I understand the thoughts on having a conventional engine being easier. I have one already actually, but was looking for something decorated for the holiday. The only conventional ones available at the moment are from the Gingerbread express set, and though I know the North Pole Central is fictional, the gingerbread locomotive is a bit too whimsically decorated for my taste (if that's the word). My other thought with having the remote is that similarly to when we run Lionchief locomotives on our club layout at a local Christmas event, I could hand the remote to a younger kid on nights I'm there and let them have a taste of running the train.
Running all day isn't something that is needed for the theater. They run for an hour at most a couple times a day. It puts a lot of wear on things still, but I've only had to replace a few mechanical parts over the last 5 years.
