[mopac]

My thought is I agree with Tom. I did buy a FlyerChief berkshire. In fact, I liked it so
much I bought another. Great smoke, great sounding whistle, great slow speed, and
I am very happy with the first one. I have not run the second one yet. Check them out
at Charles Ro.com. They can be controlled by an Android phone also. I did a video
of my first one showing it smoking and running. If I can find it I will show it here.
Berkshires are a beautiful locomotive.

 

[mopac]

Al, I found my video on youtube. Now if I can post it here.

MVI 0846 - YouTube

 

[mopac]

LOL, it even talks to you. Good sounds. Buy plenty of smoke fluid.
It really is a lot of locomotive for the money. And if you want to spend
more, they have the Legacy version. That gets you legacy control, 2
figures in the cab, and more LEDs. Very nice but I do not have a
Legacy control system. The FlyerChief version is fine for me.

 

[mopac]

AL, NP means it is lettered for Northern Pacific RailRoad. Pierre Marquet means Loco is lettered for Pierre Marquet RailRoad.

I paid 289.99 for mine. I also watch ebay and they are more there. I have seen used ones
that seller wants 339.00 for. I think 269,00 or 289.00 will be the least you will find. I have a
Pere Marquet and a Nickel Plate Road. I think shipping was only 10.00. Might be higher
now.

 

[mopac]

Al, I said that also. I now have 2. Tom might be right. LOL.

 

[mopac]

Al, anything you save on shipping by doing a road trip you will spend on sales tax
and gasoline. Probably will cost you more. Charles RO loses money on shipping.
These FlyerChief steamers come in a pretty big box. I do not pay sales tax on online
purchases. I do not know about your state. If you go to Ro you wll pay sales tax.

 

[mopac]

Al, here is a review I found on the Lionel FlyerChief Berkshire steamer. It shows the engine better
than my video. I agree with everything said in this video. My only complaint with the engine is with
the chuff sounds. At slower speeds it sounds great, but as you speed the engine up, you get to a point
that the chuff starts to sound like a machine gun. So you will find yourself running at a slower speed
than maybe your old Gilbert steamers. Not that big of deal. Its just what I noticed. Also the video mentions
whitewall wheels. Not all the engines get the whitewalls. I have 2 of these engines and only one has the whitewalls.
It depends on the road name. There is very little to not like on these engines. I doubt these wll last 70 years
like our Gilbert ones.


Lionel American Flyer FlyerChief 2-8-4 NKP Berkshire - Bing video

 

[mopac]

As Tom said the remote is included with the locomotive. No matter how you control the engine, you need an AC transformer hooked up to the track and at about half throttle or a little more. I like running the engine with my phone. With the Lionel app and my phone I have more features than with just the remote.
its a neat setup. The learning curve is easy.

 

[mopac]

I have not tried the coupler yet. I have not pulled any cars yet. As shown in the review video
the engine will pull plenty of cars. Has traction tires.

 

[mopac]

Welcome to the forum.


I have a 1225 Berk also. One heck of an engine. I also have a 765 Berk.
What happened to the trailing truck.

I don't call these American Flyers. They are Lionel. I am not fond of most
Lionel S scale engines. The FlyerChiefs are an exception.


Pere Marquette 1225 and Nickel Plate Road 765 run side by side - YouTube

Here are the prototypes

 

[mopac]

Nice set and a heck of a deal at 250.00. Cheapest I saw was 350.00. Thats less than you can buy a Berk for now.