MTH v K Line Bombardier Passenger Cars

I have the MTH and 21inch Kline versions of the Sounder cars.  I like both, the Kline is aluminum and a significantly better car, however it needs 72 inch curves, so if your layout has that track, then that would be my choice.  I have no negative comments on the MTH cars,  especially since I really like them and they work well on my 60 inch curves.

@Former Member posted:

I have the MTH and 21inch Kline versions of the Sounder cars.  I like both, the Kline is aluminum and a significantly better car, however it needs 72 inch curves, so if your layout has that track, then that would be my choice.  I have no negative comments on the MTH cars,  especially since I really like them and they work well on my 60 inch curves.

Well keep in mind the MTH cars are plsstic and only 18" long so they dhould operate on 054 and 060 diameter curves. The Kline 21" car are full scale length and width so I don't expect  them to run on 054 curves and even look good on those tight curves.

If you have the room and the curves, get the K-line ones. They are much nicer in every way. The disc brake detailing on the MTH cars is also very chunky and cheap looking

I stuck with the MTH cars for a simple reason.  Even with O72 to O90 curves, on my 24 x 12 layout, 21" passenger cars are simply too big to really look good.  In order to do those justice, you need some really long runs, at least IMO.  However, I do agree that the K-Line cars are really detailed better than the MTH cars, but the MTH cars are certainly not unattractive!

I have the MTH 18" cars and I absolutely love them.  I've had the Kline cars but sold them because they were too big for my layout.  I don't have anything negative to say about either of them.  I like Kline's lighting, their headlights are really bright which is cool.  On the MTH version, I love the flashing ditch lights.  The marker lights on the MTH version are bright, the headlights, not so much which to me isn't a deal breaker.  Both versions are great in my opinion.  If I had a larger layout, I would still have my Kline cars.

My MTH Bombardier cars are getting LED interior lighting, that's first on the docket.

What ever happened to the tooling to the K-line Bombardier  21” passenger cars?

They look stunning, it would be a shame if they were never produced again

I have the MTH and K-Line cars in Metrolink. Both are plastic and the detailing is intersting. The MTH cars are actually a bit better detailed than the K-Line, having the brakes modeled more accurately and having flashing "ditch lights". The K-Line cars are full scale length with a metal chassis and feature LED headlights (but "streamlighting" incandescent lighting) on the cab car. The K-line cars require larger curves and look good with an Atlas Horizon car between the locomotive and the first coach (Metrolink leased some for the San Bernardino Line--see photo below). The MTH cars feature Kadee mounts and will operate on O-72 curves in push or pull mode.

What it really comes down to is your layout space and curve size. The MTH cars will negotiate O-42 (seem to be the MTH operating standard in 3-rail); the K-Line cars are in the "layout shrinker" class and look better on curves larger than O-72. I sometimes contemplate selling the MTH cars as I don't use them (I left the hi-rail coupler to connect to my MTH F39PHi).

A friend of mine is a 2-rail operator and has a set of the K-Line cars and Locomotive that he converted. They're impressive on his 72" radius (O-144) curves. He keeps telling me I'm halfway there and just need that final push, but that's another story.

My understanding is that the K-Line tooling for these cars (and the Amtrak Superliners, Amtrak Surfliners -- the only ones done correctly in mass production, and their full-length Budd passenger cars) is still around. Atlas had a flyer with these cars in the background, but they were never produced. The K-Line 85-foot passenger cars command very high prices (sometimes in excess of $450/car).