K-Line Plymouths - Fix or Scrap?

Personally, I would take them over to the bench, get the shell off, and see what the creamy nougat center looks like.

They may be simple can motors, which should be fairly cheap to replace.

Worst case scenario, they would make great flatcar loads.

Hey Paul. I took one apart. Lots of tight spaces. After I took it apart, I put it aside and never got the ambition to see what was wrong. I assume it is the motor but I have not tested it. I did replace a light harness on another unit and that was a simple plug in.

Good luck.

If you really want a challenge, try to get one of them running with TMCC.

Sell one of them to me so I can 2R it. Malcolm

Well you can still get parts for these through Lionel.  I have repaired a few of them in the past.  It can be done, but take lots of pictures and identify parts in batches, so that you will know what they are for and where they go; and you will end up with lots of parts taking one of these apart (especially the Porters).  Once you break it down, it's basically a simple 2 shaft motor with an electronic reverse unit and an very awkward to work around smoke unit.  There are also hidden screws that can drive you to drink (heavily).  Just remember, if it isn't coming apart easily, then you missed a screw somewhere.   Good Luck!

r0d

Tearing apart my Porter to add TMCC was an experience that I recommend as character building for anyone.

I actually looked at the Plymouth with an eye to TMCC, but I couldn't figure out where I'd put the board.  My porter is hauling a small coal tender full of electronics, job done.

Now that I've been inside the Porter, a second one would doubtless be easier.   Perhaps the Plymouth would be the same way, but after looking it over, I didn't see fitting the TMCC in, and having a diesel hauling a tender didn't seem like the way to go.

Anybody have one of these "PLYMOUTHS" they want to sell?

FREDSTRAINS

For the faint of heart. 

If they have can motors in them test each motor with a 9 volt battery, if it spins your motor is good and your circuit board may have conked out.

Like Dale mentions, replace the circuit board with a 6 amp 50 volt bridge rectifier, the two ~ go to power from the track and plus + and minus - go to the motor. At least that is how most bridge rectifiers that I have seen get wired. You will lose direction control with a bridge rectifier, one way only, if it goes the wrong way rewire the plus and minus wires to the motor.

Lee Fritz

I've had mine apart to add tethers for MU operation. From what I recall, there are four screws holding the hood (which hooks under the cab), two more holding the cab, and four holding the truck block. There are two each per coupler and two each for the smoke and direction switches. So in all...18.

The chief headache is that all the wires inside are extremely short. I didn't have mine apart enough to notice the motor on the smoke unit. Who would've known that little thing had a fan-driven smoke unit?

One other thing--has anyone compared the Plymouth's innards with that of the speeder (offered by RMT)? If a motor has gone bad, one of these may make a convenient drivetrain (or possibly reverse unit?) source.

---PCJ

Have a look at this: Got parts from Brassuer's. This is a W.I.P.. 

My thanks to all who replied - greatly appreciated.

Don and Rofus, they say a picture speaks a thousand words. In this case only two are needed: NO WAY

I don't have the time, patience, or expertise to delve into this rabbit hole...much less the toll it would take on my tequila stash.

I like the suggestion of perhaps a load for a flat car, heck I'd like to see if I could possibly gut one and make it a freewheeling dummy

ANybody ever convert one of these into a dummy?

Paul

I think I'm going to go the rectifier route. Are the smoke unit DC also ?

Would I just hook them directly to the rectifier ?

Thanks

  Bruce..

For the Plymouth, a 6A bridge is massive overkill!  That thing will be lucky to draw an amp under load, I'd think a 3A bridge would be plenty!

The smoke unit most likely connects to track power, so I'd leave it there.