I doubt the numbers on the throttle are very accurate as far as scale speed goes...that depends a lot on the engine itself and how it responds to the power you give it. Some engines will start to creep at just 1 or 2 scale mph, where others won't move until a higher amount of power is applied, and therefore they take off much faster when they do go. Actually, since the numbers on the control run from 0 to 100 (full), I'm guessing they're more likely to be something of a percentage than a speed. That being said, you do have a lot more control than before, which ought to make running trains a much more enjoyable experience.