Menards Santa Fe Electric Train Set 2759202 2759203 (not beta) 10-2023 - unboxing & test run diesel

This is the first time I have had my hands on a Menards O gauge engine. There have been a few Beta versions but I never got a chance to buy one. This is the retail version just released (10-2023). Apart from the decoration it is the same as the Union Pacific version 2759203
I am very impressed at how smooth this engine is. The weight also impressed me. The downside for me is the chrome trucks but that's a personal preference. I not a fan of the sound package but the crew talk is very good.
The caboose on my set needs some tweaking as it doesn't roll as good as it should.
The power track on my set needs some work as it's connection to the track is intermittent.
Check out my main channel @pinballmayhem

[@Shipwright1918]

It's what the O-Gauge hobby needs right now, an affordably-priced basic train set. I imagine over at Lionel they might be having an "oh, crap..." moment.

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Thanks for watching the video. Good point on the O gauge hobby. I hope this does well for Menards so they make more locomotive types. Wishful thinking most likely.

[@Shipwright1918]

Just have to wait and see, I suppose, if it does well they might make something to follow it up with.

[@doubleutubefan5]

We need a kline today more than ever. If Kline was still around I would have a HARD time buying Lionel, in fact I still look for original aluminum Kline stuff

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

@@doubleutubefan5 thanks for watching the video. While Menards doesn't rely on train sales to keep the doors open - do you think they are "K-line lite"? Or filling the spot K-line left?

[@kathyjumper6991]

The nice thing is you can make your own set by adding a matching set of 4 Menards boxcars for the price of one Lionel boxcar.

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Yep, Menards is really stepping up their game with all the new rolling stock.

[@richardnelson-ux1zz]

I like this o gauge train set

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

It's a surprisingly good running/good pulling engine.

[@chicagolandrailroader]

Thanks for a review on this! It looks pretty good for the price. I might consider saving up for one. Thanks!

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

You're most welcome. Thanks for watching the video. I think there's great value here. I was surprised they packaged it with a great caboose. Do you have any ideas for future videos with this engine.

[@DlonFusk]

I’m so glad I found this channel!

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Welcome

[@jsargent8195]

This is so cool. A nice size train set for my money. Thanks Jeremy! 😎

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Thanks for the continued support Jsargent ❤️ I'm surprisingly happy with this train.

[@bradkorando]

Good review Jeremy. Track pliers (standard and O gauge) really come in handy for tightening tin plate track around the track pins. There doesn't seem to be a lot of sets that fall in the less than $250 price range, I suspect Menards is well aware of this. I do think that by the time one were to add rolling stock they'd approach the price of the Santa Fe Lionchief set which I think has a better quality train and track. Keep up with the terrific videos Jeremy!

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Great point Brad. I forgot about those pliers. I'll have to look some up.

[@RaysTrains]

Yessssssssss I was hoping you’d make this video great one Jeremy I want it !

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Thanks Ray! I'm glad you liked the video. I'm very impressed at how smooth the engine runs & how nice the caboose is. Got any ideas for future videos on this engine?

[@TomzTrainzandAccessories]

For the price value, this is a pretty nice set. And don’t forget, it’s Jack the German Sheppard! Nice review Jeremy. Tom

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Thanks Tom. "Jack" got it 😎

[@BigWhiskey91]

Looks great. Hope to see Menards keep filling out their locomotive lineup. Now you just need some more track :D

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Thanks for watching. I would like to see a GP style engine where they could use the same trucks. I'm always buying more track 😁

[@Northcoastrails]

Cool little set

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Thanks! I was very impressed with how well it ran.

[@paulbervid1610]

Great review

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Thanks Paul. That wacky power track really threw me for a loop 😁

[@snextime]

Immediately it makes you want to have more track.

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

More track & more cars, both of which Menards had a good supply of 😁

[@huntercoleman460]

Nice set Jeremy.

