Norton posted:K-Line did a semi scale 2-8-2 that is pretty close. I think its the basis for the Lionel Lion Chief Mikado. It came with TMCC and without. The one without TMCC can be had well within your price range. They are well built and run smooth. Here is one example.
Pete
Sharp! - Thanks for that suggestion. And you're right about the price on used non-CC engines. Only issue is the tender. Both the body and trucks are very different, but I did some digging thinking other roads might come with different tenders - sure enough their NYC K3670-1849W (with basic Signal Sounds) is perfect! It really is a superb match for the Annie's mikes in the photos - I'd need minimal work on details. So I am now in the hunt for one of those which I believe were released early 2000's. I also ran across your thread from a couple years ago showing some detail upgrades you made to your engines - nice work!
Anyways, this does get me wondering about control systems. I would be running this engine conventionally so this version (not the CC version which unfortunately is all I see on ebay right now), would still have a simple bell and whistle which is great. But what transformer would I need to activate those? I currently use one of the basic MTH (I think a Z500 or similar) - would that work?
