OK. Got the whole set together and opened them all up. I didn't want to wait until next Christmas to find out something was defective. Three of the cars had the bearing caps that were broken(?) off, and one had a swing arm rattling around in the box. I'll have to contact Lionel to get directions on how to repair. The diner was one of the cars with the bearing issue and it rolls like a brick. It looks like one of the bearings without a cap is torqued sideways. The other cars roll OK.
The two tenders (Polar Express, and Pierre Marquette) both rolled super smooth, but they weigh a ton (I would guess about 5 lbs).
I threw down a loop of O-72 track and connected the CW-80 power supply to it .
The cars have constant intensity lighting. When the power if first turned on they do nothing but buzz a little. Then as the capacitors(?) charge the lights come on. The lights then stay on at constant intensity even after the power has been shut down. I was going to measure the current draw, but this is where I suddenly realized I don't have (own) an AC ampmeter.
The Locomotive says "Legacy" right on the box so I suppose I should break down and get a Legacy controller because without it:
- Whistle and Bell work on command, but I am unable to access any of the special Polar Express sounds.
- The sound from the tender shuts down and restarts when the direction is cycled. ?!?
- This little CW-80 can power the sound or it can power the Locomotive, but not both. I'm guessing 160 watts are needed, so I'll go with a 200.
The loco runs really smooth and quiet. It has traction tires.
I borrowed an O-27 tender and the loco was able to pull the train. I was worried about that when I first put them on the track. The tiny tender looked really silly but it let me see it could pull them around. I hope it does as well on tighter curve as I just ordered O-63 to use around the trees.
I took some video but I can't figure out "you tube".
So here are some stills.
For people who don't deal with O-gauge, track is measured in diameter not radius. An O-72 is 36" radius. So this would be the HO equivalent of an 18" radius loop.
The cars do have flexible diaphragms, but since this was just a test I chose not to install them. Just one to see how it worked.
Unfortunately all the coaches have the same set of figures. The diner has the hot chocolate machine and servers in it. It does not have any coco cups on the tables. I might have to correct that.