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Thanks Hunter. I didn't expect it to run this well. The good quality of the caboose also surprised me.

[@richardnelson-ux1zz]

All I have is menards rolling stock I agree the customer service is something to be desired I have had problems with the customer service department especially when I emailed them about parts always wanting parts numbers which I don't know because the online catalog doesn't show replacement parts of any kind

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

That is certainly something to be wary of. There are no parts available for this engine that I know of. And no parts breakdowns.

[@RaysTrains]

I also think there’s a good debate here. As much as I want the engine I think there’s a little more to be desired as a set. You can get a LionChief set for 319 dollars. This is 250 (yes a little less with the rebate but how many people will actually just not send that in). I would say you are getting more bang for your buck currently for a LionChief set since you get more cars and it’s a more proven system.

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Good point. I'll have to see what the current LionChief offerings are.

[@Eyrrll]

To be fair, there aren’t a lot of Lionchief sets in the $319 price range anymore… and the ones that are priced that low tend to be less popular. Most of the discounted sets are in the $349-$399 range now. The newest solicited Lionchief sets (Looney Tunes and Disney 100) have an MSRP of $529.99 … so we aren’t likely to be seeing those priced anywhere near $319 (even at discounts) unless they bomb at the cash register.

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Great discussion ❤️ I didn't realize the Looney Tunes was that much.

[@Eyrrll]

@@TooManyHobbiesJeremy The cheapest place that I found to pre-order it was $400 plus $10 shipping. Since pre-orders are usually the best discounts, you can probably expect discount pricing to be in the range of $425 - $475 (plus shipping) when it comes out. That is a fair bit more than the Menards set, even if you add a few extra cars to it.

[@steamrailwilly]

My Union Pacific Caboose from Menards does the same thing on my Lionel FasTrack.

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Interesting. I took a closer look at it and I'm surprised by it's quality. I expected something much lighter & cheaper.

[@davidkoehler136]

Brilliant move letting the buyer decide what cars to buy purchase for the train instead of getting stuck with the cheesy cars that usually come with a starter set

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Plus Menards has a huge display of cars & buildings

[@davidkoehler136]

Yeah Im lucky enough to be with in an hour of their Rhinelander Wausau and Antigo stores, here in Northern WI@@TooManyHobbiesJeremy

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

I picked mine up in Wausau 😎

[@davevan8864]

The Menard's loco is a EMD FP-7. FYI I bought a Lionel Lion Chief EMD FT loco at Lionel Warehouse sale. It seems almost the same as my Menard's loco....remote is the same. MSRP for the Lionel was $200+ so Menard's looks like a good deal. I have a power and Dummy Menard's unitss. Both very nice. thx

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Much appreciated! Tell me more about your Menards power & dummy units.

[@davevan8864]

@@TooManyHobbiesJeremy Hello....the powered unit is the same as your set loco. The dummy is again just like the powered unit only there are no motors ot sound. It does have lighting. VERY nice for the price. thx

[@Marklin15]

The horn, bell, and engine sounds sound a lot like the old MTH loco-sound.

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Very interesting! I don't have any loco-sound engines unfortunately. Thanks for watching & leaving a great comment.

[@allanegleston4931]

compaired to mth and lionel, that is good. would love to put my mpc era at&sf blue and yellow bay window caboose with that,

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Thanks for watching the video and making a great comment. I just looked up that caboose - very sharp!

[@agenttexx]

I want the Union Pacific diesel since I run mostly SP.

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Good choice, I prefer the painted trucks & fuel tank on the UP version.

[@Eyrrll]

I got a couple of the later beta models and you might be surprised how many cars cars this bargain loco will pull.

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

That's excellent. I was late to the beta party 😪 But I'm really happy with how this one runs.

[@railchief74]

I couldn’t help by notice that the sounds are not up to date with the previous beta models. I also would have preferred the set to feature the dummy unit instead of the caboose that the set comes with. Really good review tho Jeremy.

