K-Line vs MTH Alco PA's

The K-Line Alco PA's are not quite scale length.They are a little larger than the MTH Railking Models but smaller and shorter than the full Scale Premier Models.You might want to consider a earlier MTH Premier ABA since you want smoke.I would remove the finicky PS1 boards and upgrade it with one of ERR's Railsound solutions since you want it "sans TMCC/DCS". You can always add the ERR command board later if you desire. I too saw all those ROW/Ajin Brass PA's on "Everybody's favorite online auction site".

I would have sent you an E-mail instead of posting here, however, you don't have an E-mail address in your profile.

 

If you're interested, I have a set of MTH PRR Premier ALCO PA's (ABA) for sale on the Buy/Sell Board. They are going for a steep discount since, thought they run like new and have seen very little use, their shells have some slight cosmetic defects.

 

Since you're going to be replacing the shells regardless, I thought that you might be interested in the set. You can see the set by clicking here.

 

If you're interested, please send me an E-mail using the address in my profile.

 

Thanks!

Thanks for setting me straight regarding the K-Line units being oversized. This photo shows that the ROWI and MTH PA's share the same wheelbase, so MTH is the obvious choice. I don't mind having DCS onboard, but I don't plan to use it, hence my desire for the trailing A-unit to be a slave. My ROWI PA's are D&H, which have number boards above the windshields, bright silver paint (on the trucks, pilot, fuel tanks, and ladders), and mars lights in addition to headlights, so I think that narrows my options to D&H, Santa Fe, and possibly Rio Grande for donor chassis. (Your offer is appreciated, Mr. Broskowitz.)

Why would you want ROW brass shells.  First off, they do not bolt on.  Second, the factory paint is nothing to crow about.  Lastly, brass is not a precious metal like gold.  The K-Line PA is larger than RK but not scale.

 

If you have never run a ROW PA, guess what, they are not good running locomotives and do not sound good.  I am always negative but hopefully you will give this some reconsideration. 

BTW, I know the set Barry has for sale and you would be very happy if you contact him.

True, my ROWI shells are not OMI or Key, and the paint may not be spot on. The ROWI sound is antiquated and glitchy and these things run as slow as molasses in Saranac Lake. But, they are relatively cheap and, more importantly, they are not made of plastic. The ROWI shells should be a good fit on a MTH PS2 Premier (not Rail King) chassis (obviously not bolt-on) and a double headed AA team should pull my Weaver D&H Pullmans nicely (yes, I know the Weaver set could be more prototypical.) The Pennsylvania PA's don't have a Mars light (or roof mounted number board) and the trucks/fuel tank/pilot are not painted silver, so I'll look for a D&H/ATSF/Rio Grande set instead. An ATSF set would be poetic because the D&H prototypes were former ATSF (it's probably also impossible to find a D&H set.) If someone had made diecast PA's in a D&H livery, and was as good as my Lionel Veranda, I would have bought it long ago, but our only choices are Key and OMI vs. ROWI vs. something plastic. I'll combine ROWI with the best parts of MTH and be happy with it. The MTH units are especially attractive because they do not require a command lashup (don't get me started) to double head. I know that the ROWI and MTH Premier wheelbases are a match and the rumored mismatch with the K-Line PA's reinforces my choice (also K-Line PA's are hard to find and went out of production 12 years ago.) When this all works out perfectly, I'll introduce the world to my new frankentrain via grainy video.

Postscript: The K-Line PA's I was considering are the Full O-scale PA's, not the O-27 units. K-Line made the Full O-scale PA's for the Santa Fe (K-29301), PRR (K-29802), and Rio Grande (K-29212). These had TMCC, but the second A-unit was a slave, so there was no need to use a TMCC remote to double head. These AA and ABA teams may be as strong as the K-Line Big Boy.

You and I are kindred spirits.  The MTH is dead- on accurate, except for anti-climber, and if they made them in die cast I would be all over them.  As it is, I converted three MTH shells to metal - two silicon bronze and one nickel silver.  A fun project.

 

Barry's seem right now to be true bargains!  I paid MTH $70 just for a shell, unpainted.

 

I have always wondered if ROW units were scale size.

Ahem Chainsawcharlie, k line never made full O scale pa-1. Their length is too short( made for 031 curves). That is why you made the comment on the post above where the trucks do not meet the mth and/or rowi shells. Only Lionel, rowi, mth have made scale pa-1. Williams almost had it if it wasn't for fitting emd f7 portholes on their mold.

And I don't know what mth did with their premier molds but for the Prr, the ps2 pa's are incorrect. The dlge 5 stripe versions should have the OEM marker small number boards. Instead the mold is a pa-2 with incorrect large number boards.