or a bit less ), has very linear response to the throttle at these lower voltages, will run a lot faster than I want it to or will dare to run it, and pulls like an water buffalo (27 scale reefers and a caboose around the layout at a scale 30 mph with no sweat). It has a cruise control that seems perfect as far as I can tell.
So, it's just another extraordinarily good MTH Premier scale steamer, right? No, not just another Lately MTH steamers have been extraordinary - the company is on a roll!. The recent ATSF Hudsons, the Dreyfus Hudson, the Niagara, and the BR-44 were all extremely good locos. But this is special. Some of this isn't MTH's doing, but Union Pacific's. The FEF was one of the handsomest locomotives ever turned out . . .
But the really important thing is, size matters in Northerns, and the FEF is huge. Here it is head to head with that recent Premier Niagara (on the right). The FEF is a scale two feet longer and a scale six to eight inches higher. It looks a bit wider, too, and the boiler looks a bit bulkier. Even its elephant ears are larger.
The tenders are a particularly interesting comparison. Both are centipedes with seven axles. The NYC is much longer, but the UP is taller and wider. Which is bigger? I can't tell. Steamlocomotive.com says the UP tender was heavier and held more stuff. I like them both equally. The UPhas more hatches and equipment on it and is more detailed. The MTH has a lot of real coal on it. Both are both fantastic.
Before going on, some comments about big Northerns in general. The photo below shows the FEF compared to another big Northern, the ATSF 3751 class, in this case the recent Lionel Legacy version. The FEF is noticeably bigger. It is 17 inches long, the is Niagara 16.5, and the ATSF loco 15.75.
Is the FEF my biggest Northern? No. I have a hybrid as shown below: the body, front pilot and rear truck from a very early PS1 scale 2921 (the last ATSF Northern series) mounted on a modern Legacy chassis (from a Legacy model of 3751, the two classes had the same drivers and driver wheelbase, etc. so it was a straightforward transplant.
My 2921 is 17 inches long, like the FEF, but a scale foot taller and bulkier still. So 2921 is my biggest Northern. But it is cheating a tiny bit: MTH used the same body casting on 2921 as for its model of the ATSF 2-10-4, which was a foot longer than the 2921. So in the real world, the FEF was a foot or so longer, if not bulkier in the other directions, although the 2900 was much heavier than the FEF or the Niagara. And while the FEF was a bit sleeker and more elegant looking, the 2900 classes has always been the epitome of "big brute power" to me. I love 'em both, but . . .
But the nod goes to the FEF. It is my favorite ibecause of its incredible detail. When I reviewed the Niagara, I mentioned that, while not exactly disappointing, it was not as detailed as other recent MTH models (the ATSF 3460 Hudsons, etc.). Someone commented on that thread that that was not the models' fault, that the Niagara, being a very late steamer, was clean and uncluttered outside and did not have details to model: that was why it did not look detailed. I'm not buying it. This FEF was a comtemporary of the Niagara, and just as "clean" and uncluttered, but it is visibly the more detailed a model when they are side by . Casting of ribs and plates and what rivets there are, etc., on this model are just a tiny bit crisper. There is more stuff added on rather than molded in. An example: Roof hatches on the cab. The Niagara had a different type that the FEF, but it does not slide open and is just molded. The FEF as a separate moving hatch, that hinges up and has a tiny stay-rod to support it when , too. (You can see it in the first video). Fantastic. It's like that everywhere else, the FEF is just a tiny bit better as to detail. Keep this in perspective. Both are good, butthe Niagara is only about as good as, say that older PS 2921 casting, whereas was the FEF is as good as anything I have seen, even Vision, barring only 3rd Rail's stuff and MTH's Euro series 241.A and BR-44 - the most impressively detailed model locos I have ever owned.
The combination of looks, size, running, smoke, sound, detail, and beauty makes this Northern my number one favorite, and I think it will be hard to displace.
The set itself. For $120 over the cost of the loco alone, you get five gorgeous, detailed PFE reefers and a caboose added for the set. Twenty dollars per: even if you don't want them, buy the set and sell the cars and caboose! But I can always use more PFE reefers, and I needed another UP caboose, so this set was super! These reefers are not any better than Lionel or Atlas's best scale reefers, or MTH's best from pastyears, for that matter. I have twenty three of those, a mixture of all three companies products, and frankly I can't tell without turning them over who made which. These five will blend in perfectly. No better, but no worse. Which is to say quite nice.
The caboose is just your average, really nice, scale caboose, too. Nicely detailed, with good graphics, interior seen through the windows, a figure, lightly, etc. Twenty dollars, remember - a bargain.
Here is a video look at the FEF while stationary. It's been sitting and idling for a while and has begun to talk to itself as these locos are wont to do (which I find annoying), but notice how well it smokes at idle, and how nicely detailed it is.
Here is the loco running. At about eight seconds I sound the whistle - yeah, that's it. Twice. Then about mid video I stop it, back it up, and gradaully slow it to about as slow as it will go, sooothly with power, in conventional. Note the incredbile puffing it makes through those twice stacks. Incredible.
Here is the set, everything you get in the box running. Nice set. Between this run and the one above, I filled the smoke fluid reservoir, worried that I didn't want it to go dry. I think it was already fully from the factory, and I overfilled it, as you can see . . .
Summary: This is a very good running, incredibly good-looking and detailed scale locomotive that has good sound and lighting. Its combination of quality, details, and features, along with the size and iconic nature of the FEF-3 itself, make it an extraordinary model locomotive. And comes in a set with a nice set of cars. The recent Niagara freight set was good value for the money and I don't regret buying it. The Euro-series BR-44 was expensive ($200 more than this entire set) but had detail worthy of that price if detail is your thing. But this loco, and this set, is a bargain in my opinion. Like I said, MTH is on a roll now.
