N Gauge / Scale - Southern Pacific Dummy Locomotive (Caboose)

Thanks I really love train it is a dummy unit I would like to buy more dummy units of rr companies

casting is subpar, has no redeeming quality, and can be purchased typically for $5.

These are for display purposes only. While the decals are clean and sharp, the other details are toy-ish at best. The handrails are molded plastic that is incredibly un-protoypically thick. There is no window glass. The couplers are cast dummies, part of the base cast plate that includes the fuel tank. This item can't decide whether it wants to be a cheap grade toy, or a model. It can't really be played with by a kid, but as something that's only meant for display, it's incredibly crude and detail-less.That's not to say there is no hope for the High Speed like of N-scale "display" trains... I also have some of the rolling stock from this set... By changing out the trucks with quality trucks, it's possible to fix the issue of fake moulded couplers and wheels that barely spin. Thanks to the sharp decals, much of that rolling stock was converted into incredibly cheap, but very usable rolling stock. The hopper and flat car were incredibly easy to mod. The tank car required drilling out a rivet holding the poor quality trucks... Fairly easy mods.What still remains unseen though, is whether the locomotive can be useful...This review is for the locomotive, and quite frankly, it's a mess. The trucks are abysmal. The wheels are roughly moulded plastic. I already mentioned the lack of window glass and the comically thick handrails. The details around the fans and dynamic brake are... tolerable. The ONLY reason I've not given this a 1 star review, is because I see modding potential with this one. I've bought new trucks for it, ones that pick up power from the tracks. I will have to heavily mod the base, and possibly even build one from scratch, just to accommodate the new trucks. Either that, or I'll have to heavily modify the trucks themselves. The one thing this model has going for it, is plenty of empty space inside. I'm currently attempting to heavily modify this dummy locomotive, using one of the cheap WiFi HD cameras that are sold elsewhere on Amazon. If you remove the heatshrink wrap from the camera's transmitter board, then it barely has room to fit inside the shell in the long hood. The 8 mm camera will easily fit inside the cab, though cutting the window frame to accommodate the view out might be necessary. I will need to add a voltage regulator, definitely. Installation of proper functioning couplers will require grinding and/or milling, as well as drilling and tapping the metal base. Finally, with the conversion to trucks that first off, roll... and then second, pick up power, it ought to be possible to convert this into a lead unit camera car.The fact that I bought a full set (Locomotive, Tanker, Flatcar with truck trailer, and Hopper) for a mere $1 in the past is the only reason I didn't give this 1 star. The flat car and hopper were INCREDIBLY EASY to mod into full fledged rolling stock by simply removing the old trucks and replacing them with quality aftermarket Micro-Trains trucks and couplers. The Tanker took more work, as it's trucks were riveted to a cast metal base. I drilled and tapped the holes, and again, replaced the fake trucks and couplers with good quality Micro-Trains aftermarket ones.The Locomotive is literally something that was SO CHEAP (in the grand scheme, I might as well say I paid a quarter for it! LOL) that I don't even fear or feel bad cutting it up, in the hopes to mod it into that camera car I'm building. It was just SO CHEAP! The only reason I dropped a review for it, was because I saw an insane asking price for this. DO NOT GET SUCKERED into paying a lot for this. As I said... You can get these cheap, and they are not some sought after collectible worth displaying. They are cheap toys. Hack 'em up! Mod 'em! If you fail, toss 'em. If you succeed... Woo hoo! Cheap rolling stock for an N scale layout! LOLThe Locomotive... Yeah... It needs a complete rebuilding by an experienced model builder to even qualify as useful. As a display, it's CHEAP, TOYISH... NOT worth more than a couple dollars.

I have one of these dumb dumb locomotives and it's great for track side photos and making photos of my trainset to post on the internet. However the couplers are fixed in place and cannot turn so it's hard to pull this around curves.