I have the TMCC version. Been on the shelf for over a decade. Wonder if it still runs? Should. I seem to recall that the auxiliary diesel sound was way too loud on the TMCC version; the loco just sounded mostly like a diesel long after it got above puttering through the yards speeds.
Anyway, one of the things I like about the Veranda model is that the real loco also has a swinging pilot, due to the dual-truck span bolsters. The Lionel pilot is pretty "gappy", though.
Model equipment swinging pilots irritate me to lesser and greater degrees, depending on how ridiculous they look, but when they are prototypical (a few locos have/had them) it takes the sting out of it.
