Hello all,
I have been looking into the Walthers ML-8 plymouth switcher. In my search the 910-1xxxx and the 910-2xxxx model numbers have about a $30 difference between them. As far as i can tell they are the same thing. I am purley asking from a mechanical perspective as this for a On30 boxcab project. Anybody know why there is the jump in the model numbers and price?
It looks like the 1xxxx series are straight DC while the 2xxxx series are equipped with a DCC decoder and a KeepAlive.
Joe
Hello all,
A DCC decoder and Keep Alive.
https://www.walthers.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=HO+scale+Plymouth+Switcher
Hope this helps.
Thanks guys!
Can’t believe that i missed that. It helps alot.
As a sidenote, anybody hear abything abd about them?
One of our regulars Randy talks about them a lot, but he doesn’t have a running layout at the moment. I’m sure he will spot the title of your post and stop by.
My posts are only about how you can still get one, despite the “limited edition” and preorder stuff.
I want oen of the cobalt blue undec ones for my cement plant, matches the paint scheme of a GE 25 ton boxcab I have a picture of.
No idea how they run, but with a keep alive they should run without stalling. I want to get a DC one though and put sound in it.
–Randy
I bought one for Bootbay Railway Village shortly after they came out. It a tiny locomotive, but is a good pulller. It pulled about half dozen free running freight cars on level track. I tested the Keep Alive by covering the track with masking tape for about 2 feet. It ran on the tape in both directions, and the KA kept it going the full run. There was a bit of a jump in speed when it got back to powered track.
That’s impressive. Most will just need it to skip over frogs or points.
How is the staring speed? Switchers need to be ultra slow, so hopefully its engineered with that in mind.
And what about any noise like growl or decoder hum?
I did this test last March. The start speed was very slow. No decoder noise that I can recall. This was from the first run and was DCC with no sound.
[quote user=“rrinker”]
My posts are only about how you can still get one, despite the “limited edition” and preorder stuff.
I want oen of the cobalt blue undec ones for my cement plant, matches the paint scheme of a GE 25 ton boxcab I have a picture of.
No idea how they run, but with a keep alive they should run without stalling. I want to get a DC one though and put sound in it.
–Randy
<< No idea how they run, but with a keep alive they should run without stalling. I want to get a DC one though and put sound in it.>> --Randy
Randy,
If I put sound in one I would almsot certainly put a keep alive in as well. The only thing worse than the loco just stopping is the sound stopping and starting. That’sthe only reason I want to get a DC one instead of a DCC - if I’m going to rip out the decoder anyway, why pay for it? Though the new run will be Lokpilot with ESU’s stay alive - I can always use the Lokpilot in another non-sound loco, and the stay alives are the same.
–Randy
All–apologies for learlier link to another forum. Here’s a review I posted elsewhere.
All the reviews I found on line were for the DCC equipped model, which looks to operate very nicely. I wasn’t sure whether it would operate alright on DC, couldn’t find any specific info on that. My layout is DC, and I’m just not ready to convert my locos to DCC just yet. Saw this DC version at a hobby shop in Port Angeles WA, and got to test one. I ended up buying it. I also tested a Trackmobile model, but it only had one end with an operating coupler. Physically, the ML8 is a nice little model. As a tiny switcher, it will most likely be used at slow speed moving only a couple cars.
The DCC videos look great, but what about DC?
Some observations on the DC version:
This model prefers clean track.
I use Code 83 atlas snap track and snap switches. There are some pickup issues in switches between points and frog. The demo track I tested at the shop was wired for both DC and DCC; it had feeder wires soldered to every rail joiner. I suspect my performance would improve with more consistent power in the moveable points. Also the short wheelbase allows for it sometimes not riding straight along the rails. The little critter can be rotated slightly when setting on straight track. This can affect electrical pickup. I’ve run it a bit over