"I added power functions to the Holiday Train my son and I put together. I was getting very frustrated when I could not get it to work. Removing the IR receiver allowed it to work, but who wants to hit the button on the battery to stop it. It turned out to be the batteries - Duracell batteries do NOT work in the remote - the terminals are slightly shorter than those on Eveready. Lego needs to make a slight adjustment to their battery compartment so it will work with Duracells."