Who is going to order the polar express Berkshire?

I have already ordered both the black and gold ones. Plus I ordered some of the gold cars to go with the engine.

 

I'm hoping that they re-release the observation so I can have another set for both of my daughters. I have 8 extra cars to go with my present set so I only need a observation car to go with the new engine to have the second set.

 

I'll acknowledge the story (book and movie) are iconic and my grandkids probably know it well, but Polar Express is one "childhood classic" I am hoping to avoid on my layout. I have two shelves of Thomas and a bunch of his friends and some custom-made Chugginton locos, too, that seldom get run.  My grandkids want BEEPS and to see grandpa's big trains (my scale steam and Warbonnet F3 sets) when they are here - Thomas just sits on the shelf.  I fear it would be the same with Polar Express.   I'll get the grandkids non-scale versions of that train - a set or two for their house, if they want, when my sons and their wives say their kids are ready for their own layout.

 Ah, Lee, too bad, you don't hear the "bell" anymore.

 

 

Every year I fight the temptation to buy Thomas and the Polar Express. My grandson is 7 and has Thomas and friends on a wooden set in his room on a table I built for him. Many times when we run trains on my layout, he will want me to put certain hoppers and box cars on the track that he fills with cars, trucks and other items. Sometimes he is focused so much, we never turn the engines on. Other times he may let the engines go around maybe once, then he wants different box cars or flat cars or hoppers. He can operate my Legacy remote as well as me when we actually operate the trains. However, from my experiences with him, I think it is best to buy what I want to run, not what I think he may like. When he gets a little older, like Lee, I will be glad to get him his own set.

My strong advice would be DO NOT PREORDER, the discounts aren't large enough to really warrant it. Wait until the loco hits the shelves and see if its as good as it should be. 

 

Lionel has been cutting a few corners as far as some of the sounds, certain whistles have been reused on RR's that they were incorrect for, and for those interested, there is no mention of the "conductor dialog from the movie" like was offered on the first run of PE berks.

 

IMO Lionel set the bar pretty high on the original run, it will be interesting if this next run will be comparable.

 

I personally will no longer preorder any Lionel, some of the locos are great, some are ehe.

It's a matter of shelves, not locos. Buying the Polar Express loco would mean buying  a train - and that would mean ten feet of shelf space.  I don't have that much left to devote to a loco/train I really don't want to look at a lot. I have a very good Legacy Berk, and although this newly announced one uses a different casting and is, I think, just a bit longer, at this time I'm just not inclined to get even the loco to repaint as ATSF or UP.  My current Berk is quite sufficient.

 

As to the display of locos, I don't think you are looking at the situation realistically.  If you own many more locos than you can run, as many of us do, something will be on the shelves at any one time.   I only buy locos that I want to look at, so every shelf I have is a display shelf.  If a loco has issues when new, I do not send it back for warranty work - I put it on the shelf and get one of the two uses I bought it for (the other is running) out of it from day one.  But I take them up when I get to them and fix them when I'm in the mode to do repair-type work, which is every few months.  For example the MTh PS3 999 that died almost right out of the box and went on the shelf until two months ago.  But it's repaired and runs well now - looks good pulling a train of six LFC coaches, too, but it's on the shelf now because I prefer to run something else most of the time.    Same-but-different with the Vision 0-8-8-0 I bought used last month.  It had fatal issues when I brought it home and went on the shelf (prominent place, too, it is a really interesting loco to look at).  But it's just been repaired and instantly became one of my best runners - I posted a video of it yesterday.  It will stay on the layout for a while at least, its just very sweet, and my Southern Crescent now becomes a shelf queen for a while.  

 

 

The Polar Express is a sweet story but I don't collect collectibles designed to be collectibles and this set is intended for kids and I consider it in the realm of Lionel's foray into NASCAR collectibles, as well as some of their other fantasy driven concoctions meant to draw in a larger base. Meanwhile outside of software and hardware technologies, we have over a half century of models based largely on defunct Class Ones, or fifty variations of the same engine. Where's the beef? All of these side adventures miss the mark for me. Where are the Midwestern Roads? Where are the Short Lines? Where are the Steeplecabs, the Whitcombs, the Gas -Electrics, the Fireless Cookers, the Interurbans, the O&W, the Green Diamond, the Mountaineer, the Katy, etc, etc...? The Polar Express?  Reason # 5 for my opting into the variety presented by tinplate, meant and designed to be products that also promote imagination, rather than endless PRR, NYC, UP and SF that have been done to death. Buy the new variation of the Polar Express?  I would rather have a Unique Arts clockwork...never meant to be a pricey collectible but fun none the less..I think the modern manufacturers have lost their way by way of safe bets and repetition with only innovations being software driven. I have to give credit to MTH for expanding the range of types we could run, and I hope they return and continue to this brand of innovation rather than a variation of a prototype that's been modeled in such quantity as to be an endless case of deja vu. 

 Its based on a prototype.

 

Ricko

 

I am not sure how firmly your tongue is in cheek, but I don't consider a recreation of a fantasy train using prototype equipment..to be an example of everyday railroading. I do think it's a terrific way of raising funds for the preservation of steam. In a perfect world perhaps the portion of the sales of some models could be donated to preserve the real thing. I wonder if this was ever done?

Bruce

Is the pricing up on the Gold and Scale sets yet?

I usually only buy scale prototype locomotives but this Berkshire will be a must have for me. I am a big polar express fan, love the film and I watch it a couple of times a year around the holidays. 

 

I like this Berkshire because it will have the larger cow catcher just as in the movie. Is it prototypical? Not really but as RickO said it is based on a real locomotive. As for me I don't care, I will buy it, run it and have allot of fun.

I'll order the black PE Berk, assuming it has all the latest features and actually looks like the engine in the movie, i.e., with long pilot. Hopefully, Lionel will do this engine with some class, such as including multiple sound clips from the movie and "Smokey and Steamer" cab figures. Whistle steam would be the "cat's meow."