I first saw this on You Tube as a prototype demonstrated at one of the train shows and I wanted one. The prototype, to be honest, looked pretty poor quality with the black and white video.

But I have faith in Marklin so I ordered one though my trusty dealer, Nathan's Trains n' Toys, who delivered it to me on Tuesday this week. Now that I have played with it all afternoon I am pleased to report that aside from one small issue I am very happy with my purchase. Before we get to the small issue, let me share some information about this great loco.

It is a class 648.2 LINT 41 Diesel Railcar as it was in 2011. It's unofficial name is the "Video Doors" railcar because this railcar is equipped with four LCD displays at the doorways of the train. Functions F1, F3, F5 and F7 control the individual doors. I have yet to program this into WindigiPet, but I guess that under computer control all the doors on one side will open simultaneously. Using the eCOS, there is a slight delay with opening the second door after you touch the icon on the eCOS screen. Every time the doors open there are different people entering or leaving the train. As the doors close, there is a warning bell sound. For night running the light output from the screens can be dimmed by pressing F14. Yes - to get the best out of this model you need an eCOS or CS2.

After the interior light function (F6) is selected the interior lights flicker briefly before they switch on to illuminate the 28 people in the passenger area. This railcar also has a driver - the only HO model I have ever bought from Marklin that has come with an installed driver.

As the headlights are switched on the destination signs are illuminated - one day I am sure that Marklin will provide a model that enables the destination sign to be changed.

In all there are 15 functions on the model with a mix of lights and sounds. All of the sounds are loud and clear, which is a bonus if you are a little bit (okay a lot then) deaf like me.

It runs beautifully on my m-track layout. It crawls along effortlessly at 2km/hr during the WindigiPet calibration and is graceful when the acceleration/braking delay is enabled by default. Like the Thalys and the Donald Duck railcar, this one "goes through the motions of making announcements etc" before it starts to move after you set the speed on the eCOS or your computer software. Unlike my Thalys, the wheels don't fall off it when I drive it fast around the layout.

If you are a purist, then this is not the model for you as the video doors do look a little less than realistic. Especially as the doors "disappear" over complex sets of turnouts. There is also a dark blue semicircular section in one of the cars, which I suspect holds the electronics for the doors. Those people, like me, who still love the fun side of model railroading will love this model.

The one issue I mentioned earlier is that the railcar at one stage emitted a very high pitched sound - like one of its sub-audio tracks was stuck in a loop. It did not go away until I rebooted the eCOS. It could be the sign of a future problem, but it has not reappeared during the past two hours of play.

I am giving this one:
***** Innovation
***** Running
*** Realism
**** Quality
**** Suitability for children (Marklin does state 15+ on the box, but I know that Miss 10 would have had no trouble with this model as there are no fiddly bits to break off)
**** M-track test (The Video Doors do go black over complex turnouts, but the train does not stop or derail.)

Pictures will follow later.

Hi!
Could be the result of shrinking an image that was sharpened before.

Some cameras sharpen images automatically. With my camera I have to disable this sharpen function in the camera when taking images for use with the web.

The LC displays of the train are clear, but the resolution is rather low. Shrinking the sharpened image emphasizes the grid on the LCD.

You're photos and the videos from the UK club meeting show a "continuity problem" with the door videos: some scenes show a sunlit door area, sometimes there is no sunlight:
Check this at about 0:57:
#t=50

Or this at about 1:16
#t=68

A photo I took:

Good review, Adrian!

I saw the train in action at the Show in Dortmund earlier this year. We also travelled with the very train and I'm sure that the "blue section" is the toilet section, and thus should be there. Please correct if I'm wrong.

Thanks/Peder