the tyco city of san francisco

[HOplasserem80c]

hi i wanted some info on this engine before i buy it. any advice is welcome as always. i have a layout 4x6 with 18 radius turns. will this engine do ok? and are there passenger cars to go with it? i am so happy i found this engine because i am a UP nut.

found this on ebay
                                                           thanks your friend HOP

[Guilford Guy]

Will take 18" turns but won't look good at it and the thing is a total POS. Tyco's are nothing compared to modern stuff. I suppose you could swap shells with Proto E unit and swap the truck side frames but that would take a but of work.

[LD303]

GG got it right....unless you want to do major repairs and then have an engine that sounds like a blender on high speed you might want to save your money.

[HOplasserem80c]

i like the train because it is UP and it says "city of san francisco" one of UP's most famous trains.(even though there are no pics of a full consist of it) or the engine

[Nigel]

Tyco's E7 shell was quite good - equal to the others in its day (25 years ago).  The drive was worse than awful.

The BLI and P2K offerings are far superior.

Model Power's E7 shell was comparable, in some ways better than the Tyco, but in some ways not.  A great deal depends on the particular prototype.   MP's chassis was far superior, though I doubt it would do 18" radius curves without serious modification.

If you really want it, get it, but remember you are just purchasing the shell.

18" radius and E-units do not mix in HO scale - think N scale, or 24" radius (or larger).

Options for powering the shell:

• P2K E-units can be had for less than $30 new, and less new, just swap the shells.  It will take a little work.
• Hobbytown of Boston chassis.  More work.
• Athearn SD40T-2 chassis, with NWSL 36" wheels, and PPW sideframes.  Also some effort required.
• PPW E unit chassis - not cheap.

Advice: save your money, focus on smaller models for your current layout, gain some experience with your current layout then start designing your next one, learn, research, study.