Getting longer life out of remote control train battery

[Timotheos]

Hi I have RC Old Timer Train (set 4017 / 4019 / 4021).

If I leave the locomotive's battery case in overnight, the battery is dead the next morning.

But, if I remove the battery case after I'm finished running the train, the battery stays good for years (two years going, now).

I can leave the batteries in the remote control without a problem.  Leave the battery in the locomotive, though, and dead the next morning.

-Tim

[Knight Train]

That's because the battery is powering the RC receiver all the time it's in the train waiting for the contoller to be turned on and send it a command.  That's why the instructions say to remove the battery when you're done with the train.  It's too bad Playmobil didn't put a simple on-off switch on the train like they did on the remote control unit (which is why the remote control battery doesn't have a problem).

[Timotheos]

That's because the battery is powering the RC receiver all the time it's in the train waiting for the contoller to be turned on and send it a command.  That's why the instructions say to remove the battery when you're done with the train.  It's too bad Playmobil didn't put a simple on-off switch on the train like they did on the remote control unit (which is why the remote control battery doesn't have a problem).

Thanks Knight Train.  I didn't read the instructions.