When the 5344 was reproduced and introduced in 1990 as the 5340 by Lionel under Richard Kuhn, great pains were taken to come out with a model that closely mirrored the original right down to the display board. There are very small differences but they are barely noticeable. What is different is the addition of a smoke unit and the rail sounds. While I would not feel comfortable running and wearing out an original 5344, I enjoy running one of my 5340's. It pulls 8 NYC 20th Century Ltd passenger cars with ease. The choice to run a $550 engine (that looks nearly identical) and a $3000 antique that collectors always just sit on a shelf, is not a hard one to make.
|
|
