Here is the engine sitting on rollers, powered up and going through it's show. Of the 7 Hudson's that the store ordered, this is the last one for sale. The train store owner ordered 4 more directly from MTH. He told me that MTH only had 5 left after he placed his order.
Photo on right is from the Nikon Coolpix I took with me to the store. There were about 6 people standing in front of this loco as it was put through it's paces.
I was with Nick Ariemma of GDay fame at the ECLSTS when he pre-ordered his. He got his JUST before Christmas. Christmas Eve day to be exact! Here is a link that shows off his Hudson.
The DCS system was hooked up to DC power. The Power goes into the TIU input as fixed voltage [suggested 18 volts]. Then the output goes to the track - in this case, not track, but powered rollers. The shop owner doesn't have larger curved track than 4 foot diameter. He stated he was going to put in 5 foot track.
All this occurred on at the Arizona Train Depot on McKellips in Mesa, Arizona. The original proprietor of that shop got me hooked on Large Scale. The current owner is more of an OGauge guy for sure. He definitely favours MTH.
I was talking to a guy who has two MTH Challengers on order. It seems that this shop had 7 preorders for the Hudson and over a dozen preorders on the Challenger. I heard that the preorders on the Challenger are now up to about 15. I am contemplating being the 16th for the Clinchfield.
The MTH DCS system consists of a Handheld Remote control called the and the Track Interface Unit [TIU]. Here you see the TIU hooked up to a Bridgewerks Mag 1000
Too much smoke for the great indoors. 3 levels of smoke output can be selected.
Not a lot of back head detail. Two crew members in the cab. Firebox glow is part of the deal. All the sound electronics are in the Coal tender. The typical MTH tether is there, which connects the engine to the tender. There is a long bar that connects the engine to the tender. I am sure that this can be shortened, if need be. The long bar is designed to make it easier for the locomotive to go around smaller curves. 4 ft diameter curves will NOT work on this loco. Apparently 5 ft. diameter is the minimum but 8 would be better.
