Well I got mine today and rushed home to open the box, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. It was everything I had hoped for, drop dead gorgeous and after carefully unpacking everything I studied it carefully, checking for any signs of damage, anything like the few unlucky ones got such as misplaced pickups but it all looks good.
This will be the biggest engine I’ve gotten to date, its quite a bit bigger than my 4-4-2 which is surprising as American locos tend to be brawny and English ones rather small but I guess the 4-4-2 is undersized anyway. Lionel has done a great job on the packaging it ought to be enough to withstand all but the most thuggish package handlers and I like the extra light bulbs for the coaches, that’s a nice touch as is supplying two spare traction tires. The accompanying booklet doesn’t disappoint either "huge’…‘powerful’…‘mighty’ I do like to warm the cockles of my heart with a nice bit of hyperbole!
There’s nothing like opening a brand new train set to my way of thinking. Its a sort of cornucopia of goodies, better than just a loco or a piece of rolling stock because you can put it all together and there it is, an operating system all ready to go. That CW80 is a handsome looking transformer though - yes, I know all about the problems that have been reported with it but I’m hoping I’ll be one of the lucky ones.
Those who have said they can’t get the carriage roofs off must have butter fingers or maybe didn’t read the booklet, it’s not hard at all. I just can’t get over the level of detail, the heft of the locomotive, this is a superb piece of work for the price and much better than I had expected. I haven’t any criticism to make at all. I’m surprised that the crossheads are blackened, I’d have thought they would be shiny and I’m surprised that the wheel spokes are flush with the rims and aren’t shaped at all, I’d have expected an oval cross section and also that the wheel spokes would be painted or at least smooth
Nice to hear your enjoying it. What is evennicer is the fact that you like it and did not make any retarted dumbass comments about it. It’s amazing when a person with 1/2 a brain that actually reads the instructions opens one of these new Lionel sets. No jerking throttles, shavin’ trucks change this change that. I guess you also knew that it ran on 036.
It’s a great looking set. I’ve been on the fence regarding it. It’s not a must-have for me. But it is an interesting and nice looking train set. My wife offered to drive us all to Charles Ro this morning to buy one. I declined. Since she is a huge HP fan, I almost think she is the one who really wants it.
Who cares if the doors don’t open? Or whether or not there are painted passenger sillouettes? I even saw some one on OGR gripe about it not having crew figures. It is after all, a starter set.
As Allan Miller posted elsewhere (I suspect he will not be posting here anymore due to potential conflict of interest), some folks will complain about anything. And there’s already been much written how this isn’t right or the whistle sounds wrong.
I’m not saying there isn’t validity in bringing forth problems or defects, when they are as such. But it’s not entirely fair though to approach this set with a “prototypical yardstick” measuring this set with the same criteria one might approach a more expensive, digitally-loaded top-line set. Given my own experience with entry-level starter products, they’re certainly not perfect. But considering their cost, they are certainly good value for the buck. I believe Lionel did as much as they could to keep the price-point of this set at an affordable level. After all, this is what Jerry Calabrese said he wanted to do.
I find it somewhat ironic that not so long ago, many a boy was delighted with operating unpainted figures that towered above the trains, track that looked nothing like real track, and diesel horns that were quite literally bicycle buzzers… funny how back then, it sounded like a real train. Some of those boys have grown-up to be some of the most unreasonable, demanding hobbiests out there.
I do believe the vast majority of folks who purchase this set will be very happy with it. Though we probably won’t hear about it on the train forums … they’ll be too busy having fun with the set to write about it.
Brian, you bring up a very good point. How many kids have complained about the Hogwart’s set? The only complaints I’ve heard are from adults. Adults who should know the difference between a starter toy train set and a scale model. And I’m not talking about people who have legit operating issues. I’m talking about the “grownups” who are whining about the lack of crew figures, or the whistle sound, or the sillouetteless windows in the coaches. I even saw one guy on OGR complaing because he didn’t think the color was exact!!! But kids seem to enjoy the heck out of it unconditionally, as a toy train set should be. I think too many grownups in this hobby are acting like spoiled children.
I have bought this set for my sons Xmas present (in UK customs at the moment). Its great to hear about peoples positive feedback. I am going to have to hide the set away till the big day. This is going to need considerable will power on my part[;)].
Hopefully this set will grow Lionel’s popularity here in the UK. I know a lot of the Lionel Collectors Club UK members have ordered it and I am sure examples will be running at train shows over here.
I too am impressed by this. While the locomotive is stout, it does have some fragile details that make one want to handle gently. I was very suprised by the lightweight of the tender and coaches. Not disapointed, just suprised. I will have to run it through some paces to make sure I won’t have issues with it, but I can always add some weights if needed. Even my bride was impressed.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts regarding this. I do believe that this will be another big hit like Polar Express. It was a good marketing decision by OGR to put a flyer in with the information in the box. I think this will be the type of train that many non-train parents will buy for their kids.
