i recently bought this 2-11554 Alaska O Scale Sd70mac 4002 Diesel Engine Locomotive Conventional per the box , super nice,,put it on the track runs great ,no horn,,humm,turned it over has k-line as the picture show,was this a k-line by lionel,i cant find it on lionels website,would i need a k-line horn button to get the horn to work,any info you can come up with would be super great,thanks
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That looks like one of the last K-Line engines that were actually made by Lionel when it took K-line over. The 2005 K-line catalog had three different SD70 diesels. K-line went out of business but Lionel made good on the orders.
@BenLMaggi posted:That looks like one of the last K-Line engines that were actually made by Lionel when it took K-line over. The 2005 K-line catalog had three different SD70 diesels. K-line went out of business but Lionel made good on the orders.
thanks,it is a stunning loco !
Nice engine! I've always thought this was cool tooling. As Ben mentions it is one of the K-line items that was delivered by Lionel after the lawsuit (others were the Operating Sawmill and Erie F-3s.)
There is a chance you have no horn variation - looks like you may have the engine that was originally cataloged as K2402-4002CV (conventional.) If your loco doesn't have smoke, it's this one.
The other versions of this loco offered included basic digital sound w/ cruise and smoke (K2402-4002HS) or full Railsounds, TMCC, cruise & smoke (K2402-4002CC.)
http://www.legacykline.com/ will have some additional details. Enjoy!
Hi, Terry......don't quote me, but looking at the photo of the bottom of your loco...it looks like there are 2 speakers visible through the slotted holes in the fuel tank. Or, maybe I just need new glasses.
@BenLMaggi posted:That looks like one of the last K-Line engines that were actually made by Lionel when it took K-line over.
Just so the common misconception does not continue to circulate, Lionel didn't "take K-Line over." Lionel only obtained the rights to build certain K-Line items for a set amount of time. There was no corporate acquisition.
@RadioRon posted:Just so the common misconception does not continue to circulate, Lionel didn't "take K-Line over." Lionel only obtained the rights to build certain K-Line items for a set amount of time. There was no corporate acquisition.
Yep. And to further explain what happened, K-Line, as part of its bankruptcy settlement, turned over all of its tooling to Sanda Kan, the factory that produced K-Line’s trains (and, at that time, dozens of other manufacturers as well). Sanda Kan made the deal with Lionel.
However, Sanda Kan was in financial trouble as well and shortly thereafter was acquired by Kader Holdings, the Chinese manufacturer with a mass market inclination. Kader was also in the habit of buying model railroad manufacturing entities (Bachmann Bros. in the mid-1980s, Graham Farish in the early 2000s and Williams a few years later).
Kader also has displayed another habit. After it took over the tooling of Graham Farish and Williams, it systematically idled the original tooling — sometimes producing new tooling, but ultimately becoming increasingly conservative on releasing new products under those brand names.
So much of K-Line’s product line disappeared. Lionel did acquire a couple of pieces of tooling — the K-Line A5 0-4-0 stands out — and there’s been speculation that others have tapped into that pile of tooling from time to time. But it has been a shallow draw.
Kader also discontinued manufacturing for those dozens of model railroad companies, only retaining a few, at Sanda Kan.
Only Kader can explain this odd strategy. But the company is quite inaccessible and aloof.
Just a question so Kader has all the old Marx moulds that we’re previously owned by K line? The 4-6-2’s ,0-27 box cars and cabooses were mostly old Marx molds.
Good question! At one point, I heard rumors that RMT was going to reisssue the Marx "333" steam loco. I really liked that loco. K-Line comprehensively redesigned it in the early '90s, and then made a few minor improvements circa 2001. Its one achilles heel is the lack of a flywheel, so it's not kid-friendly. It will stop abruptly if power is cut. I regard this as a serious shortcoming, which can hopefully be rectified if Kader or RMT does reissue it.
The re issue of the Marx 333 would be welcomed . In addition I believe there is a Market for the 1829 Hudson, and the S2 diesel. The S2 by K line was superior to the Marx. My point is I believe there is a untapped Market out there given the prices being seen on fleabay!