Features: Locomotive features two can-style motors, coil couplers, and ProtoSound 3.0 command and sound systems. Passenger cars had interior decoration and illumination. The set includes track, power supply, and the Remote Commander hand-held controller.
Current production road names: Amtrak
I just needed to have more cars for what I then considered a complete train. I had to wait until I was grown up to get a complete passenger train (four sets and counting).
Don’t make some young hobbyist wait a few decades, as I had to. As we approach a premier gift-giving occasion, let me point out that MTH Electric Trains has made it easy for you to give that special someone a passenger train of their very own!
One heavy box
The MTH RailKing no. 30-4230-1 Genesis R-T-R Amfleet passenger set is as good a place as any to get into commuter or long-haul passenger service. True to the origins of the RailKing line, the models are compressed, but offer operators great variety in the trains that anyone can run on more modest layouts. For example, the locomotives measure approximately 58 feet in O scale versus the 69 feet of the real diesel. The passenger cars measure roughly 65 feet in O scale compared to the prototype’s 85 feet in O scale.
This is a solid starter set. For those new to the hobby or for folks researching trains as a gift, a starter set contains in one box everything you need to get started running trains.
This set has a locomotive, three cars, a loop of track, a power supply, and a lockon for the power supply. The model uses MTH’s ProtoSound 3.0 command and sound system. While you can run this train with a conventional power supply, it comes with the Remote Commander handheld remote control and a plug-in to operate the train “on the move.”
The locomotive
The set’s motive power is a model of a General Electric Genesis-series built for passenger operations by the likes of Amtrak, Metro-North, and Via Rail. The diesels had a unique low profile to operate in tight tunnel clearances in the Northeast, and they can operate anywhere on Amtrak. More than 300 were built between 1992 and 2001.
Detail points on the nose include headlights and marker/classification lights. The headlight is on or off, depending on direction of movement, while the markers stay red, no matter which direction you travel.
Cast-in details include four receptacle covers on the lower body and latch and hatch details. There is an engine number just below the cab and three ovals just above the forward windows. The front and rear doors are well done with two door latches (for opening the door lower or higher on the ladder). Cast-in grab irons bracket all the doors. The sides are fairly smooth, though they have cast-in louver detailing along the lower third and at the window level.
The roof line has some really well done detailing that includes cast-in lift rings, rivet and seam detailing, a horn, and even a radio antenna. The rear fan is cast in; since there is no smoke unit, the exhaust stack is solid.
The rear of the locomotive has sand filler caps, spots for the headlight (backup) and markers, a door, a solid window, and six more electrical receptacles. Just below, the die-cast metal truck frame has cast-in multiple-unit and brake-line detailing as well as a cast-in uncoupler arm.
The cars
The set includes three Amfleet coaches. The Amfleet cars were built by the Budd Co. and beginning in 1975, Amtrak placed the first of more than 600 of them in service, in part to replace a few of the 1,200 aging cars the system inherited from the passenger railroads.
The body has extrusions simulating aluminum or stainless-steel cars of yore. The extrusions on the model are quite deep. The windows are low and wide. Each car has four cast-in doors. On the ends, you’ll find rubber diaphragms. There is rivet and grab iron detail cast into the end caps.
The cars have interior illumination and decoration, and by squinting through the windows, I counted 60 seats, so this must be a long-haul car!
Undercarriage detailing looks good as well. This includes air-conditioning equipment, battery boxes, and equipment shelves on both sides of the car.
The two-axle trucks are not typical if you are more familiar with pre-1960s passenger equipment. These are Budd Pioneer trucks that feature dual disc brakes with anti-slide control (preventing lockups during emergency braking).
The only way this set might be improved would be to add one of those new-fangled baggage cars Amtrak introduced this year. In short, the cars look very good.
The locomotive and cars are decorated in the Amtrak Phase IVb paint scheme. Paint application and decoration were flawless on all four pieces.
But a starter set better look more than nice, it should run well. Let’s take a look at the performance.
On the test track
After lubricating the gears, I powered the locomotive up and it revealed an impressive sound package. Blasting the horn gets attention, and not just from 1:48 scale motorists on our test track.
Operation was smooth; speaking of which, in conventional mode our best low speed was 4.1 scale miles per hour, while the best command-mode low speed was 3.3 scale miles per hour.
This locomotive has plenty of power in reserve, because the fastest we could get it running on our test track before we feared it would become airborne, was 55.9 mph. If you have a long straightaway on your layout, this will keep the train on time.
Drawbar pull was 1 pound, six ounces, which is more than enough to pull this train and then some.
Each truck on the locomotive has two power pickup rollers, and the pairs are separated by roughly 6¾ inches. Each passenger truck has one power pickup roller roughly 9 inches apart from one another, and the cars had steady lighting.
This set is an attractive train rolling down the O gauge line. It will be a familiar sight for any youngster (or oldster) who leaves near an Amtrak or commuter train route. The sound system is quite robust and offers a realistic series of sounds and background noise. This is a great outfit to introduce a newbie to passenger railroading.
You are correct, Thomas, that was an error on our part.
your article indicates an oval of 036 realtrax. I cannot find 036 realtrax in the mth catalog. Was this a misprint?