Can anyone give me some input on this K-Line engine K-3470-1295cc. Thinking about buying one.
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Well, the cruise module in these is somewhat suspect, I have two of them. One is already converted to ERR Cruise, and the other one now needs it. The sticking point is no chuff switch, so you have to provide that as well.
The description is rather odd. This is a model of a Boston & Albany D1a suburban passenger locomotive.
https://sites.google.com/site/...8-4/4-4-0/4-6-0/tank
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Thanx for the info.
I’ve had two of these cross my workbench in the last three months , they both had the same issue. The main cruise module like Gunrunner John said above was blown out, what’s worse is the parts are no longer available. It’s a shame because it’s a beautiful model.
Alex
That's unfortunate as I have been eyeing these for a while as well. Is it possible Lionel has the tooling for these and we will see them in Legacy sometime?
Anything's possible Randy, but as for if it will ever happen, only Lionel knows for sure. 
Its a cool engine. Mine still works but if it dies its repairable. Just not as easy as some. Replace the K-Line Cruise board with a Cruise M and and add a chuff switch.
Buy it right and have it upgraded. Cost will still likely be half of a legacy version.
Pete
If the Legacy version every happens. The one I have with the flaky K-Line cruise is going to get the full treatment, it will be "almost" like a Legacy engine. 
Norton posted:Its a cool engine. Mine still works but if it dies its repairable. Just not as easy as some. Replace the K-Line Cruise board with a Cruise M and and add a chuff switch.
Buy it right and have it upgraded. Cost will still likely be half of a legacy version.
Pete
Hi Pete,
Cruise M is great , But i don't like putting an old fashion reed switch with magnets on the wheels. Or do you mean use a cherry switch ?
Alex
Alex. I was just using the term generically. I suspect most would pick John's chuff generator as the easiest to implement. Myself, it would depend on whats available. In the past I have made custom axle cams for cherry switches or used optical devices on a driver. Reed switches and magnets are pretty much a last resort. I know its pretty well packed in there so choices are limited. I will cross that bridge when I come to it.
Pete
Randy_B posted:That's unfortunate as I have been eyeing these for a while as well. Is it possible Lionel has the tooling for these and we will see them in Legacy sometime?
Although Lionel licensed use of some of K-Line's scale tooling (A5, Pacific, Mikado, Berkshire), to the best of my knowledge Lionel does NOT currently have the 4-6-6T tooling nor the K-Line scale Hudson tooling from which the suburban tank tooling was based. The sub-tank and hudson tooling remain in control of the company or principal (Sanda-Kan/Kader?) that retook K-Line's tooling when K-Line was liquidated. That said, the tooling is likely available to any company that is willing to pay the asking price to either use/license or buy it outright. I agree that the K-Line 4-6-6T (and its Hudson) would be great w/ Lionel Legacy but after all this time I think that Kader might be holding it back in case it ever wants to introduce a detailed scale steam engine to it's Williams by Bachmann line. It's obviously much more expensive to employ that detailed tooling with quality results in today's manufacturing market.
gunrunnerjohn posted:If the Legacy version every happens.
So when will you release a quillable whistle board?
Jim Harrington posted:gunrunnerjohn posted:If the Legacy version every happens.
So when will you release a quillable whistle board?
That would be... never. That's the "almost". 
Love these. Very good models. An example of why K-Line was such a loss when it went belly-up. Mine "runs" fine; I put "runs" in quotes because I haven't run it in years. It's on the keep-it short list. It really deserves a presentable (as in tucked away as much as possible) O-gauge front coupler - a dummy would be fine - as the real one spent half its time running cab-forward. One day I'll do that myself.
"Does it run?"
"It ran when I parked it."
Oh, boy.
If the "cruise" goes out, will it still run with throttle modulation?
Depends on how it goes Jim. On some K-Line cruise modules, the cruise module literally goes up in smoke, those don't run at all. Others just have jerky performance, and some simply run away. They don't all fail in the same way.
Could someone tell me what the length of this engine is?
