Am looking for another “inexpensive” engine to pull a load of post war NYC freight cars and have seen some Polar Express engines up for sale on E-Bay. I’d like an opinion on this engine. Would it pull eight post war cars and would it look reasonably well with a NYC tender and load? If not, would you have another engine in mind that would work? (Preferably new) As always, thanks.
The Polar Express is pulled by a Berk Jr that will have no problems pulling a tender and 8 cars. NYC did run Berks so it will look fine with a NYC tender behind it.
[#ditto]
We have a Polar Express Berk, and 11 months out of each year, it pulls freight and other passenger cars. Our berk pulls very well. 8 cars would be a piece of cake. You could easily double that! We use a NYC tender and a Lionel Lines tender behind it. Both look fine.
The cowcatcher is exaggerated, but the engine runs fine & will pull your train.
The larger Williams Golden Memories 2046 is much closer to a NYC(and it’s a Hudson Type) outline loco, and is another option to explore if you’re looking at new, & conventional. Outstanding performance, lifetime warranty & all…
Rob
[wow] What FAST responses!!! Thanks guys.
The PE loco is an excellent running model. I think it would look exceptional with an NYC tender.
I love my Polar Express Berkshire!! The 1225 runs very nicely, and it easily pulls the 3 passenger cars that came with the set, I can’t imagine that you would have any trouble at all pulling some frieght with it. As a matte of fact, I plan on adding frieght to my collection, and running my Pole Ex 1225 as the Pere Marquette 1225 (swapping the tender out of course for the sake of realism).
ATSJer,
You might consider “modular” scenery since you move so often. Just cut 1/8" wood in shapes that fit on your layout. Then scenic it separately. That way when you move you can carefully pack up each scenery “unit” instead of trying to move a fragile 4x8 fragile layout.
I got this idea from 101 Toy Train Tips book and they got it from Lionel who used to sell scenery blocks. The concept is similar on the new K-line construction scenes.
Jim H
Would you believe the cheap Pennsy Flyer will pull better than the PE [which does OK, I picked up a tender with LL on it for freight]. Yes it will. Funny. I got one cheap and thought it was a joke. It pulls up a storm. I did some resoldering to the wiring and it smokes like crazy. Just because you don’t pay a fortune for an engine doesn’t mean it will not pull.
I too chose to purchase a spare Polar Express set simply for the locomotive. I purchased a Pennsylvania Trainsounds Tender to run behind it, and it looks and sounds great.
The gentleman at my local hobby shop actually recommended buying a 2nd Polar Express set since I only run in conventional mode and he reasoned that if I was only planning on running in conventional why bother spending $350 on a TMCC Berkshire when the Polar Express set would look and run pretty much the same. Not only do you get the engine, but it never hurts to have an extra tranformer and some extra track.
Scott
Thanks Jim, this is an amazing idea. I’ve been trying to figure out how I could make the scenery removeable, and I like the idea that you’ve given here. I’ve also been considering creating a large lid that will cover the entire display, but that may be more trouble than its worth, especially if I can remove sections of the display and store them seperately during the move. Great idea! I will have to get that 101 Toy Train Tips book to find out more about the technique.
Hmmm,
The PE Berk is the same as the regular Berk that Lionel has in the traditional line. It runs fine. But, if you want a PE berk then buy the set because to have a proper PE you need the passenger cars.
However, when I want to run my Berk with a cut of freights, I just use my Postwar Lionel Lines 2046W or the Erie Tender that came with my Lionel Hudson from 2004, which is the “freight type tender” as lionel called it. It dates back to the 50’s as it is a modern version or the 6062W tender and in my opinion it looks better behing the berk than the 2046W.
I run my Berk with trains anywhere from 4 cars to 15, which is my limit, even though I could run all my cars at one and have a 24 car train. It will pull the 24 cars plus the 4 cabooses I have, but I don’t recomened you do it regularly. 15 is a nice length to satisfy me.
I suggest you get the Lionel Jr. Berk in a real railroad roadname for your freight cars if you don’t want the coaches that come with the P.E. Berk.
Cheese
Actually, if he is looking for a way to run the PE prototypically without running the proper PE, then he can run a “Pere Marquette” tender with the PE 1225 Berkshire with traditional freight since the “Pere Marquette 1225” was the model for the PE. This is exactly what I am planning for my PE during the off season, and on my permanent layout, it will assume its seasonal duties with the PE Pullman cars under the tree.
The PE Berk is a bargain. You get an entire set, including passenger cars, loco & tender, track, and a transformer for a little more than what a Railsounds Berk costs. I bought the PE set for just this reason. It’s a hell of a bargain.
Jim
My hat is off to all of you for your advice. Many thanks.