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HO Pennsylvania K4 Pacific offers power and special effects
The K4 I purchased did not live up to the expectations engendered by the fine write up in MR magazine. I had trouble with the smoke generator, which I fixed in a way not mentioned in the owner’s mamual. The locomotive will stall going across #4 Atlas switches; hence the auto-sensing and changeover from tender to loco pickukp does not function quickly. These problems were reported to MTH, after which I received a telephone call from the company with a promise to research the problem and call me back. I’ve heard nothing from anyone in the past two weeks. I have five other DCC-operated locomotives on the layout (steam and diesel), and none of those exhibit the problem with #4 switches that I mentioned above.
I was told by the local hobby shop, that you cannot program the engine number unless you are using MTH DCC unit. I use a Lenz system and was told i would have to run this engine with the address of 0003. Has anyone else found this to be the case
I was told by the local hobby shop, that you cannot program the engine number unless you are using MTH DCC unit. I use a Lenz system and was told i would have to run this engine with the address of 0003. Has anyone else found this to be the case
I have two K-4’s and they perform flawlessly. Unfortunately on of the drwabars broke and I sent it in to MTH for repair. The detail and accuracy of the paint is superb and with traction tires the performance is also suberb. It’s to bad that MTH support via phone, email or repair doens’t do as well.
I have two K-4’s and they perform flawlessly. Unfortunately on of the drwabars broke and I sent it in to MTH for repair. The detail and accuracy of the paint is superb and with traction tires the performance is also suberb. It’s to bad that MTH support via phone, email or repair doens’t do as well.
I have one of these K4’s and it is one of the best engines I’ve ever had. The effect of the chuffing sound and the puffing smoke is mesmerizing. The whistle tones, especially with the doppler effect, is incredibly real. I operate it with Digitrax using the DT400 throttle. It pulls a 10 car freight train just fine and 3 passenger cars with no problem. It is sensitive to track cross level defects. I discovered some I never knew I had, but after adjusting the track, which actually improved the track, I never had a problem. I would not bother buying another steam engine that did not have smoke. I’m sure I’ll be getting a few more MTH’s as the product line grows.
Ken Belovarac
I have one of these K4’s and it is one of the best engines I’ve ever had. The effect of the chuffing sound and the puffing smoke is mesmerizing. The whistle tones, especially with the doppler effect, is incredibly real. I operate it with Digitrax using the DT400 throttle. It pulls a 10 car freight train just fine and 3 passenger cars with no problem. It is sensitive to track cross level defects. I discovered some I never knew I had, but after adjusting the track, which actually improved the track, I never had a problem. I would not bother buying another steam engine that did not have smoke. I’m sure I’ll be getting a few more MTH’s as the product line grows.
Ken Belovarac
I’ve had my HO MTH K4 for about a year and it has been back for repairs twice: once because it just quit running, and secondly the smoke unit also quit. I had a lot of trouble using the handheld MTH DCS system. The engine just wouldn’t recognize the commands on a regular basis, although my O gauge engine responds perfectly. I have now purchased the MTH DCS Commander which is better suited to HO and now the K4 works like a charm!
I’ve had my HO MTH K4 for about a year and it has been back for repairs twice: once because it just quit running, and secondly the smoke unit also quit. I had a lot of trouble using the handheld MTH DCS system. The engine just wouldn’t recognize the commands on a regular basis, although my O gauge engine responds perfectly. I have now purchased the MTH DCS Commander which is better suited to HO and now the K4 works like a charm!
How does the K4s navigate on 18" Radii? I’m thinking of buying one and I could use some more opinions on this unit. Sounds so far like it is half good and half bad!
How does the K4s navigate on 18" Radii? I’m thinking of buying one and I could use some more opinions on this unit. Sounds so far like it is half good and half bad!
I have had 2 of these since they came out and both have been back for repairs. The drawbars were changed to a slip on to a post which is better but does not solve the key problem with these. These engines have marginal pickups on the tender trucks that cause them to lose voltage often when crossing frogs which causes the sound to stop and the loco to continue without sound. This is simply a poor design of the pickups (which are totally different on the later models) and the lack of a capacitor to provide the momentary power when there is a short voltage drop. I have many locos from other makers that run without problems on my layout. The MTH 2-8-2 Mikado is much better but still is not tolerant to a short period without voltage.
I have had 2 of these since they came out and both have been back for repairs. The drawbars were changed to a slip on to a post which is better but does not solve the key problem with these. These engines have marginal pickups on the tender trucks that cause them to lose voltage often when crossing frogs which causes the sound to stop and the loco to continue without sound. This is simply a poor design of the pickups (which are totally different on the later models) and the lack of a capacitor to provide the momentary power when there is a short voltage drop. I have many locos from other makers that run without problems on my layout. The MTH 2-8-2 Mikado is much better but still is not tolerant to a short period without voltage.