I still have one decorated for GTW. Ran well the last time I ran it.
Rod
What is the length of the engine?
Sorry I can't help with the length. I am not at home.
it will negotiate 031 if that helps.
Rod
paliden45 posted:What is the length of the engine?
Approximately 15-1/4 inches over ends of couplers.
MELGAR
Thank you MELGAR.
I have the reading version, and I had Engine House Hobbies replace the electronics with Proto2. It runs well and is a very nice engine.
Not a bad idea, and I'll bet I could do that.
The K-Line B&A tank engines were very nice well detailed models. I seriously considered buying one but they never produced the passenger cars that went with them so I passed on it.
My tank engine came in the mail today.
It runs great and smokes like crazy. It's a nice addition to my new layout which is still under construction.
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Jim S posted:The K-Line B&A tank engines were very nice well detailed models. I seriously considered buying one but they never produced the passenger cars that went with them so I passed on it.
The B&A ran them tender first in passenger service correct?
winrose46 posted:I have the reading version, and I had Engine House Hobbies replace the electronics with Proto2. It runs well and is a very nice engine.
That was a good move. Any of these I see for see for sale … I run, not walk away. When the cruise burns out it usually takes the motor driver board with it and other resistors.
Hmm, now this is a very interesting engine I somehow wasn't aware of before.
Anyone have one with blown electronics they want to part with? Could be my next DCC conversion...
Jim S posted:The K-Line B&A tank engines were very nice well detailed models. I seriously considered buying one but they never produced the passenger cars that went with them so I passed on it.
Bingo, everyone missed out on a money maker on that one. Lots of engines out there with nothing for them to pull
It is a unique locomotive and model that I doubt will be produced again. K-Line made a B&A wood caboose which looks acceptable with the B&A engine.
MELGAR
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superwarp1 posted:Jim S posted:The K-Line B&A tank engines were very nice well detailed models. I seriously considered buying one but they never produced the passenger cars that went with them so I passed on it.
Bingo, everyone missed out on a money maker on that one. Lots of engines out there with nothing for them to pull
I thought someone mentioned (and I tend to agree) that a set of heavyweight Pullman green cars would fit in with the B&A 4-6-6T.
Some interesting info on the B&A versions at these websites.
Trainlover9943 posted:Jim S posted:The K-Line B&A tank engines were very nice well detailed models. I seriously considered buying one but they never produced the passenger cars that went with them so I passed on it.
The B&A ran them tender first in passenger service correct?
Yes they were run tender first for return trips of the commuter trains they were designed to operate with. This eliminated having to uncouple them from the train and have them turned on a turntable in order to take a train back from where it came from. In my opinion their resemblance to the NYC Hudsons is refreshing.
I missed getting one of these years ago, but may have the opportunity to pick one of these up and would like to assess the risk...
How prevalent is the K-Line cruse failure in these?
Realizing that the repair gurus here generally see them when they fail - do you think it is a majority of them?
Thanks,
Jim
Well, I bought one at York, brand new in the box. The cruise is flaky already! I'll be putting the CC-M into it, and also adding my Super-Chuffer when I get a chance. I recently sold one that I already had a CC-M in due to the cruise module failure. I also have a box full of dead K-Line cruise modules, that should tell you something.
I take it that the box full of dead K-Line cruise modules indicates they are not reparable...
What goes bad?
Sometimes they go up in smoke, other times they just stop running, and the one in my current tank engine just doesn't keep the speed control, it's erratic. I even 'scoped the flywheel sensor and that was putting out a nice waveform, so I'm just going to replace it.
Just to confirm/ question a few things should the Cruise go bad...
1. Cruise Commander M is a drop in replacement.
2. Chuff signal will need to be established. Will the Chuff Generator work in this application?
3. Can the existing smoke unit “puffing” feature be utilized, or would the Super Chuffer module be required?
Thanks
-Jim
The one I previously did was before the Super-Chuffer, it got a reed switch and magnets. The chuff is indeed generated by the cruise module. I'll put in the CC-M, the Chuff-Generator, and the Super-Chuffer to totally upgrade mine. The existing smoke feature is somewhat lame as it doesn't handle stopping with idle smoke, so I have no desire to retain it. My whole reason for designing the S-C and C-G was to solve these issues.
