ekimai

I see. I've never seen any 12 volt trains or track in the flesh, but I was aware of the third rail from the pictures. Could you have used this motor as a "drop in" replacement to convert the Santa Fe to 12v?

Erm, what about the similar sized 12 volt motor: http://www.peeron.com/inv/parts/x457c

This is all just speculation. Most of the pictures seem to stem from a scan of a Dutch trade catalogue, and would be a very elaborate hoax if that's what it is. Personally speaking, I would welcome a small footprint AAA battery box aimed directly at train builders. I would be able to provide my own rechargeable batteries, and the unit cost would be so much lower I'd be able to purchase several of them.

Even though it says "battery box" rather than "rechargeable battery"? If the prices are correct, then this is the only possibility.

Hi All - Thought I ought to register to comment on this! On both the new train box images is quite clearly the classic "batteries not included" logo, (right next to the hand that's holding the remote). 6 X AAA batteries would give similar performance to the 8878 battery if you used ~900mAh rechargeables. Ekimai