The other day, John from my LHS called me to say he had just
got in some Southern P2K E6’s. He said he would let me have
them for a great price. Naturally, I was excited. He is the one who
got me the good deal on my P2K Southern E6A/B with DCC and
sound.
The E6’s that he had now are not the sound units. They are the
DCC ready (like all other P2K locos I have bought). I bought one
E6 and told him I would be back, when I fini***he job I am on now,
and buy the other E6 and the E6A/B set.
Now, all of this rambling leads to a question.
The E6 that I picked up today has Horn Hook couplers installed
and has no knuckle couplers in the box. Every P2K loco that I have
EVER bought has had knuckle couplers installed (albeit, they are
Kadee knockoffs). Does this mean that these “new” locos are from
old stock? If they are, it’s fine with me. I’m just a little concerned with
the lighting problems of the older P2K. You know, bulbs blowing the
instant that I apply DCC power.
Also, I seem to remember problems with the pick-ups in the older
P2K.
I have to get a decoder tomorrow and I will be trying it out on the track.
I do not want to blow the bulb… it’s has the two element Mars light type
of bulb and I would hate to have to try and track down a new one.
Thanks in advance, Dave
I would not worry about the bulb. I took mine out and put in a Litchfield station mars kit. http://www.litchfieldstation.com/mrdcc/HO-LL-P2K-EMarsLightPlans_600x720.gif with a decoder with lighting effects you can end up with a better looking effect. I would guess the P2k’s you have are older. My E7’s all had horn hooks with them.
I just took the shell from the box and there are some other differences.
The roof vents are not black on the E7… is this protypical? That brings
up another question. What’s the major differences between a E6 and
a E7? Dave
I know the biggest difference that I can see is the E6 has a slanted nose. The E7 is flat nosed. (I like to think the E7 looks just like an E6 that ran into a brick wall).
Other than that, I’m not really sure. I’m sure there’s a bigger engine in the E7. Not sure what HP or size, but otherwise there’s no point.
Sorry I can’t have been more help. However, the E7’s came out a while ago. Not sure exactly when since you can’t get to Life-Like’s site anymore.
My first P2K diesels had horn hooks. That might be 10 years ago now. It really is incredible how rapidly the manufacturers abandoned horn hooks for generic versions of Kadee - after hobbyists had been pleading for this for years to no avail.
Dave Nelson
And from the comments I am reading, the new generics are as welcome as the horn hooks were. Too bad Kaydee doesn’t supply all the manufacturers. Oh what am I thinking, we would all pitch a B***h that they are over sized #5’s and not #58’s!! “And the beat goes on…”
Will [}:)][:)][}:)]
Hi Don,
I always replace the couplers with Kadee’s. In fact, everything I own has Kadee’s. My main
concern was with the light bulb issues of the older P2K loco’s. When I saw the horn hooks,
It made me think that these locos were made way back and were probably from a warehouse
clearance or something. And like I said, no big deal, only I was concerned that the bulb would blow
when I ran it on DCC.
The E6 in the photo above not only has the weathered roof vents, but also has a lighter shade
of green paint. It is the P2k with sound. I am very happy with the one I got yesterday… couplers
or not. Thanks for your help, Dave
i wouldn’t sweat the light bulb’s. They’re easy to replace. Most bulb burnout’s come from excessive voltage. I never heard of incadescent bulb burnout until they started adding 'lighting board’s to engine’s. 2 diode’s maintain a constant 1.4v drop when in series with the motor regardless of the applied voltage.
