O Gauge The 20th Century Limited: J&C Studios O Gauge Archive

The 20th Century Limited

The Portland Rose
Joined: Mar 18, 2010
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posted Nov 29, 2013:

The MTH Premier New York Central Hudson no. 5344.

The MTH Premier New York Central Hudson 5344 on the right, the K-Line scale New York Central Hudson 5343 on the left. I like the detailing on the rear end of the MTH Hudson better than that on the K-Line Hudson. The rear marker lamps on the K-Line model seem over-sized compared to those on the MTH model - as does the lettering on the rear end of the tender on the K-Line model.

New York Central Hudson 5343 backs up to couple to the 20th Century Limited.

Hudson 5343 is nicely detailed but, like the MTH Premier Hudson, lacks pulling strength with only two traction tires. Seven scale Heavyweight cars slow it down considerably. The Williams Scale Hudson, with four traction tires, is not slowed by eight scale Heavyweight cars but lacks the finer details of the MTH Premier and K-Line Hudsons.

Hudson 5344 is coupled to the 20th Century Limited.

The MTH scale Hudson has red front marker lamps while the K-Line Hudson has green front marker lamps.

The K-Line front end green marker lamps seem more prototypical than the red markers of the MTH Hudson. The K-Line Hudson also has blackened hand rails. The MTH Hudson's silver hand rails remind me of my first Hudson - an American Flyer S Gauge 21130 so, therefore, I like the MTH Hudson more than the K-Line. I also like the way MTH mounted the marker light on top of the boiler rather than partially coming out of the face of the boiler as on the K-Line model.