MTH O Scale Coors Light Beer Silver Bullet Train Set PS2.0 Sounds 30-1433-1

No problems with that set as long as it works.  Real cool features.  G

They're one of the cooler fantasy sets that MTH has made.  I have one with four reefer cars and the optional tail car.  It is a head turner when it pulls up and all the doors open with the blue interior lights and the "fog" rolling out of the reefers.  The sounds are a hit as well.  I think the only downside I see is it requires a really good DCS signal on the tracks for everything to work properly.  If you have any signal issues, half the doors don't open or close, really kills the effect.

Have the same cars as John. Run mine on a loop suspended from the ceiling. Great set. Real attention getter.

Only one thing, and luckily I saw something on this before I bought mine, or I'm  sure I'd have broken them too. The ladders on the engine are placed in a vulnerable position with little support. Very easy to pick the loco up and damage them if you aren't careful. 

Well worth the cost.

I picked up a spare set of ladders for my engine.

With respect to your comment of what's a reasonable price.  These sets go for upwards of $700 on the secondary market when they include the separately sold add-on reefer.  And this includes recent York meets where if a deal is to be had, York would be the place to find it.   When you state you found a set online, if you are referring to the set currently on ebay which includes the add-on reefer all for $600 I would jump on that now even though it's missing the ladder on the back of the engine.   That is a very reasonable price point compared to what I have seen the last few years plus it's being sold by a reputable shop with great feedback.  Sure, you may find one cheaper at some point, but if you really want the set, now would be the time to buy. 

-Greg

Check that - if you want it you can now buy it from me for $700!  Just kidding

-Greg

@Greg Houser posted:

With respect to your comment of what's a reasonable price.  These sets go for upwards of $700 on the secondary market when they include the separately sold add-on reefer.  And this includes recent York meets where if a deal is to be had, York would be the place to find it.   When you state you found a set online, if you are referring to the set currently on ebay which includes the add-on reefer all for $600 I would jump on that now even though it's missing the ladder on the back of the engine.

It doesn't have the rare tail car, that's what runs up the price.  The price with just an extra reefer is so-so at $600.  I bought my set for $450 on OGR, and I spent $60 for an extra reefer.  The tail car took a couple years to find, that was $200!

John - thanks for correcting my mistake.  I could've sworn I saw the tail car in the pic....guess I need to move up to the next level of strength on my eyeglasses.

Sal - my apologies for the incorrect information.

-Greg

Yeah that tail car is little hard to find and when you do it's expensive! I was extremely lucky and bought mine about 5 years ago on the orginal TRAINZ auction for about $65. The set was bought a month previous for $365.... Back before the TRAINZ auctions were well known.

@Greg Houser posted:

John - thanks for correcting my mistake.  I could've sworn I saw the tail car in the pic....guess I need to move up to the next level of strength on my eyeglasses.

If the tail car was in the picture, I'd have bought the set!

The MTH Coors Light Silver Bullet Train Set is one of my favorite sets and is a crowd-pleaser.  When I run the set during public events, I have a routine that after the reefer doors open I will say "you have to be at least twenty-one to reach in and grab a cold one."  It never gets old for me, but I am sure that my fellow train runners would have a different opinion after hours and hours of hearing me say that.

I second Jim M Sr's observation that the ladders at the back of the engine are easy to damage.  I took the two ladders off and put them back into the set box . . . problem solved.

Oh, there is an on and off switch for the smoke underneath each reefer.  If you do not run smoke, be sure to place the switch in the off position so as to not burn out the smoke unit.  I run smoke in the engine, but I do not run smoke in the reefers because it is too much to keep track of when running seven reefers (three reefer cars included in the set + three extra reefer cars + reefer tail car) while also interacting with the public.  I believe that the almost neon looking blue light that emanates as the reefer doors open is enough of a wow factor.

As far as the price, I might pay as much as $750 for a new or at least a LN set (30-1433-1) with an extra reefer car (30-78040) and the tail car (30-78061) included.

Janet Mattern (TCA, LCCA, P&P, and GCMR member)

Good luck finding the set with an extra reefer and tail car for that price Janet!

The reefers can also make a pretty cool Halloween car with aliens in suspension. 

Boy, imagine pulling up and having the doors open and there's all these green aliens suspended in liquid bottles.  Scary stuff.

If you have the DCS Remote but not the Silver Bullet Engine, can you still operate one of the Reefer cars and all it's features?  I a reefer but no engine or rest of the set.

Nope, the reefer gets it's commands from the locomotive.  I conventional mode there is a shoe for operational tracks, but I've never tried it.

This set is really neat! I had the chance to get one when it first came out but passed on it and have regretted it ever since! However, this begs the question of why a technology like this wasn't used in the subway cars for automatically opening doors like the Lionel set. 

I don't understand why MTH didn't pursue the command operating car technology after the Coors was such a hit.  That is the big hole in the MTH command lineup, they only control locomotives or accessories (with the AIU).  No command capable rolling stock, other than the Coors set.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

I don't understand why MTH didn't pursue the command operating car technology after the Coors was such a hit.  That is the big hole in the MTH command lineup, they only control locomotives or accessories (with the AIU).  No command capable rolling stock, other than the Coors set.

I agree. I would be nice to have some command rolling stock like we do with Lionel.