So the first run of the Santa Fe LGB occurred today.  Cool and cloudy.  The track was very dirty as I have not run trains for 2 weeks.  Heavy rains and wind also.  So I got the USA trains, NW2 with the Aristocraft cleaner out.  I assisted the engine around the mainline once about 3 times...then it powered on it's own. Track cleaned. The 10 power pickups on that engine makes it a great track cleaning engine. 

I then took the Mike out.  Tyler assisted.  He carried the tender.  The Mikado is a handful. Suggested handling method is to hold it cradled in your arms  . There is nothing to grab safely on the upper portions. 

Geep crossing. 
More LGB Mikado...
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Overhead shot coming out of the tunnel.  The engine doesn't even begin move at 6 volts. The big 7 pole Buehler motor definitely can take a lot of juice.  It is a slow steady puller. I max'd out at about 20 volts, maybe 21.  I didn't check the power through the track.  The smoke unit and sound system were on...and what a sound system.  It is VERY loud.  I can see why those that hear this indoors are deafened.  The preprogrammed sound effects are great. When you slow the train down, you hear the brakes squeal.  When you drop the voltage down to around 6 volts, the engine goes into another series of programmed sounds.  As I said - 6 volts parks this thing.  There is still plenty of power to keep the smoke rolling out and the light bright.
So the first run of the Santa Fe LGB occurred today.  Cool and cloudy.  The track was very dirty as I have not run trains for 2 weeks.  Heavy rains and wind also.  So I got the USA trains, NW2 with the Aristocraft cleaner out.  I assisted the engine around the mainline once about 3 times...then it powered on it's own. Track cleaned. The 10 power pickups on that engine makes it a great track cleaning engine. 

I then took the Mike out.  Tyler assisted.  He carried the tender.  The Mikado is a handful. Suggested handling method is to hold it cradled in your arms  . There is nothing to grab safely on the upper portions. 
You can get some idea of the smoke output.  This is in the park mode.  The air pump souding several times lets you know the engine has entered that mode.  After a few more seconds, the safety valve releases steam {this is SO cool!}.  Then you hear the pump starting to fill the boiler.  These sounds will continue while the engine is standing and you have the proper voltage being applied.  When you increase the power, the whistle will blow twice [three times if you have it in reverse. 

The manual suggests that you run the train at full speed to charge up the capacitors.  That way, there is no issues with the sound being irregular.  And what capacitors!  When you stop the train and turn off all power to the engine, the engine goes into a shut down sound sequence.  With no powerto the track, the sounds continue for a full 45-50 seconds!  Amazing.  No batteries here...
The engine comes with 2 LGB magnets.  You place them on the track and they lock in.  When the engine goes over the magnet, the whistle or bell will sound  The direction of the magnet determines which sound.  It worked fine.

There is a small multi-prong plug that you connect to the tender.  This will power the back up light.  It also will let you power up any cars that you want to have the engine "light up" for you.  There is a small plug in the back of the tender that you can remove so you can light up the cars with the standard LGB plugs.
The back head details are very good.  There is a switch in the middle of that detail.  Oh well.  It is a 4 position switch.  0 = all power off, 1 = lights & smoke, 2 = lights, smoke and motor, 3 = lights, smoke, motor, & sound. 

I ran the engine with 12 cars and a caboose.  It slowed on the curves and slowed on the uphill run.  I don't know how many it will pull.  I will add another 10 cars tomorrow and see what happens. 

Night running is next.

The front cow catcher is not very solid.  I didn't notice that one of the metal support handrails came out of the  front platform.  This caused the cow catcher to bend down and skip along the track.  Luckily this was on my very first and slow run and I noticed it immediately.  No damage and I slipped the handrail back into it's proper place.

There are some tiny pieces to break.  Much of the piping/rails are metal.  That is good. Even though the various feed pipes are plastic, LGB plastic is very durable and flexible.