Questions re: Lionel PWC Texas Special AB

Yeah - they have Dual Pullmors & TMCC.   Sound is pretty good, as I have the PWC CP & Wabash units & they should have the same sound as the Texas Special.   The only add ons I know of were the additional B & A units.  I'm pretty sure I  heard something about the B units not matching or something like that.   I can't remember exactly - something w/ the red body color or the white strip.   

The 2245 is on my MUST have list - always wanted it.  However, for the prices I see on the PWC units, I would probably get an original.

Sam,

take a look at the ABA set from MTH With proto 2. They are RK scale and they look and sound great. I bought a set from Marty Fitz. And they are great.

i run the MTH premier TS passenger cars from around 2001 and it makes for a great train. 

Btw the engine number is 2245.

Dave

Christopher,  do you know if the other A unit is indeed powered or a dummy?

I think it's a dummy A

Keep in mind there are these also - 6-14520 & 6-34547

Both are B units

The lone A unit I saw on the bay was listed as "PWD COMP" No 38103

Are the two B's you mention in addition to the B that comes with the first AB pair?

Yes, those are 2 different B units!

I guess the A unit is powered - must have missed that one.  the prices on the Bay are close to what a used PW would go for

Am looking for a list of which units have what features -

Is the B unit in the original AB set a dummy with no features other than perhaps the electric rear coupler assuming the Railsounds are in the A?

One of the B's you mention shows as having TMCC with Railsounds, coupler, etc.  That would be nice to have sound coming from two units while running...

Is the other powered?

Do we have a possible AB, B, Pwrd B, and A set?

on the PWC F3s I have, the CP has the railsounds in the dummy A & the Wabash has it in the dummy B, I would guess the Texas has it in the dummy B.

One of the B units said TMCC/ Railsounds  & One said Legacy Railsounds. 

The B Unit in the 2-pack has both an electrocoupler and a back up light, along with the RailSounds, which are the 4.0 version. It is not powered, however. There is a Legacy add on powered B-Unit available, as well as the extra A mentioned earlier. TM raves about these engines on their ToyTrainRevue website.

Be warned, they are rather scarce, and they are one of the few older Modern Era pieces that have maintained their original catalog value from their 1999 release - Many command between $600 and $800.

Set was originally released as AB with powered A and dummy B.  Dual vertical pullmore as opposed to original PW single horizontal and later vertical.  Second release of PWC series was powered A followed by an unpowwered B with RS and then an unpowered B with Legacy RailSounds.  First four units are dead on for each other in terms of paint and aren't bad matches for original PW other than the "sheen".  Original release used an almost auto lacquer red, very striking.  They also have the correct wheelbase on the trucks.  Once Lionel changed to the vertical motor the wheelbase was shortened by one scale foot.

Be careful about alleged original PW versions.  I've seen some very bad imitations of the red paint where the seller has sworn black and blue these weren't fakes.  My dad bought me the original set when I was 2 years old.  I know what it's supposed to look like.

PWC run very well and sound great.  The shell is actually closer to the original F3 in terms of details, it has the wire mesh grid for the dynamic brakes while the original PW has the plastic louvers.

railsounds should be in the dummy B on the original set. My PWC Wabash has them in the dummy B as well

and I think you have it right for the separate sale items

Yes.  The RS was in the b unit in both cases.  They offered the original AB set and then did a powerd A only.  About a year later they offered the sound equipped B with rear coil coupler and backup light.  You actually programmed both units with the same engine ID as each one only had one "headlight" and one coil coupler.  You didn' need to use a TR function unless you added a trailing powered A for an ABA consist.

One more and maybe I'll get it right - How many B's all together?

As far as I'm concerned, only 2 were made.

In many cases, they may actually be more expensive than when originally offered. They were a sell-out from the get-go, and still high-dollar. There were articles about how Lionel took extensive measures to get the finish just right on these engines, and they are indeed gorgeous.

As you may know, Lionel also made matching 15" aluminum cars for these engines (which of course were never made in the Postwar era), also striking. Together, it's quite a set, one that everyone will notice. The passenger cars are very hard to find by themselves, however, at least partly because they were also snapped up by folks with the Postwar engines.

A side note - You may have no interest in the matching passenger cars, but if you want the cars, it may be best to wait for a complete set to come on the market rather than just the engines; otherwise it's unlikely you'll find the cars by themselves.

I have an original postwar TExas Special A-B, the two units were in the bottom of the box, apparently, they were covered with track scratches, and although the ran well, I bought them as is. I had a friend sand them and respray the red above the white border, he even was able to mask the white star on the front of the A unit using a star from the five and dime store. They look pretty good, I have them at the Powerhouse on the shelf as a "draw in" so people come into the booth. I am contemplating putting the shells on my Santa Fe, as they run better than the Texas Specials, the empty front of the shell acts as an echo chamber for the horizontal motor. Always wanted one, and my friend made it nice looking. BTW, it is marked "refinished tinplate". 

You get many answers here in your search. I own a complete PWC set, and was wondering myself if a Dummy A unit was offered at that time. I don't remember if I bought it or not. I think there was a 'reverse' offered: Dummy A & Powered B, for those who wanted some sort of outrageous set. I know for sure there was a Legacy B unit offered a short time back. Good luck in your search, I'm trying to find out the same thing. BTW all sounds are in the Dummy B.

Yea have the complete set. Two powered A-units ( 4 Pullmors) 3 B units two B-units have railsounds, one B-unit has Legacy Railsounds . Seven 15 inch aluminum passenger cars one of them is dinner car with sounds.

FWIW

The PWC 38100 AB set has (in my opinion) the loudest / best horn of all the PWC F-3 sets---no quilling or anything like that---just a raw load horn

And I think they all sound good

Thx

Joe S  

Does anyone know how to turn off the start up sounds when running in conventional mode for the PWC F3s? I flipped the switch on the A unit to run in conventional mode but still get the start up sounds of  the engine?

Both of mine do not  do that.  If I flip the switch for no SND, I just get the horn & bell.   Do you have a battery installed in yours?  Which F3 set do you have?