Comments/opinions of K-Line passenger cars vs recent MTH Premiere

Well, good luck if you try to find the best K-Line UP cars as they do not come up often and command high prices. I once went in search of the 21" versions and decided that a full set was well beyond my reach.

MTH premium UP cars are nicely finished, I have a number and have never regretted getting them. But I run them with some Lionel aluminum cars that I think are better quality.

  K-Line aluminum cars look far better than the MTH. I have both. But for the price and the chance to add more cars I prefer the MTH. They look great behind a Lionel 844.

  I just wish MTH would make a bag of 200 pre painted people to put in the older cars. I'm tired of painting and chopping off these little peoples legs just to get them to fit.

I agree withe the above.  There's just something about those K-Line cars; they are somehow "classy".  I have plenty of the MTH cars and they are nice, but I would trade most of them for K-Lines.   

Same here. The MTH cars are all a little bit too alike. 

Sam,

There is an Union Pacific DAP set of ten18 inch passenger cars from MTH from about three years ago that are really nice. I bought them to run behind the 844 and the Challenger and they look great with both. I also run them behind my UP scale Alcos from the Lionel Anniversary set and my UP F3s.

The K-Line 21" UP passenger cars are extremely nice, but hard to find and are very pricy. Recently I saw a set of 18" K-Line UP cars on the big auction board. The size would be comparable to the MTH cars and would be I think of better quality.

Search K-Line passenger cars.

All the MTH cars are generic with different paint schemes. They do look great though. 

Speaking  of the 21" K-Line passenger cars, they are beautiful but beyond my price range.

As Brian said check out the 18" cars, they can be pricey also but they look great also.

I've got both - given away some of the K-line though.  They are good, yes, but the recent MTh Premier cars are outstanding.  I'm a big fan of those.  

Kanawaha has a set of the K-Line 21" Aluminum cars and they are absolutely beautiful. The only nicer cars I have seen lately are the new Atlas Zephyr cars. 

Gilly

I'd go with the K-Line if you can find them. The MTH cars drive me nuts with the way the windows sit so far back from the shell. Recently, MTH have gone with painting the gap black which does help reduce the viewers perception of the gap. However, it still looks cheap in my opinion.

Since MTH have upgraded the Genesis locos to have a more flush mounted style window I was hopeful they would do the same on the passenger cars. At the end of the day it isn't all that bad since these are simply toys for our enjoyment!!

Sam, I am with Lee here. If you are looking at smooth side painted cars the MTH cars are much nicer than the K-Lines. Much better underbody detail, better end detail with buffer plates on the diaphrams and anti rattle bars. Both have sprung trucks. I am talking about recent issue, not the older cars.

Where K-Line would be nicer is aluminum cars. K-Line, real aluminum vs paint on the MTH cars.

Pete

I was thinking about this just recently and as I have examples of the DAP and Lionel UP cars on hand below is a pair of photos of them. Lionel is above and DAP below.

Major differences to me are four: (1) Lionel is aluminum, DAP is ABS; (2) roof finishes and details are quite different on the two - in the photo the Lionel vista dome looks bolted on but I don't notice that on the track where the real contrast is the much shinier finish on the DAP; (3) windows and (4) interiors. I don't mind that the Lionel windows are not flush-fitting or recessed because the interior detail is better.

I think the DAP passenger set came out with the DAP PS2 version of the DDA40X about 4/5 years ago. I don't have all of the cars MTH issued in that run. They are dead similar to previous and subsequent MTH 18" UP cars. 

I believe it's a matter of personal preference.

The K-Line (18" or 21") and MTH UP passenger cars are unique in thier own ways.

The ABS MTH cars have a different 'look' than any aluminum made passenger car, regardless of the manf.  They're nicely detailed.  

MTH has made a lot of these cars over the years and you can find them easily.  Nice used cars can be found in the $35-50 range with a little searching.  There was a set sold recently on the forum, 10 passenger cars and two mail cars for under $500!  What a deal!

Originally, the value of the MTH cars is what attracted me to them.  You can put together a nice long passenger train on the 'cheap'!

Here's the nice UP "Flag" baggage car (they're rapidly rising in cost, get'em while you can): 

MTH Coach/Baggage set: 

MTH RPO Car:

One last comment on the MTH cars:  The DAP UP passenger set did match the DAP PS2 version of the DDA40X about 4/5 years ago.  If I recall, there were 10 or 12 cars.  Can't find the flyer right now.

The K-Line cars have the 'natural' sheen of painted metal.  They have that 'heavy' look to them.  Considering when they were made, they're nicely detailed, though not as much as the generic MTH.

K-Line UP passenger cars are hard to find, especially 21" cars.  IF you find a them, you're going to pay a premium for each car.  Based on condition, $100-$375 per car, depending on which car it is.  Most avg $150 per car.

They're stunning though: 

Above is the rare, hard to find, flat end observation car.

Here's the list of the K-Line 21" cars:

K-Line 18" UP cars are easier to find, cost less, and honestly, look better on most layouts.  I picked a few up to add to my 18" passenger trains.

The Lionel 18" aluminum UP cars are very nice.  You may want to consider them also.

