It arrived yesterday and it runs great. The remote-control requires three AAA batteries, and the locomotive requires six C batteries (which are expensive). The 2-8-2 Berkshire steam locomotive is the same one that came with the PRR train, although they are painted a little differently. The tenders are also identical, although painted differently.

The passenger car and baggage car are much better-looking (in my opinion) than the ones that came with the Harry Potter Play Gauge train.

But the best news is that the remote controls for the PRR and Polar Express locomotives are different. You can run both trains at once without the remotes trying to control both trains.

As I now have four Play Gauge trains for my 6' by 8' train table, I bought a pair of switches. They work fine, letting me run two trains on the same track.

My advice? IF you want to go the Play Gauge route, this is a good product.

An odd note here, Dave. There is more than one Lionel Play Gauge Hogwarts Express. The first one used hooks as couplers, and because I have an off-brand Christmas train that uses hooks, I bought it so I could interchange the cars. The current Hogwarts Express train uses knuckle couplers.

Dave, you are correct, but I did it deliberately. I WANTED a Play Gauge train with hook couplers, because I have an off-brand Christmas train with hook couplers that will be compatible with it. The newer version of the Hogwarts Express uses knuckle couplers.