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Wow, I didn't know that about the sound set! Thanks for watching the video & commenting.

[@railchief74]

@@TooManyHobbiesJeremy don’t mention it Jeremy! Keep up the good work 🚂👍🏻

[@casstelles]

The set looks good, but I'm not a huge fan of the caboose. My issue is with the paint scheme (Warbonnet) and the alternating blinking lights on the caboose. I would have rather seen the caboose in a typical Santa Fe Red paint scheme, and a single blinking light near the usual location for these lights (under the roof walk). I guess one could just simply swap the caboose for another, but I was expecting something more prototypical.

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Excellent point on the caboose. Thanks for watching the video & commenting.

[@billreimer1214]

A drawback are the plastic gears. Limits life. For $250 they could have included an additional box car.

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

I agree on the plastic gears are a weakness compared to the competition.

[@josephkearney9319]

Menard's puts out decent, economical stuff

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Thanks for the great comment. I was very impressed at how smooth this loco is and how nice the caboose is.

[@RABSTRAINS]

Not Bad! Perfect starter set! Also nice to grab a lower cost Santa Fe Engine.

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Thanks for the great comment.

[@atsfwolf2583]

You think with the price of the set they would include 2 more rolling stocks with the set or just one rolling stock with caboose

[@hotrodtiki200]

I’m confused as to why this is a great price. The Lionel set is $379, but you get more cars and better track. This should be like $150

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

This is a great discussion point. My counter point is Menards offers a lower price into the world of O gauge. I could clearly see the performance issues in my first Kline starter set after a few months. I got it because it was a cheap entry into this hobby. But it helped me understand the value of other brands. But when I bought that set, I couldn't afford anything else. I could have waited a year or more to buy into Lionel but I'm guessing other interests would have taken that money. Lionel certainly does offer more value but at a higher entry point.

[@zendoargos4988]

I wish Menards would put out a version of their locomotives that doesn't ahve the bells and whistles. I'm an old school conventional transformer operator. I have zero interest in the hand held remotes, phone apps, sound systems, and all that. I simply want a cool looking train that I can turn on and enjoy. It seems as if you have to use the remote to operate the Menards locomotives and can't simply put them on the track in a conventional layout and run them. That is a major flaw in my opinion. I understand that the hand held control systems are the way the hobby is going right now, but Menards isn't making the $1,000 locomotives that some companies are they're making entry level products. As an entry level locomotive, it should (in my opinion) at the very least have a feature where you can turn off the remote and run it through conventional controls and everything that I've seen and heard says that is not the case. Someone like me, who enjoys Menards rolling stock, has zero interest in their locomotives because of how they require the remote to operate them. It's a shame really. I assume they evaluated the market and said that people like me were a small minority that they didn't need and chose to go with the remote as the only option. Great video.

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Thanks for the well written comment. You make a good point about conventional control. In theory it might be possible to purchase a control board to allow engines like the Menards diesel to run conventional. I haven't researched it but I'm guessing someone makes something like this.

[@loco4locos142]

How much track do you think that little transformer would power? I am looking to get one of these sets and add some track. Nothing crazy, maybe make the oval a bit larger.

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Have I got the video for you! Specifically on this transformer kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6KYqYGnmduHmc0

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

To answer you more directly- this transformer will handle what you have in mind. BUT - here's another way to look at the problem. A transformer can handle any length of track. It's not the track that puts a load on it. It's the engine/engines and and lighted cars. If you have a large loop of track and your engine slows down at the furthest point away from the transformer- the solution is to add a pair of feeder wires from your terminal track to that furthest point. Why? Because each joint in the track causes a tiny bit of loss due to poor connections.

[@loco4locos142]

@@TooManyHobbiesJeremy Amazing and thorough answer, thank you very much, that makes a lot of sense.

