Test Track: K Line Metro North set (8 cars)

K-Line Metro-North commuter train. Originally a four car set, another four cars were added to make it an 8-car train. Almost makes up for the short 15-inch cars. K-Line had intended to make an 18-inch version, (a sample was on display at their Toy Fair showroom) but decided against it. Atlas-O makes the full-scale 21-inch version.

This run is a test in the truest sense, as many of the coupler mechanisms had to be repaired. Short circuits backtracking through the truck frames ruined the coupler springs, necessitating their replacement with pieces of retractable-ballpoint pen springs.

The locomotive is a K-Line F-3, masquerading as one of the F-10 units Metro-North bought on the secondhand market. Sound system is Lionel Railsounds. I didn't use the horn, being that Lionel supplied a single-chime one, which is nowhere near prototypical for a Metro-North unit (at least for an FL-9--I'm not sure what the F-10's had)

Oddly enough, I uploaded the same DivX+mp3 .AVI as my other recent videos, so I don't know why the "high quality" option hasn't appeared.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• model
• train
• O-Gauge
• K-Line
• lionel
• metro
• north
• mncr
• mncw

[puttrainguy]

I have that same engine with the Altas 21 in cars in the black stripe. I could never get a hold of those k line blue stripes which are correct for the harlem line that runs by me. Do you know if they intended to make a trailing A unit ? I always wondered why the rear coupler on the loco was not even functional.

[RailRide]

I don't think they planned on it, since Metro North never really ran double-headed units. F-units tend to get dummy couplers on the rear since most of the time, they do get dummy "A" or "B" units.

[byrne2rad]

I am looking for a set of the same K-line #K-4644 4-PAC Metro North cars to run behind my LIRR K-line F-7. They did get transferred to the Long Island division and ran on that division. Could you point me to a possible SALE? Dick Byrne

[RailRide]

I don't have any leads. I got this set when it was new, and the extra cars came from a friend who did the same, and decided years later he didn't have a role for them. I'd still have just the four cars if he didn't offer them to me, since I wasn't actually looking for extras at the time.

[Saugertiesrailfan]

BS, MN doesnt own cafe' cars

[RailRide]

K-Line (under Lionel) makes some passenger trucks that can be used to convert the cars to 2-rail, but they aren't the right style of truck.

I'ts too late for me to consider 2-rail O scale. I have far too many 3-rail pieces and nowhere near enough room to do 2-rail with the kind of trains I want to run.

As for the camera-in-coach view--I don't have a camera that small :)

[08trainlover]

I see that those are three rail, can you get those trains come in 2 rail? That would be more raalistic. And could you have a video were the camera rides inside one of the coaches?

[RailRide]

Unscrew the ends, slide out the floor. The carbody is an aluminum extrusion, and the seats are mounted on the sheetmetal chassis that fits into grooves inside the car shell.

[08trainlover]

You can open the car up. How?

[RailRide]

Yes they do. Most recent-issue O-Gauge passenger cars (except those made by Williams/Bachmann) have interiors featuring seats, and in some cases, passenger figures (although not a whole lot of them--which is why some owners add more to fill up the car).