Price: $499.95 (no. 11-6060-1 New Haven locomotive), $399.95 (no. 11-80047 three-car 710 series passenger set)
Features: Locomotive O-31 operation, flywheel-equipped motor, stamped-steel construction, latch couplers, ProtoSound 3.0 sound and command system. Rolling stock O-31 operation, stamped-steel construction, interior illumination, latch couplers
What we have here are separate-sale items, a no. 256 electric locomotive (with ProtoSound 3.0) and a matching three-car set of no. 710 passenger cars – two coaches and an open-ended observation car.
Lionel’s original no. 256 was cataloged from 1924 to 1930 and had a more authentic look than many of the two-axle electrics the firm had cataloged. The design has more than a passing resemblance to several early New Haven electrics. The EP-1 class and the EY-3 class were squat, boxy, and short! In the early days of electrification, shoebox-shaped locomotion was good enough.
The elements of smart industrial design didn’t enter the game in a meaningful way until the arrival of the Pennsy’s GG1. So looking at this stone-age New Haven power it was easy for me to see where the inspiration of the design for the original Lionel no. 256 came from.
Opening the box – the power
One thing I like about O gauge tinplate versus Standard gauge tinplate is that O gauge has “the look,” without the excess size or weight. Sort of a “More flavor … less filling” situation, don’t you know.
The roofline has a gentle arch to it, and both ends have beveled corners causing the most forward design element to be the forward cab door.
The pilot is a great rendition of the traditional steam “cow catcher.” From looking at New Haven prototype photos, this seems to mirror the standard practice of the early electric railway motors. The model also has those “how the heck do these work” latch couplers.
The corners of the pilot have short gold-tone stanchions (there are classification flags in the box you can install) and similarly colored grab irons leading to the cab door. The door appears to be an add-on piece inserted in to the stamped-steel faceplate. The orange part of the door has a white “N,” and the white part of the door has a black “H.” This is a pretty good mimic of the modernistic orange, white, and black New Haven paint scheme used during the tenure of railroad president Patrick B. McGinnis. There are two cab windows in the nose and a window in the door – all of which have “glass.”
Each of the cab sides has three windows with gold-tone panes and two “vents.” Between the vents is an add-on plate with Lionel Lines no. 257 and just above that the name New Haven is in black on the white band. There is an appropriate level of cast-in rivet detailing.
The roof has grab irons on the outside and two pantographs on the inside. There are headlights mounted in the center of the roof (the simulated number boards are red on one end and green on the other). Though the lights have the old-school ginormous bulb, they are in fact LEDs. You’ll also find there are two cylinders, which I presume represent compressed air reservoirs.
The frame does a good job of presenting the façade of the undercarriage, complete with shiny journal boxes for each axle. They do not actually contact the wheels of the locomotive.
The rolling stock
The cars have stamped-steel bodies and chassis. The cars have a long, smooth clerestory roof design that is painted black.
The sides have appropriate stamped rivet detailing. Each side has six main passenger windows. These have black frames and blue accents suggesting pull-down shades. The cars have a clear window for each door, and two smaller windows that are probably for what would be the lavatories. These windows are completely blue.
Add-on steps lead to the doors, which are recessed into the car. They are hinged, not sprung, and can be pushed open.
They open into a vestibule that also has an entry to the car. Save for the lighting, the interiors are empty. Some seats would have been nice, but I presume the original 700-series cars were basic, inexpensive pieces devoid of interior details.
The carbodies are white with orange striping at the window level. The cars all carry number plates (the coaches are no. 710, and the observation car is no. 712). Between the number plates is the familiar New Haven N over H in orange on a black square. These are on either side of an add-on plate carrying the Pullman name.
There is a hint of undercarriage detail from the water or air reservoir tanks beneath the cars. The metal truck frames are stamped steel with simple detail, but with big and flashy journal boxes!
The baked enamel finish on these trains is perfect. The 1950s New Haven theme is cleverly adapted to prewar styling, and this makes for one flashy express running around the pike.
On the test track
The locomotive has two motors, each powering two axles via metal gears. Each motor set pivots, allowing for good flexibility on curves.
The locomotive has a good speed range with or without cars in tow. Our command-mode low-speed average was 4.75 scale miles per hour, while the conventional-mode low speed was 6.22 scale miles per hour. Our high speed maxed at 69.6 scale miles per hour.
Drawbar pull was 1 pound, 9 ounces.
While six axles per car might have made it look less top-heavy, we had no operational problems with them trying to take flight on sharp curves.
You can buy the trains in either traditional (conventional with air whistle) or modern control. Our sample model is equipped with MTH’s ProtoSound 3.0 sound and command system. Response to commands was instantaneous whether moving or triggering sounds.
The whistle was distinct, but boy, running this train on a wood tabletop with the natural echo chamber of FasTrack was a noisy experience. The metal construction combined the artistic whoosh of Marx tinplate with something of the rumble of Standard gauge. When running at speed, even with the volume up, the train’s horn couldn’t be heard. The electrical generator sounds were lost pretty quickly as speed increased.
My takeaway from this is that you shouldn’t plan on using your DCS system to play your iPod through the train, unless you are cranking out AC/DC!
This O gauge equipment ran well, was more compact than Standard gauge, and looked pretty spiffy in the pseudo McGinnis paint scheme. I wasn’t disappointed in the noise the train generated because this captures one of the intrinsic charms of prewar-style gear – loud and tinny! Did I like it? Well, I’m still smiling!