“I’m really impressed with what a great deal this set was especially at the Trainland price as against the almost $300 my LHS wanted to gouge me for!”
I loved your review, but I want to assure you that your local hobby store was not trying to gouge you.
Lionel has a two tiered retail network. There’s the “Top 10” and then there’s everyone else. If you’re a Top 10 dealer, you can buy directly from Lionel, and cut out the entire wholesale level of distribution. In effect these dealers, like TrainWorld/Trainland, Grzyboski, Charlie Ro…buy their inventory at the same price as the Wholesalers.
Every other dealer has to purchase through a wholesaler, so they are in effect getting their Hogwarts set at at just a hair under the price you purchased your for!
I love my Hogwarts set, as well. It may start a debate on the definition of what is a “starter set” because I feel the fine details on the engine and tender may not be the perfect match for “little hands”. I’ll go so far as to say that I feel this set is worth twice the $225. I paid Trainz for it. This on top of the fact that I have no interest in the Harry Potter books/movies, nor much of a interest in non-US profile trains. Joe
This was my first Lionel purchase in many years. My kids are big fans and it will be a gift from Santa. I think the concept is an absolute home run. Perfect market segment to go after. The potential for add on stuff is endless. Not sure if people can discuss in a reasonable fashion on this forum but I find the comparison with a train shaped like a beer can quite a juxtaposition.
I gave it a trial run while the kids were in bed and could use some suggestions to make it run better. The smallest curve I have is 42 inch. The tender is very light and I thought about adding some wieght. Is this a good idea and if so, how is this done ? The hook up with the tender seems to come off as well. The tender component seems to droop below the engine component.
I saw this set at Todd’s Trains in Wendell, NC last Sat. I was quite impressed. The locomotive does have that “British” look captured quite well. The tender, while not die cast, looks good (and best not cheap as plastic tenders often will). The passenger cars are nice, if a bit toylike, and again have that cool British look. The train has a nice air whistle and appears to smoke well.
All in all, a very good deal for the play value and the price. I am mulling a purchase for my son.
Thanks Jon (Kooljock) - a friend of mine explained this ridiculous pricing system to me just before your post. Nevertheless I cannot afford to support my LHS - who had in any case totally forgotten I placed the pre-order with him - when the price differential is as much as that. I think that this pricing system is unfair and frankly I’m surprised it hasn’t been challenged on legal grounds alone, its surely discrimination if not somewhat akin to insider trading?
Dochooter the train will run better on 42 than 36 radius. Its really tight at the smaller size, acts like a brake but the bonus is realistic flange squealing! I havent had a problem with the tender lifting from being light but when I take it apart to fix the air whistles tone, I’ll add some car adhesive wheel weights as it just will make it feel better in my hand even if it serves no useful purpose. However a word of warning about adding weight to the carriages? Mine, at any rate, seem to have their axles very loosely held as if the truck sides were too far apart. If you press down lightly on the roof the axles will pop free of their holes, this may need a careful investigation and fix but as they are I wouldnt add any weights.
And how! Kids STILL don’t care about ‘scale’ at least not until misled by others, my 5 yr old niece and her GIRL friends were mouths open, eyes wide and these are kids who don’t have trains and only know about Thomas. “Its bee-uti-ful” said one to me in a sort of hushed voice of wonder. Interesting response, huh?
I mean fair enough for the scale types to do the usual but really it goes beyond that to just plain spitefulness. Why oh why is it necessary to post vituperative comments and asinine put downs? Don’t these people realise what that says about them, I’d be ashamed and embarassed to behave publicly like a very badly behaved spoilt child.
Thank Heavens for the welcome appreciation from all of you who liked my review, it was gratefully received.
Nicely done!!! I think that some of us over analyze the things we play with. Take things as they are and enjoy them. If its broken, it’ll get fixed. I am expecting mine sometime before Christmas. And if it comes before, it’ll go under the tree with my Polar Express!
I picked up my HWX yesterday, but I had seen one run some time ago and thougt as a starter set it really fit. After running it for several hours since I like it even more.After all it is a starter set. I don’t see a problem with the tender weight unless you haul a long freight around tight curves but it looks like the three wheel set would keep it on the track. I made this statment yesterday on the coffee pot but in case it was missed there. “I believe that a lot of people who were knocking this set probably do not own one”.
The wider the radius, the better it looks/runs. I’m trying to figure out how to use the O-72 FastTrack I have for the living room Christmas Layout. The current tree stand/layout board is only 4x5 and has O-36. Here is a video clip of the set on O-72