I have the Lionel and MTH Passenger Cars,MTH are shorter than Lionel 18 inch cars and are the same shell regardless of road name,Lionel sit high on the trucks and have a 3/4 inch gap between the diaphragms, I went to Kadee couplers to close the gap on the diaphragms and like them better now.I have no experience with the K Line cars.

The Lionel 18" aluminum UP cars are very nice.  You may want to consider them also.

 

 

 I presume these cars come with stepladders so that passengers can board? I dolike the easy-push-out windows, though. Must be an unrealized safety feature for our miniature passengers.

Not a fan of 18-inch cars. That's what I bought early on and eventually realized that they just didn't look right, especially when pulled by 4-8-4 steam or E-class diesels. Bought a few K-Line 2-inch cars that looked much better, even if more awkward on curves. But, then, so do 18-inch cars on O-72 curves.

My recent passenger car purchases are the beautiful GGD versions. Yes, I know GGD hasn't done UP consists; so write them and ask.

Lastly, $150 per aluminum car is a bunch, but that's what you'll pay for the good stuff. Sorry.

Comparing K-Line to MTH and LNL may be fair but you really cannot compare the K-Lines to the GGDs. I think that the GGDs are in their own class.

The K-lines have applied plastic vents and other openings attached to the aluminum that are embedded in the LNL and MTH (MTH using plastic bodies not Aluminum); whereas the K-line and MTH windows are more nicely recessed then the LNLs.

So there are choices to make depending on the look you are comfortable with running.

GGD cars have been evolving. They seem to have it all together with their newest releases but they have made many missteps along the way. I am thinking of the poor attempt at stainless steel with the Empire State Express cars and cheap looking trucks on their streamliners.

GGD Truck:

Lionel Truck:

Pete

It's hard to beat the value of the MTH 18" cars, frequently I've purchased them in like new condition for less than $25 a car.  I feel very fortunate to buy any of the other brands for anywhere near that price.

The GGD cars are a bit rich for my budget, but they are very nice cars.

I have one set of K-Line aluminum cars, and they're certainly as nice as most of the MTH or Lionel cars.  I miss K-Line.

For Milwaukee Road, there's really no comparison. MTH does make a Skytop observation car, but all the other cars are generic, while the K-Line Milwaukee Road cars have the correct rounded windows and/or portholes where they should be. This is true across the board; K-Line also made Milwaukee Road cars in 18" and 15" lengths, with a scale cross-section and proper windows. K-Line's Skytop is also quite a bit better looking than the MTH one. If the MTH cars have better undercarriage detail, that's nice, but I'll take a car that looks right sitting on the tracks over one that has more detail on the bottom. 

Something else to consider. How important is having cars that match the prototype. The UP's City of Los Angeles was made up of Pullman and ACF cars. In three rail who besides 3rd Rail and MTH has made ACF cars?

Pete

I appreciate all the helpful comments fellas - Thanks.

The K-Line cars I saw are the 18" models which is fine with me. My UP PA's are just the AA pair so the shorter cars should look fine.  We have four or five K-Line observation cars and I like the overall appearance but money is a big constraint now so I have to be as frugal as possible.

We have two sets of MTH cars - one is a very early set of ribbed cars with the shorter trucks and the other is a nice set of smooth-sided Santa Fe's with the scale trucks and passengers.

Regarding the UP's, the K-Line set is just 4 cars with no baggage and am wondering how a couple of MTH cars would look together with the K-Lines?

"wondering how a couple of MTH cars would look together with the K-Lines?"

Probably OK, Sam. Many of use the MTH Flag UP Baggage car with both Lionel and K-Line UP passenger cars sets.

The ultimate Union Pacific passenger cars in O Scale:

Wahsatch UP Passenger Cars

Well beyond my budget, but absolutely beautiful models.  

Most of the emphasis is on the undercarriage.  While that's mondo-cool, I'd rather have the top of the car look good.

Not to belabor the point but those high $$$$ cars are ACF. Another point for MTH.

Pete

K-Line..less expensive and good enough. No one notices much when they fly by at 70-80 MPH on the Rocket. 

Hard to go wrong with either choice.

Like I said before, it's personal choice to me.  I like each for different reasons.

On the trucks above - copies of two very different prototype trucks.  Both are startlingly accurate for folks who deal in O-27.  K- Line cars were, and are, spectacular, but their trucks were copies of a Chinese prototype, and on my models were all replaced with ancient sand castings or Wasatch.

...and they're beautiful.  I remember seeing them once.

I own the complete MTH 2009 DAP set and I've added a few more cars to the set produced around 2010 (full vista doams). The DAP set features gloss roofs with metal grab irons where as the 2010 premier cars have a flat gray roof (raw plastic?) with molded in grab irons. The 2009 DAP set also has names on all the cars where as the regular sets have names or numbers on the cars.

Had a chance to buy a K-Line 21" NYC Observation car at a show cheap. Didn't need it.....but it looked so good I had to get it. A very nice car....but to add on I'd have to pay more than I am willing.....so she may sit on a siding at the station and look pretty!!!