I bought this set to run under the tree for Christmas. It comes with nothing but the loco, tender, and 2 cars. Lionel lists it as a “Premium Train Set” in their 2006 Vol2 catalog. At $529.99 retail I can’t argue with that. Of course, I didn’t pay that price. [;)]
In the set is Lionel’s new NYC 2-8-2 Mikado steam loco and tender, a REA Express “hot box reefer” and a NYC animated caboose. Let me start with the loco and tender. The loco is a real beauty. Not sure if it’s scale size or not (I think not), but it has some nice details on it that make it stand out. It operates quite nicely on 042 turns, although it’s advertised to go on 031 turns too. It has a nice “heft” to it and I suspect it can pull a good number of cars behind it.
Now for it’s operation… I was REAL curious to hear the Railsounds. I had heard a lot of discussion about how great Lionel’s audio system was, so I was curious to hear it in action. I am using the MTH Z-4000 transformer in conventional mode to run this loco. I eased the voltage up, and in Neutral, the light came on immediately and I heard the sounds of the loco sitting at idel blowing off excess pressure. EXCELLENT! Sounds really great! I dropped the power to 0 and then brought it up again. I wanted to see low speed performance so I brought it up nice and slow. While the light came on on the loco immediately, when it first started moving (at about 7.6 on the transformer readout), all I heard was a clack-clack-clack sound from the tender!!! At first I thought this was some kind of “clack-clack” from the Railsounds setup to immitate the sound of metal wheels going over connections in the track. But at about 8.8 on the transformer, the clacking immediately disappeared and the chuff-chuff sound replaced it. Only thing I can figure is the chuff sounds needs a certain amount of power to make it operate. Perhaps using TMCC with the power c
The Lionel Hot Box Reefers are “da bomb” in my opinion. I run the heck out of mine. I have an older one from last year.
You really need to run that car with the smoke - that really sets the atmosphere.
I was surprised to hear that your sounds are garbled. Mine are rather clear. I am running in a TMCC environment at 16V so that may be a difference? One thing that I have noticed with some Lionel sounds is that if they are left a full volume there is a lot of distortion. Did you try at different volumes??
Thanks for taking the time to write up your thoughts on the set. I have been interested in the NYC Mike in that set, as I already have a reefer and the Lionel Lines version of the animated caboose.
Hi Luther! Thanks for the reply. Hmmmm…you may be on to something with the the TMCC environment. I know the Crewsounds are powered by the juice running through the track and not by a battery like MTH. I don’t have my TMCC hooked up on my under-the-tree layout, so I didn’t have any way to adjust volumes. I do have the MTH DCS hooked up, but don’t have the Lionel base connected for TMCC. Highest voltage I could use without going off the track was about 13 1/2. I will look into your suggestion and see if the lack of voltage is affecting the clarity. Actually, I also have the 6-29811 NYC Merchant’s Dispatch Hot Box Reefer too. I REALLY like the Mikado. I still wonder if it’s to scale or not. A great-looking engine with those shiny side rods. I am wondering…do you run the hot box a LOT with all the stuff turned on?? Doesn’t it get to be a pain to keep stopping and going with it??
First off, I would like to THANK YOU for the review. I wish everyone would do this when they purchase a new train, as a lot of us like to see how they work in the “real world”!
As far as I know, the Mikado in this set is semi-scale. It has received some pretty good reviews on the other forums. Just like the semi-scale berkshires from a few years ago, it is nice to see Lionel making some good, quality engines for the semi-scale market.
I hope you enjoy the set, and keep us updated on it’s performance over the next couple of weeks!
Nice review. In regards to the clack-clack-clack when starting up - did you install a battery , probably in the tender? Keeps the sounds going when track power is turned down.
Hey Dep - Thanks for a great review. First - to answer you question, the mike is definitely semi-scale, although as you can see from this link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USRA_Light_Mikado) it is a rather nice representation of a USRA light Mikado.
Can you go into any more detail about the operation of the engine? In particular, I’ve heard some concern about the engine’s low-speed performance, and excessive high speed (too high gearing).
For the price it sure looks good - I just hope it runs as good as it looks.
You do need a battery to run a RailSounds device in a non command environment. Once the track voltage drops below 7.5 volts the sounds cut out. Conventional mode also affects access to the full sound set. Lionel did not want to get into patent issues with QSI so the sound set in conventional mode is limited. Look for a volume control knob on the devices and set the volume knob to 80-90% setting. Full volume will lead to distortion.
I sure do run the car with all the bells and whistles, er, squeals on most of the time.
I have an around the room layout – about 9 feet on a side – or 36 feet of track. I can run almost two laps between triggers on the car. I also have a few semaphores hooked to toggles that I can throw – these act as signals for the trains to stop to pick up train orders. Every now and again I will throw a semaphore and manually stop to pick up the “orders”. Stopping will recycle the trigger time for the car.
