Small Locos

[chadw]

What is your favorite(s) small engine?  Small meaning under 8 wheels.  Mine are the K-line Plymouth And RMT Beep, both lettered for PB&NE.

[dwiemer]

Got four, Beep, Porter, Plymouth, but favorite would have to be Lionel Docksider.  Just a neet engine with lots of moving parts and a distinctive whizzer sound.  The wife likes it too and I think it is important to have our better halfs involved if we are to be allowed to really enjoy the hobby.

Dennis

[1688torpedo]

 Aw, You had to ask!  Mine are the Prewar 1688s. They are small. But, reliable & will run effortlessly for years & have one of the Best Motors Lionel ever made.& they are a sharp looking engine to boot! Take Care.

[Anonymous]

My personal favorites are the K-Line Plymouths, K-Line Porters, Lionel Docksides, and RMT BEEPs.  I would have a hard time ranking them in order of preference because each is distinctive and all are very nice locomotives in the under-$100 range.

I have more BEEPs than any of the others (about a dozen, in various roadnames), with almost an equal number of Plymouths, and four docksides.  Have just a couple of the Porters at the present time.

Because they're really a bit oversize, even if based on a prototype Porter locomotive made for standard gauge track, I generally prefer to operate the Porters by themselves and not mixed in with any of the other types on the layout at the same time.  I have several Bachmann On30 Porters, as well, and when you place the two manufacturers' Porters side by side (both of which are 1:48 models), the size difference is nothing short of dramatic.  Still those (former) K-Line models are very nice, and I'll likely pick up some more of them.  The Porters I currently have are U.S. War Dept. and Westside Lumber models.

The Lionel docksides are beautifully made, and are hefty little buggers.  They have the world's worst-sounding whistle, but that doesn't bother me much because I simply don't use that feature.  I'm planning to buy another one or two Bethlehem Steel models, since I'm currently using Bethlehem Steel as the theme for my O gauge pike.

The K-Line Plymouths are also beautifully constructed, and they provide a real light show with those marker lamps at the front and rear.  They're also good smokers.  The ore cars in the Plymouth sets are very nice, and those sets--with six cars and scale couplers--are great values.  I'll definitely be buying the Lionel re-issue of the K-Line Plymouth in Bethlehem Steel livery, along with the hopper car set, when they're released next April.  Fortunately, Lionel is giving the switcher a somewhat different color scheme than the black-and-yellow model I currently have.

The BEEPs are real workhorses.  They'll haul a good-size load, have nice detailing, are available in a wide spectrum of roadnames and, being lower in cost than the other three items, are about the best value you can find in decent O gauge motive power.  I have two different Bethlehem Steel models:  one in black-and-yellow, and another in black-and-orange.

I've pretty much stopped buying higher-end items in O gauge; not because I can't afford them, but simply because I don't think they're really worth the money being asked for them and I honsetly don't need all of the fancy electronics which will, invariably, fail at some point and be difficult to repair or replace.  If one of my Plymouths or BEEPs goes belly up, it'll simply be canibalized for parts and relegated to a junk yard or wreck scene, or some such.

I honestly don't think you can go wrong with any of these four locomotives.  If you have a small layout, as I do, the smaller locomotives sure look a heck of a lot better on those sharp O gauge curves (especially when used with traditional-size rolling stock).

[chadw]

OFF TOPIC!   My plymouths light show has some technical difficulties(see previous thread "k-line plymouth switcher problems").  One of the marker lights doesn't light.  Any idea how to fix this?  Otherwise one of my favorite engines.

[FJ and G]

I prefer smaller locomotives. I am right now this minute trying to get a Lionel docksider off eBay but am having trouble with the password and logging in. Smaller locomotives just look better; esp. going around curves. I'd like to get a Plymouth, but unfortunately, K-Line vaporized without so much as a friendly warning.

[chadw]

Lionel is now making the plymouths starting with a new bethlehem steel paint scheme.  I'm not sure if it's been released yet though.

[BobbyDing]

Have a few of K-line Porters and a Beep. I plan on getting a couple Docksides and another matching Beep to lash to the first so they will glide thru the big switches. I also really like the small locos because my layout is small. I've been eyeing the older Lionel 203 switcher, but the prices are too high. What Allan says about the Porters is very true. They're way out of scale, but I really like them anyway. I added a slope back tender to each with electronic chuff and whistle, so they're more fun to run. The tender also helps them roll thru the big switches without a hitch.

Bobby

[Anonymous]

Lionel is now making the plymouths starting with a new bethlehem steel paint scheme.  I'm not sure if it's been released yet though.

It, along with the hoppers, is scheduled to be released in April 2007.  A nice, l-o-n-g wait.

[Frank53]

why that would be a postwar #60 Lionelville Trolley or a postwar Scout, of course.

[Anonymous]

I have the beeps, plymouths, and lionel docksiders.  Beeps have excellent quality drives, look realistic too (even tho they are fantasy engines).  Plymouths run and pull great.  My only beefs with them are that they have too much fancy equipment on them, I do not think railroads in real life ever put so many lights on them , tho the little lights look great when lit.  Also, I wish they had a flywheel (I'd gladly trade the smoke unit for a flywheel), since they stop on a dime.  The docksiders run good and will "pull the paint off the walls", I cannot believe the pulling power they have.  The whistle is a diesel horn, tho.  Mine is the christmas engine, did they do that weird horn in all the engines?

[cnw1995]

My new favorites are the #520 boxcab and trolleys by Western Hobbycraft.

[S&G Rute of the Silver River]

My favorite so far is a "minie" RS1. A costom builder had one at a train show in the Puallop show last year. all the looks half as long.

[Dr. John]

Steam engines: Lionel Docksider, MTH 0-4-0 Docksider.
Diesel: K-Line S-2, RMT Beep