Wow, this thread has taken off!!
I fed the word 'floating' in my initial comments a few pages back, to ensure those who do understand could - as stated above that there's minimal weight on the non-powered axle, effectively meaning the stability is there, but also there's a higher axle load on those which are powered than if she were all wheel drive, so traction should be excellent, which it is.
Look, each to their own. If the thought of axles powered in 1:1 are not powered disturbs, then so be it - their money, their model. For me, I like looking at models close up, but will probably never see that the centres are not powered. The model is absolutely superb. Fit, finish, detail, paint joins are fantastic and finish even more so.
My 56 is a keeper for me and I'm looking forwards to the 60 coming out.
Al.