[@jodysmith8048]

I can understand why Menards forced to leave the chrome but the chrome doesn't bother me but as the old saying goes shiny things attract kids but while the overwhelming majority said they didn't like the chrome on these locomotive one would have thought that Menards would have listened to everyone and would have gotten rid of it and just painted the side frames black and considering the hard time Manards had with getting a final production release that we have now of this locomotive I've heard people ask will Menards ever do a steam locomotive next and my answer is I don't think Menards would be able to do a steam locomotive at a price that everyone would be comfortable with spending because when you think how much Lionel is charging for a separate sale Lionchief steam locomotive

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

I hear you. Now here's the interesting thing - the sister to this set is decorated in Union Pacific yellow with grey painted trucks and fuel tank. It will be interesting to see which is more popular. Steam engine? Considering the effort they went to with this locomotive I think it is a possibility. I would prefer another diesel myself - something in the GP series that they could possibly use the same trucks. Thanks for watching the video and making a great comment.

[@raymondleggs5508]

Maybe something simple like an 0-4-0, you can't do much wrong with an 0-4-0

[@thetwogardens6048]

Can you get more track for these sets ?

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

What a great question. Yes! Menards offers a nice selection of tubular track pieces. There are other options too- used (O gauge) Lionel, MTH, or Kline tubular track will work with Menards track (as it is the same). Or you could switch track types and use Lionel Fastrack (they also sell adapter tracks to connect to tubular track). Other brands of 3 rail track are also available- Atlas & MTH. With more track a larger power supply will be helpful. Again a multitude of options are available.

[@lb7_duramax]

Don’t know if I’m too late but you should never add or remove engines/cars while the track has power

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

A good tip Thanks for the comment

[@doubleutubefan5]

is there anyway to modify this train to run on legacy or a phone app of some kind?

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Now you asked if there is "any way" to modify this train. The only way I see would be similar to modifying a Lioncheif engine - remove all existing circuitry & replace it with a Lionel circuit board that has those features you want. Not an easy job. Now just like a Lioncheif engine that has a remote- you can run this on any 3 rail O-gauge track. Place the engine on the track, bring up the voltage to around 18 volts and operate the train using the remote control.

[@raymondleggs5508]

only one rolling stock 😆😆

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Excellent point 😁

[@daveallen9893]

Can you run this with Lionel fast track

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Yes you can ❤

[@daveallen9893]

@@TooManyHobbiesJeremy thank you sir

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Keep an eye on the channel - I will be setting up my seasonal winter layout soon and will be making videos with this engine and many others. Plus there will be some livestreams too

[@josephkearney9319]

You're a Pittsburgh guy?

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Thanks for the comment, I don't understand the reference.

[@josephkearney9319]

@TooManyHobbiesJeremy are you from Pittsburgh? I saw what looked like, a Pittsburgh Pirate pillow in the video.

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Haha, nope. I'm only a fair weather sports fan if the local teams are doing good. I'm from Wisconsin.

[@JP4drumsFarrell]

The WORSE customer service. They sent us a Diner that was new and damaged. Returned and received the same model Diner and that was damaged. The third time returned and the third time received the same model Diner again damaged. After multiple emails to Menards requesting a refund, we have received zero responses. We are out 100 bucks plus and stuck with an unattractive item. Bad company bad news. Check the tons of bad reviews on this business before purchasing. We wish we had!

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Thanks for sharing your story. It really sucks that they wouldn't refund your money.

[@richardnelson-ux1zz]

Remember Lionel is usually over priced for what you get Lionelsquality has dropped in recent years especially that the locomotives are made in China and the rolling stock is made in Taiwan well what else is new almost everything is made in China and Taiwan not so much Japan mostly China

[@jamesmorgangunsandtrains7132]

That horn is terrible. The chrome I can take or leave . The price really isn’t that great considering how cheap the track is anyway, but it’s nice to see some competition for Lionel because their prices are ridiculous……

[@TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

thanks for watching the video and leaving a comment. Agreed on the horn! The engine sound could use some work too