Arriving a year or two after several attractive $100 O gauge locomotives reached the marketplace (Lionel’s 0-6-0T, MTH’s Dockside 0-4-0T, and K-Line’s Porter 0-4-0T and Plymouth diesel switcher), I’m disappointed to say that this S gauge locomotive isn’t on the same playing field, and it has nothing to do with S versus O scale.
Lionel has accurately reproduced the Flyer 0-6-0T, produced by A.C. Gilbert in the late postwar period as new motive power for low-priced sets. But examining this new locomotive has reminded me that not all postwar locomotives were hall-of-fame contenders.
The new 0-6-0T comes with a smoke unit, directional lighting, and “choo-choo” sound, a mainstay of postwar Flyer steamers. But those features can’t mask the locomotive’s plastic drive wheels (all six of ’em), plastic boiler shell, and basic level of detail.
Those plastic parts are true to the original A.C. Gilbert version first cataloged in 1958, but they don’t match up well with the expectations (and postwar-year memories) of today’s hobbyists.
The model
This locomotive is loosely based upon a Baltimore & Ohio 0-4-0T prototype. The name Dockside switcher is derived from the fact that it is a compact little locomotive that could easily work the tight spaces (and sharp curves) of a port and warehouse district. Beyond that, this strikes me as a free-lanced locomotive.
The pilot has a U-shaped bumper beam, and its only other cast-in details are mold marks that reminded me of water rings on a coffee table. The plastic couplers on the front and rear of the locomotive are functional.
The steam chests are cast as part of the boiler shell. There are no simulated steam lines – other than a sort of square lump – and they meld into the sides and front of the body shell.
While the boiler face is a flat piece of plastic, the smokebox door does have nice rivet detail. The saddle tank (for the steamer’s water supply) extends out from the boiler front. On top, you’ll find an illuminated headlight, just above the smokebox. There is a cast-in bell between the headlight and smokestack. Three domes and a pop-off valve ride along the tank top.
The running boards are pretty limited in scope, and what I think are the boards may just be over-sized pipes, because they don’t run the length of the locomotive boiler.
There are cast-in rivets, pipes, sand lines, and footholds on both sides of the boiler. The tooling is clean, and there is a nice texture level to the touch.
The cab is a square box, but one with rivet and window detail. There is frosted plastic in each window – front, sides, and rear – that hides the internal workings of the locomotive.
An illuminating backup light is centered above the rear coupler.
The running gear is plain and functional. The main rods swing in and out of the steam chest, and the side rods move with the wheels. Each main rod is made from two pieces of metal rather than one. I discovered this when trying to figure out why there are large square pieces of metal attached to the center (flangeless) drive wheels on each side of the locomotive.
The drivers are plastic, and the spokes are not see-through. They lack the white-painted rims of the better-equipped postwar versions. The two rear drivers have traction tires, as did most of the postwar versions. Just below the first pair of wheels, and just behind the rear set of wheels, are four power pickups consisting of brackets and small rollers, a notable improvement over the sliding shoes found on the postwar versions.
You’ll also find a smoke unit on/off switch and a directional-control switch (the locomotive has forward-neutral-reverse sequencing).
Paint on the model was satisfactory. Decoration, limited to two New York Central oval heralds and two cab numbers, was clean and crisp.
On the test track
While disappointed with the appearance of the model, I was pleased with its performance. On the test track the little locomotive, with its smooth can-style motor, clearly exceeded the abilities of my stable of postwar Flyer steamers.
While the starts tended to be a bit jack-rabbity, the engine demonstrated both a decent low-speed average of 20.9 scale mph and a predictably swift high-speed average of 109 scale mph. This is a bit better speed range than the overall average of Lionel American Flyer locomotives (44.8 to 125.1 scale mph) we’ve reviewed in the past two decades.
Drawbar pull for this 1-pound 3-ounce engine was 2 ounces, light but suitable for a small switcher.
The Dockside switcher has only three extras – directional lighting, “choo-choo” sound, and a smoke unit.
The directional lighting worked flawlessly. The choo-choo sound functioned, but it was easily masked by the rumble and clickety-clack of a freight train in motion.
As for the smoke unit, I never could get it working, even flipping the on/off switch to the opposite position (just in case it was wired backward).
I ran the model on some admittedly poor postwar American Flyer track, and the rollers did a great job of feeding the power to the locomotive.
All in all, like Lionel’s re-issue of the postwar American Flyer Baldwin switcher, its Dockside switcher offers reasonable performance to compensate for an unsophisticated appearance.
The price is right, but it flies in the face of where Flyer-compatible steam locomotives, from American Models, S-Helper Service, and Lionel itself, have been heading in the past 10 years.
Lionel gets good marks for accurately reproducing a postwar American Flyer locomotive, but unfortunately the original wasn’t anything to brag about. You get what you pay for.
Price: $109.99
Features: Directional lighting, “choo-choo” mechanical sound, smoke unit
Pros: Nice motor
Cons: The plastic shell and plastic wheels are authentic, but they fall short of modern expectations; smoke unit didn’t work on our sample
Made in the People’s Republic of China for Lionel
My loco is the Pennsy green version. The smoke on this unit did not work.
Does Lionel repair it if it is defective? I am contacting them. I do like it otherwise and it does perform well on American Models track.
My smoke unit worked fine. I can't understand why manufacturers use those horrid blue Xenon-type lights in a steam era engine. I am still trying to get the nerve to drill out those purple LED's from their housings and replace with a nice mellow yellow-white. I have original AF 0-6-0T's and this is a better runner.
I think this little loco kind of took a bad rap in this review. I put together a small flyer layout next to my o scale layout. My main scale is o but I do like flyer. Being my secondary scale I bought the little docksider and really like it. It runs smooth and my smoke unit works fine. I would be nice if the choo choo sound was a little louder but I can live with it.
As far as detail I picked up this loco new for under a $100 bucks! Considering the price tag it is what it is!
If your looking for that much detail Lionel would be happy to take $400 plus for a more refined loco with digital sound. For a first timer or adding to your
roster this is a good deal! We all like detail and cool sound. But if you want it break out the check book and don't tell the wife!
Chris.
This is a great engine that out performs my original, One interesting thing I have notice is that the smoke output increases dramatically when I use a MTH Z-1000 transformer instead of a old Flyer transformer. I surmise that the voltage of the Z-1000 is actually higher but produces pulses of shortage duration.
Nice looking but I'm having coupler problems. The switcher pulls what ever it is pulling off the track, new and old rolling stock.Also I painted my wheel rims White to match the older units.
Dennis