K-line Plymouth vs. Ready Made Toys-- Beeps

[dougdagrump]

I don't have a Plymouth for comparison but I do have a BEEP w/TMCC and sound. It runs great at all speeds and for it's size the sounds are phenomenal and you should see the smiles after the horn and bell are sounded then you make it go beepbeep. The BEEP is just what it is, a toy train to have fun with. The Plymouth is a scale switcher and is a very good looking unit which I'm sure would fit in perfectly on a layout featuring yard/industrial switching. [^]

[Anonymous]

i have one of each
my opinion of the beep is that its junk... it does have 2 can motors and one of the 4 wheels has a traction tire... it is lighted ,,,,, has a cheap-o looking plastic shell, and no smoke
maybe they have redesigned them but mine cant pull a single car around a simple generic o27 curve without pulling the car off the track due to the cupler not being able to swing properly...

the plymouth switcher has no traction tires to wearout or replace, has an engineer on each side of the cab, has reversing front and rear headlight, lighted marker lights, both scale and reg couplers, operating fan driven smoke, body is all metal, it is quiet, has a moving metal bell with attached ringer string, has simulated brake air lines, has simulated scale looking metal coupler release levers, has switches to turn off both the e-unit and the smoke

[Warburton]

Ditto on the Beeps. I just got one and it is solidly made and runs great. I'm pulling seven modern-era cars now with no problem. Decoration is first-rate, too. I think this is a great way to expand your diesel roster w/o forking over a lot of $, as long as you arn't a stickler for prototypical accuracy.

I hope they make more roadnames -- especially Great Northern and Northern Pacific!

[Anonymous]

I have a good number of both engines, and very much like both of them. I've routinely pulled six or seven relatively light cars with the Plymouths and probably around 10 with the BEEPs (on level track). Neither is equipped with electro-couplers, which would definitely be nice for yard work, but it may be possible to outfit the BEEP with such a system. Not sure about doing that with the Plymouth, which is considerably smaller than the BEEP. However, the Plymouth does come with two sets of couplers: the traditional, oversize O gauge couplers, and a set of Kadee-like scale couplers.

Because I like small locomotives, I'm a big fan of both the Plymouth and the BEEP. I regard the Plymouth as the most innovative small (really small) locomotive made in O gauge--far better, in my opinion, than the original or repro postwar motorized units offered by Lionel. Ditto for the BEEP in terms of a comparison with the Lionel units. And, both the Plymouth and the BEEP are very affordable--around $50 or so for a BEEP, and around $70 or so for a Plymouth. You really can't go wrong with either one.

I operate my trains on Atlas track, and have had no problem with either of these locomotives stalling on the short-radius switches that I use. On a previous layout I used Lionel O27 switches, and again had no problems with either locomotive negotiating those switches.

Another good switching locomotive, in my opinion, is Lionel's 0-6-0 Dockside. Under $100, and very nicely made. I like the Lionel Dockside better than the MTH 0-4-0 Dockside, which I find to be too noisy due to the grooved drive wheels used on that model. The Lionel model is also more nicely detailed, although it has what has to be one of the world's worst-sounding whistles.

You really can't go wrong with any of the aforementioned locomotives. All are affordable and very nicely made.

[Anonymous]

Good question. I've been wondering about the pulling power of these beeps myself. Also about clearing switches, do they stall?

[Anonymous]

Which of these engines would be better suited as a yard switcher ? I haven't checked the review done on k-line yet. The beeps are supposed to be 9 1/2 inches long, but it states only a single can motor.