Polar Express????

[92hatchattack]

are the Polar Express sets still available??? whats the deal with this?? I see that on the lionel site they are now advertised at $250 for the whole set.. is this right???

one way or the next if it is im glad i waited for the prive way to be over, and if the set is really selling, and is available for $250 i think i may pick one up...

so, are they still available, and if so where???

how bout all of you who have the set??? any comments you can share with me .... possitive and negatives of the set???

and information is greatly apreiciated!!!

Thank You!!!

[Dave Farquhar]

The last that I heard, the next batch of sets will be delivered sometime in March. I would be very surprised if this batch is sold out. I understand that the retail price is somewhere around $250. This is higher than its original suggested retail price, but considerably less than the going rate a month ago.

As far as the set goes, yes, I have one. The Berkshire is a very, very nice locomotive. It has good detail and plenty of heft to it. The 1:48-or-nothing crowd doesn't necessarily think much of it--it's closer in size to an O27 locomotive, and it does seem to handle O27 curves decently. It ships with O36 Fastrack and works better on that, of course.

The CW80 transformer is nice when it works and maddening when it doesn't. Mine didn't; Lionel replaced it very quickly. The replacemen worked. Score one for Lionel customer service.

The cars aren't exceptionally detailed but they are better than what Lionel was making 10 years ago. They won't knock your socks off, but, well, let's just say that if you're the type of person who can buy an entry-level set and have fun with it, you'll be satisfied with the passenger cars. Those who would pay $250 for a single passenger car without blinking need not apply.

You'll either love the action figures or you'll hate 'em. If you hate 'em, leave them sealed in the box. No problem.

I think it's a great set, and at its original retail price it was a steal. Even at $250 it's still a good deal. If you liked the book or the movie at all, get it. You'll love running it on your Christmas layout, and chances are the rest of the year you'll pair the Berkshire up with a different tender and put it to work on your regular layout.

Back when I first got it, I wrote either on this or another forum about it. I gave the locomotive an A+, the cars a B, Fastrack a B+ (I like how easily it sets up but I don't like the noise), the CW-80 a C, and Lionel's customer service an A+. Overall I think the set is an A-. Lionel didn't hit it out of the ballpark, but they certainly smacked it into the bleachers.

[Anonymous]

Did any of the polar express cars have 6 wheel trucks as shown on box? Also, are the wheels diecast and do they have remote couplers?
Robb

[Anonymous]

www.justrains.com

Just look at the home page.

[jimhaleyscomet]

The polar express should be readily available from your dealer through his distributer. I was at the dealer last week and the distributer called saying they had 20 sets. He only took 6 and probably has some in stock now.

Jim H

[92hatchattack]

wow, $205 for the polar express set??? anyone seen it anywhere cheaper than that??? i doubt it?? anyone know if u have to pre order from just trains???

[4kitties]

I've had some issues with my set (mentioned in a previous post) but all in all, I'm very happy with it. Now that Christmas is over and the around-the-tree layout put away, I moved the train to my main layout. I have all of my MTH and Lionel holiday cars plus the PE passenger cars coupled together (about 12 cars total) and this little engine walks away with them like they weren't there. It's quiet and acts like it will run forever.

[92hatchattack]

^^^ do u have a link to your other post regarding your issues??

[eZAK]

Try:
http://americasbesttrainshoppe.com/

They had at least 3 there last month.

[Anonymous]

I think the price may even get lower when the March shipment arrives and if demand drops. Preorders for the first run was around $180, price has gone up by $25 for the March run. If demand drops the price will be lowered.

[cnw1995]

Note what came up an interview with Jerry Calabrese (sp) in Dec. issue of LCCA magazine The Lion:
Q: Will there be another run of the PE set?
A: You bet! That's what you do with a hit. We're proud of the PE set and happy
to have had a chance to do it. We will ALSO BE MAKING ADD-ON PRODUCTS FOR THE
SET.(Emphasis added). Our goal is to make that kind of set at prices that more
people can afford.
For the rest of the interview, conducted by Bill Schmeelk, see the Dec. issue
of the LCCA magazine.

[4kitties]

92hatchattack, regarding my prior PE post, here is the URL:

http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?page=1&TOPIC_ID=23475

I'm not sure if there's a more elegant way to post this, but I cut-and-pasted this address into a blank browser window and the topic came up for me.

[JamesShannon]

Ordered early and paid $200. The cars are nice, the loco excellent, the tender weak. The transformer and track really add value to this set we love it.

[Buckeye Riveter]

You might want to take a look at a previous topic:

http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=28032

[riverrailfan]

I put my name on a list at local hobby shop 7 days before xmas. I got called two days later and picked one up for $224.95. When I got it home I almost had a heart attack. In the box was a Elvis dares to rock set. I don't think I could explain to my son who Elvis was. I returned the next day for the correct set.
I havn't had any problems with my sons PE other than the CW80 won't operate an MTH with Proto and my RMT Beep.