I picked up this shelf queen today for $275. Hardly any run time on the rollers. Really a handsome locomotive.
A couple of test laps and all seems to operate as it should. Needs to be lubed. If the K-Line Cruise goes south, I’ll upgrade.
Does anyone have a manual they can share?
Thanks
-Jim
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Jim Harrington posted:
I picked up this shelf queen today for $275. Hardly any run time on the rollers. Really a handsome locomotive.
A couple of test laps and all seems to operate as it should. Needs to be lubed. If the K-Line Cruise goes south, I’ll upgrade.
Does anyone have a manual they can share?
Thanks
-Jim
Hi Jim: Attached is a PDF of the manual for the K-Line tank engine if you haven't already found one.
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Thanks for the manual!
I have the IC one. Having to replace the chuff might not be a bad thing; there is some point when increasing the speed, the rate and volume of the chuff changes noticeably (of the original sound system).
No problems with its operation, but I have more than once had the cover on the rear drop to the floor when I flipped the engine over, probably because I was looking for a switch that was under the cover. Oddly, I cannot ever find damage to said cover afterwards.
I bought a K-Line 4-6-6T at York. The cruise can be a little bit jerky when accelerating or decelerating. I had a brainstorm last night, I remembered that the cruise had an on/off switch under the coal pile near all the other switches. Today I tried running it with the cruise switched off. The jerkiness went away. Being a flat layout guy, I am going to leave it off.
You guys might want to try that.
I'm not a flat layout kind of guy, and I really like cruise, so I have to fix stuff like that.
You can also go above and beyond like me and install Legacy, Legacy rail sounds, whistle steam, and a swinging bell to give yourself a one of a kind engine. 
sid you da man! what was the ballpark cost if you dont mine disclosing?
@Lionelzwl2012 posted:sid you da man! what was the ballpark cost if you dont mine disclosing?
You will have to pay a pretty penny for something like this. I would prefer to not do another swinging bell😅. Regardless of that this kind of upgrade will cost you around $700-800. This is not your average upgrade.
@Sid's Trains posted:
Regardless of that this kind of upgrade will cost you around $700-800. This is not your average upgrade.
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@Bruk posted:
Curiosity will bring people our way Bruk 😉. The moment that one realizes there is crimp connectors involved is when reality hits them in the face.
@Sid's Trains posted:Curiosity will bring people our way Bruk 😉. The moment that one realizes there is crimp connectors involved is when reality hits them in the face.
NO! wire to board soldering or splicing here. I consider that sloppy workman ship. (unless its truly necessary for the application.)
Crimp crimp, cha cha cha.
Thanks sid I figured it was not cheeap. You and bruk are in a whole new class when it comes to upgrades.
@gunrunnerjohn posted:The one I previously did was before the Super-Chuffer, it got a reed switch and magnets. The chuff is indeed generated by the cruise module. I'll put in the CC-M, the Chuff-Generator, and the Super-Chuffer to totally upgrade mine. The existing smoke feature is somewhat lame as it doesn't handle stopping with idle smoke, so I have no desire to retain it. My whole reason for designing the S-C and C-G was to solve these issues.
I know this is an older thread, but I think about this engine every year or two. Instead of just replacing the cruise with the CCM, do you think there’s room inside to keep just the existing railsounds and replace the rest with a full cruise commander? I have some extra boards looking for homes…
@christie posted:I know this is an older thread, but I think about this engine every year or two. Instead of just replacing the cruise with the CCM, do you think there’s room inside to keep just the existing railsounds and replace the rest with a full cruise commander? I have some extra boards looking for homes…
You get the same performance from the CC-M, and it would be a ton easier to just swap those boards than to rewire for the CC.
