K-Line Plymouth Switcher opinions wanted

They run well and smoke like an MTH engine. A friend put TMCC in it but I think it was a challange. Not room for TMCC and sound though. The close spacing of the rollers can cause it to stall on some turnouts. I solved that on mine by tethering it to a transfer caboose which had rollers on each truck. Now it runs anywhere without stalling. Someday I will put TMCC in mine.

Pete

I love mine!  Straight out of the box, no upgrades...

Runs good, smokes good, and all the marker lights in additional to the directional headlights look cool. The whole hood is stuffed with the smoke unit, so you'd definitely have a challenge to add TMCC, but I'm pretty sure it has been done.  It might be a little big for true scale, but I can't quite remember.  It's all die cast though, so it does have some weight.

I really enjoyed this loco until it met an untimely demise.  It began to run slower and slower.  Someone advised lube which I did and it seemed to improve performance until there was a spark, a puff of smoke and the little engine could not.  Now it just sits, lights come on, smoke unit still works, no motion.  If you can get one do so.  Mine might have been over taxed since it ran all the time the layout was operating on an isolated segment.  

These are great little locomotives.  The G&O runs them for hours on end during train shows on our children's layout.  So far they have been reliable.  I run one around my Christmas tree.

NH Joe

I bought one in a set and it runs very well. Even works on Super Streets by K-Line.

Others said they have added command control to one but I don't see how as there is very little extra room inside the shell for engine.

Lee Fritz

I have one and really like it.  Smooth runner and definitely out-pulls what it should for it's small size.  I don't normally use the smoke but it is very impressive when you do use it.

I have one, but don't run it frequently. In addition to what everyone else has said, the Plymouth, while not the engine you want to run on a 50-car freight, can pull a string of 12 or so die-cast and plastic hoppers on level track. 

I have always liked these, but don't have one. If Lionel or MTH would make a new one with command control, I would sure be getting one or maybe even two. May be more feasible now that they are doing 44 tonners, and S gauge, I believe with smaller electronics.

The board in the Lionel Trackmobile fits. Thats what I plan to put in mine.

Pete

I put a ERR mini commander 2 in mine.  Wasn't too bad.  Had to remove some of the cab detail and cut away the Engineer figure a bit.  End result.  It works great with the Mini 2.  I was even able to wire a diode to the motor and get reverse lights to work.  

Used mine to push cars and dummy engines around the yard. Don

Oooooh, an orange one would be even better! (I like BNSF, but anything orange has to be good and Milwaukee Road came here too. )

I have a few (none modified) and concur with the praises above.  While not an engine feature, I find the sets with ore cars (with Kadee style couplers) to be interesting in that the coupler slack is noticeable when the train starts or slows too quickly.  It could be annoying too, I guess, but I like it for these little sets.

There was a person who set up a lash up of these at the NJ Highrailers a couple years ago and probably pulled 30 or so of the little ore cars with the lash up (I think it was 3 or 4 engines, but I forget without checking my pictures).  It may have been forum member RailRide, but I may be mistaken.  (it was pretty cool to see that as a contrast to all the huge engines also running on the layout)

-Dave

I have one I'm going to put TMCC in.  The weak spot is the motor, it's the same motor as is in the Porter, one with a double worm gear for all four wheels.  I keep a spare on hand.

Just love the way they look.

SantaFe158 posted:

Runs good, smokes good, and all the marker lights in additional to the directional headlights look cool. The whole hood is stuffed with the smoke unit, so you'd definitely have a challenge to add TMCC, but I'm pretty sure it has been done.  It might be a little big for true scale, but I can't quite remember.  It's all die cast though, so it does have some weight.

Big? Not sure where you got that notion. It's an accurate model of one of Plymouth's smallest switchers. Here's a picture of it next to an Atlas (2-rail O) Plymouth industrial switcher and another next to an MTH C-16 Docksider, both accurately scaled. 

I got my little Plymouth switcher for a hundred bucks years ago. I love its marker lights - green coming at you, red at the sides, a nice little smoking unit, but most of all its scale speeds. None of my Lionels work as well at slow speed (I'm conventional with a couple of modern-electronic engines). The only thing I didn't at first love was its lack of pulling power, but it soon pepped up, and anyway, it's supposed to be a small dockside loco, not pulling/pushing dozens of cars. Also, it comes with a scale coupler and an O gauge coupler for the front, depending on the look/functioning you need. It's a beauty.