Additionally, have an icing platform on a siding. When I get tired of the sounds I will switch the reefer to the siding and also run one or two operating ice cars through the icing platform. Sometimes I will switch the reefer in and out of the siding a few of times during a session.
I also have a gantry crane, stock yard and coal loader on separate sidings that are waiting to be installed. Once I have them in place I will have even more stops to reset the hot box!
I think you should be able to turn the sound down outside of a TMCC environment. If I recall there is an adjustment on the bottom of the car. I do not think it has the capability to have the sound set via TMCC.
WOW! This is REALLY cool!!! I am learning more about the set than I had any idea about. I confess to NOT reading the instruction sheet that came with the Mikado. So I didn’t know about the battery thing. I kinda figured ALL the Lionel stuff was “track-powered”. I’ll look at those directions tomorrow and see about installing a battery. Chalk it up to me being anxious to see the train running under the tree [:D]
I am happy as heck to find out the Mikado is semi-scale. The loco really does look beautiful. Here’s a link to some pics I took of the train under the tree…
Hope it works. You can double click on the photos to make them bigger. I must confess I was a bit hesitant about posting the review. I have posted some rather “controversial” posts that stirred up some pretty extreme reactions. I just wanted to let folks know about my personal opinion of this set is all.
Dave: The low speed performance of the loco seems okay to me. Using conventional control I am able to keep it pretty slow and still not freeze up. High speed…YIKES! It definitely seems like it has a LOT of potential to GO FAST. No way I would risk going above 14 volts on the transformer. My wife was keeping a close eye on it and she said “that loco is REALLY leaning in the turns!” That was at 14 volts. And these are 042 turns. 027 may be awful risky for tipping over at 14 volts. The loco runs VERY smooth as far as acceleration and stays pretty much at whatever speed you set it (on a flat track at least). I think it has a good amount of pulling power for it’s size. There’s enough weight there to prevent wheel slip in any but the most extreme loads. The headlight is VERY bright at any power. Tracking of all wheels was perfect.
If I can solve the chuf situation at low speeds, and get
Dep, Thanks for the info. I bought one of these on sale, but haven’t taken it out of the box yet. Now I know what to expect. Electric RR offers a TMCC upgrade for this car, so that you can activate it whenever you want. Might be worth the cost.
Hi John. You are gonna LOVE this set. The more I play with it, the more I like it. With the advice the guys gave above, it will be even more fun. At first I was a bit unhappy about only 2 pieces of rolling stock. But after looking at what was included as far as features, it’s worth what I paid for it. It will be a great loco to use to haul around my traditional-sized cars. I think you may be right about getting a TMCC upgrade to turn off and on the features. That would be well worth the price. Here’s what I got off their website:
Overview:
The Operating Hot Box Refer car is an awesome product. Flickering lights, smoke, screeching, and crew dialog of a “hot box” emergency are simulated. The Mini Commander adds unique play value by allowing the TMCC or DCS remote to control the operation. The car is defaulted to off when track power is applied, thus allowing you to control when the “hot box” emergency is activated.
Cool Features: Easily trigger the action cycle anywhere on the layout Conventional operation and horn control is preserved Easy, reversible installation (soldering required) Complete kit with comprehensive instruction guide
Sounds like EXACTLY what I need. Here’s their website:
“When all else fails, read the instructions!” Having said that, I saw this engine on the shelf at Charlie Ro last week, and it is spectacular for us non-scale types! Jon
Thanks for the review! I am a big fan of Mikados (and NYC). I may pick one up if I can find one at a “reasonable” price. I recently purchased the Santa Fe Freight Premium set. While I am also running this set in conventional mode, I found the RailSounds to be fantastic. The sound quality is a little better than my MTH units. I am curious if, after some adjustments, how you would now compare the sound?
I’ve been fiddling around with the volume on the hot box reefer as well as the track voltage…only WITHOUT the loco on the track. From the looks of things, this set REALLY needs to run under TMCC control. At 18 volts the speech clears and becomes very understandable. Only problem is at 18 volts the Mikado WILL go into orbit. So I need the TMCC or DCS to have the voltage UP, but keep the speed DOWN. Well now I am pretty happy with this set. I did read the instruction manual, and sure enough, I need a 9-volt battery in the tender. That will solve the weird goings on with the chuff at slow speed. If anyone is thinking of grabbing this trainset, I give it the full 5 star rating. It shows off some really neat advancements in electronics that Lionel has made. One word of warning concerning the Mikados…the one in the NYC set IS set up for TMCC. But looking at the catalog, the other Mikados (UP and B&O) ONLY come with Railsounds…not TMCC. Something that some folks might want to consider before they buy.
[#ditto] Just got mine today and it is a big hit. Played it about 10 Xs. Even the wife came down to check out all the clatter, to see what’s the matter.[;)]
Easily trigger the action cycle anywhere on the layout