This review is on Life-Like’s Proto 1000 HO scale DL-109 diesel.[:D]
The DL-109 is a very nice looking engine with the long, bullet-shaped nose and smooth lines all around. The engine is pretty well detailed, but every detail, except for the horns and rear door, are cast on details. All the castings are extremely smooth, with only one seam that’s almost invisible, which I didn’t notice until just now.[:D] All the basic details you’d find on a DL-109 are on this engine, with all the roof detail for the twin diesel engines, a steam generator, the four large vents on the sides and the rectangular windows going across each side.[:D] The large verticle grab irons are cast onto the shell and look fine, but not as good as if they were seperate parts. Since this is in the Proto 1000 line, Life-Like only uses one basic shell for all the railroads. The engine only has one headlight instead of two like my Milwaukee DL-109 should. They do at least paint a fake headlight on, but it’s barely realistic. It looks more like it’s part of the Milwaukee symbol on the front of the nose. All the paint is perfectly smooth, and the color seperation is nearly perfect.[:D] The ladders look real nice, and allow the trucks to swivel freely on tight curves. The fuel tank is well detailed, with very fine seperate screen and pipe detail on each side. The trucks are very well done, and I believe they’re the same ones used on the P2K ALCO PA-1.[:D] The couplers are mounted to the frame, so on tight curves you need freight or passenger cars over 50 scale feet long with body mounted couplers to keep anything from derailing. The couplers are heavily over-sized, and the magnetic uncoupling pins are fairly loose, so it would be best to replace them with Kadee #5s or #58s. I used #58s on mine and they look real nice.[:D]
Oops, sorry. I didn’t know that 1940s passenger diesels were that fast.[:I] I thought it was mostly the GG-1s and other electric and steam engines that could make it up to speeds like that. My mistake.[:)]
I’m pretty sure the DL-109s did passenger trains by day and freight by night, so if you do a night-time scene in your model railroad, full speed would still be a little quick for freight. But passenger by day is fine.[:D]
I forgot to mention, it has solid brass wheels with RP-25 flanges, so it will get dirty a little faster than nickle plated wheels, but the brass wheels plus the 2 lb. weight should be enough to pull around 100 cars.[:D]
Yes, I know they are seperate, along with the door on the back of the engine. If you read it again, you’ll notice I said “every detail,except for the horns and rear door, are cast on details.” I should probably mention that when I said almost all the detail was cast on, I was only talking about the shell. The truck and fuel tank details are seperate parts.[:D]
Yeah… these monsters can pull. I pulled 80 properly weighted 40 ft. coal cars up a 3% grade with one of these units. It took 3 Kato SD70MACS to do the same thing!!!
I’ve got 3 NH and another on the way with the next release. They are OUTSTANDING pullers.
I dressed mine up with a detail brush.
I carefully hand painted the maker lenses on the number-boards silver.
I also carefully hand painted the grab irons BLACK like the NH units should be - unless you put your face up against it, painting them made the irons look like seperate parts and look great!
I’m going to replace those cheesy Santa Fe horns with 2 Wabco E-2’s like the NH units when I get a chance.
Well I’m glad your having fun with them because I sure am. I own both the DL109’s the Milwaukee road had. Believe it or not they only owned two. The A-B set. Run very well. But ya your right they should have another head light on them. beginning to know the milwaukee well. I didn’t even notice untill you mentioned it. But it makes sense.
Most early passenger diesels (E-1’s - DL109’s) had ‘designer’ bodies (DL- 109 was Otto Kuhler’s), geared for 100 mph +, and had 6 wheel drucks with the center as an idler (weight distribution), and delivered with a SINGLE headlight. Later, oscillating Mars or Gyrtalites lights were added when the government mandated them on all Passenger service to reduce grade crossing accidents.
The added light was turned on/off by the engineer primarily for nightime running. Santa Fe added a red headlamp activated when the emergency brake was thrown. Daytime photographs show trains with the headlight on, but the Mars light off.
Adding a 2nd headlamp would denote later service, that’s all. It didn’t enhance the Kuhler design any. In fact it was usually an ugly afterthought…
Ok, it looks like there are a few problems on this thread.
1). What’s with that MILW paint scheme? It looks like a NH scheme (roof and the top of the nose…ie, green with a yellow stripe). Did the MILW really paint the roofs of these units green? I’ve been looking on the 'net, and I can’t find anything to suggest anything other than more light gray, but then I’m no MILW expert.
2). The carbody of the P1K unit is a “mutt” or “mixed breed”. It’s not accurate for anyone…which is patently absurd considering that 60 of the 74 total units produced were all New Haven RR. The windows are right for NH, but the horns aren’t. The pilot opening is right for ATSF, but the skirting around the fuel tank is not. Just a bunch of wierd decisions made by LL on this one.
3). The NH DL109’s were geared for 80mph, and were the first dual-service diesels in this country that were designed from the factory to haul passenger and freight (which means that previous to NH’s DL109’s, none were meant to be used hauling freight). To do so, NH DL109’s were specially reinforced with heavier draft gear, had extra cooling louvers added, and they strengthened the nose. The lower gearing was also used with this in mind.
4). Sound is going to be a problem for these units as they used twin 539T Alco prime movers, and so far, I don’t think anyone has ever come out with that sound. 244’s and 251’s, sure…but not 539’s.
5). I doubt highly that these don’t have nickel-silver (which is actually a brass alloy)wheels. I have 4 P1K NH DL109’s myself, and have seen many more at my RR club of 60+ members (we are in the ex-NH territory after all). Not once can I recall seeing brass wheels on any of them. Perhaps the N-S wore off or fell off (shoddy work can happen to anyone)…
6). Don, I don’t know what you are talking about. Since when has the government mandated extra headlights other than modern ditchlights? Sorry, but no dice. NH FL9’s never had an extra headl
The roof on mine is actually gray. I found a black and white picture of the real Milwaukee #14A with the same paint scheme. It’s hard to see, but the coloring is the same as on mine.[:D] http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/dl109.jpg
The wheels on mine are solid, blackened brass. I also have a P2K SD60 with nickle-silver wheels that are also blackened. The brass ones look dark brown, because of the brass’s yellow color, while the nickle ones look dark gray, because of the nickle’s silver color. Maybe Life-Like used brass for some railroads and nickle for others?[%-)]
