Lionel Century PRR S-2, MTH PS3 PRR S-2, or Williams?

 You could always add TMCC and/or sound to the engine. Might be something

to price out and consider....

Interesting!

The Williams S-2 does have a primitive sound system in it called True Blast 2, it is a series of horn blasts used for railroad crossings and also a bell when at low speed.

Williams has about three versions of the S-2; one from the early years of Williams with just a horn that goes for however long you press the whistle button, then there is the Crown Edition S-2(or later model before Bachmann), and the most current one would be made by Bachmann/Williams and have the True Blast 2 horn unit.

The Williams sound system is not like MTH PS-2 or Lionel TMCC sound systems.

Lee Fritz

I have the Lionel Legacy S-2 (6-11417).  It is the one I would recommend, assuming you have the big curves it requires.  Smooth runner, great sound.  As chipset mentioned, Williams has some good ones, but the sound is what sets the S-2 apart, worth having as nothing else sounds like it. 

I would love to buy that one, but no room for big curves Lee.

Buying and installing some of those ElectricRR products on Williams engines sounds like a rewarding endeavor.

Questions on that are probably a "Gunrunnerjohn" question?

The Legacy S-2 Turbine does have a unique sound, and it's a great running locomotive.  Harry Henning has one, and it's a brute, plenty of pulling power as well!

MTH did a very nice Imperial S2 somewhat recently, perhaps 2 or 3 years ago. It was a big one but still fit in the Railking line and looked good with both scale and non-scale pieces. 

The Williams is just a Postwar Copy, almost the same or exactly the same size as the "Bantam" Railking version. The Seuthe smoke unit is not great and is held in place by hot glue - perhaps the worst design I've seen. After one lap around the track, the glue melts from the heat. I had one...I pulled the hot glue and JB Welded the smoke unit it. No more falling out and melting glue. 

I'm not familiar with older Lionels but I would probably stay away from the recent Legacy S2 just based on the moisture issues discussed here heavily. 

Lionel made a Turbine in the mid 80's for the PRR set in the Famous American Railroad series. Fantastic runner and looks great, one of my favorites. If the Mighty Sound of Steam/conventional operation is an issue that could be a good canidate for an upgrade.

Bill

A former colleague had the scale Lionel one and it was a beautiful runner with terrific sound.  Having only been used to my father's postwar versions, it was a revelation.  If you can't fit the scale one than I would see if you would be able to find a clean postwar version.  Maybe also check out what MTH has done if you can see one run.  I like Williams diesels but I think their postwar reproduction steamers are less satisfying.

I had a Williams S-2 steam engine for a few years, had True Blast 2 sound system in it.

The smoke unit was very bad, as others have mentioned, almost no smoke output.

The pulling power was very good and the engine run well other then the smoke unit problem.

I would still have the Pennsy S-2 but I want to change over my engines to Reading Lines or Reading Company, or Philadelphia & Reading if I can find any.

Lee Fritz

My apologies gunrunnerjohn, I got you and MartyF mixed up!

I'm confused, I don't see where you mixed us up.

I think I have a pretty good handle on ERR installations, I've probably done at least 50 of them, if not more.  I've pretty much stopped counting...

If you could find a Century Club S-2 turbine, that would be good. It is the post war 027/031 size and I believe it is the first turbine that Lionel put sounds into. The only negative on this engine is that I don't believe it has magna-traction.

I had put MartyFs name in the post instead of yours.

I corrected it and removed his name and inserted your name.

I always get you MartyH, MartyF all confused as the same guy LOL!

If you opt for Williams, Boxcar Bill has all you need for a TMCC upgrade including the Cruise Lite which is small enough to fit in the same space as a Williams E unit and a fan smoke unit guaranteed to break all the pollution laws in your area.

Pete

Unless you're running fairly small consists, I'd think twice about using the Cruise Commander Lite.  While it's a great product, I had one go up in smoke when the locomotive got stuck on a switch, and it happened in seconds!  They are not nearly as tolerant to overloads as the standard Cruise Commander.  For all my Cruise Commander Lite installations, I'll now be putting a PTC in series with the motor to avoid the same scenario in the future.

What engine John. The Williams single motor should not draw over 2 1/2 amps.

Pete

I have 2 postwar Lionel, the mid-80s Lionel version, and the Century Club Lionel. All are very smooth runners and good pullers. If you can get the Century Club you will love it. it has TMCC and Railsounds that are turbine specific with a great whistle. Also, the smoke is fan driven and comes out is a steady stream, just like a real turbine.

Pete, the engine was a K-Line Interurban set, and clearly under normal conditions the two small motors would not draw anything like that.  The problem was that the locomotive got hung up on a switch and stalled, obviously the CC-Lite increased the power to the motors to get it moving until it ran out of magic smoke.  My point was, and still is, that in a stall or other overload condition, the CC-Lite appears not to have the safety margin that it's larger brother has.  I've been using the full CC for years, and I've seen many different issues, but I've never toasted the drivers in those.

Thanks Jeff

Here is a video of my CC 671 Turbine.

Another vote for the Rail King Imperial S-2. It is a really nice size, pulls well and looks terrific. I believe it will do O31 curves, but I'd check. I have the older proto 1 version, same body with proto 1 guts, decent sounds, but conventional operation. No issues with it. Smoke will drive you out of the room.

Definitely a step up from the Lionel 027 and Williams sized locomotives. It gives you the feel of a much more expensive locomotive at a fraction of the cost. If you are comfortable with proto 1 you can probably pick up an early version for a very attractive price. If you are command only, you would need to look at the Rail King Imperial version with proto 2 or 3.

Geez Marty, that looks like some really good slow movement for a Pullmor at the beginning of the video.

Also, what is that train closest to the camera, looks like NYC F3s, but they seem much larger than the other 2 trains.

MTH E8s

I also have the RailKing S2 Turbine with QSI Proto1 and really enjoy running conventional. This is very robust piece including the tender. Smoke is great too!

Thanks guys, I ended up getting the Century Club Turbine "Mint in unopened box and sealed" for $360

I am sure you will be pleased.

After watching Marty's video I am going to run mine tonight.

I have a nice set of those green postwar pullman's with NJ names on them to go with it, that "Norton" posted in a S2 Turbine thread.

https://ogrforum.com/f...mage/true/2400_3.jpg

I have the RK Imperial PS3. It's on the layout now and I really love it. Like the sound quality. Also it handles my 036 curves nicely but I had to switch to a longer draw bar which looks a little odd with the large gap between the engine and tender. I also have the baby turbine in PS2 from an RTR. Its a great runner and smoker but chuffs instead of having the turbine roar.

The only reason I did not buy that MTH RK Imperial S2, was that I had just got the money transferred to PayPal from my bank(took forever),  and then realized the dealer did not accept PayPal...would have taken even longer to transfer it back again, 

So I figured, I would buy the Lionel which i found unexpectedly at a great price from a dealer that accepted PayPal.

I will purchase the MTH version in the near future as well.

I have the MTH PS-1 equipped S-2, catalog number 30-1149-1.  It is rated at O31 curves, but I have run it through an old Marx O27 switch without issues (Haven't gotten around to trying it on my O27 loop since I put the locomotive away before I had the loop done.).  It is a large locomotive and great puller.  I also love the turbine sounds.  I've seen it for sale on the forums (Where I got mine.) for under $200 at times.