Life-Like, N scale, Alco C-424 diesel

A good-looking Alco C-424 with a smooth-running mechanism is a recent release from Life-Like. It neatly captures the clean lines and chunky look of the prototype.

Alco introduced the C-424 as part of its Century line of diesel engines in 1963. The four-axle locomotive produced 2,400-hp, and was available with and without dynamic brakes. During the five-year production run, Alco built 190 C-424s for railroads in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Life-Like’s N scale C-424 features a well-detailed plastic shell and includes thin-profile acetal plastic handrails, separately applied air horn, and flush-fitting side windows with silver-painted frames. The model has the protruding rear number boards of a Phase I C-424 as produced in 1963. Later C-424 and all C-425 models (2,500 hp versions of the C-424) have their number boards set into the notched corners on the rear hood.

The dimensions of the model matched Alco’s sales brochure diagrams with two exceptions–the body shell has an extra scale 18″ in the hood behind the cab, and the truck wheelbases are 4″ too long.

When the model is seen from eye level, its carbody appears to sit too high above the trucks, although the overall height is correct. Alco’s drawings show the C-424 filled this open space between the trucks and the sill. To hide the gap, I’d cement strips of styrene under the sills and paint them black to match the chassis.

Life-Like provides a single instruction sheet that includes an exploded isometric drawing, a parts list, and maintenance instructions. It also has a helpful set of instructions for taking the model apart.

The model runs well, because it’s fitted with a typical split-frame chassis like most of today’s better N scale locomotives. Two brass flywheels are included, so our sample started easily and would creep steadily at about five scale mph. Its five-pole, skew-wound motor and eight-wheel drive allow the locomotive to pull 19 cars on straight, level track.

The C-424 has no provision for Digital Command Control (DCC), but Aztec Manufacturing Co. (www.aztectrains.com) provides a machining service to mill off part of the frame to fit a decoder.

The locomotive comes with body-mounted Rapido-style couplers, but the frame is also set up for easy, proper-height installation of Micro-Trains Line no.1015 magnetic knuckle couplers. Simply pull out the clip that holds the factory coupler in place and swap it for the Micro-Trains coupler.

Our sample came neatly decorated for Penn Central and included the small numbers printed on the number boards.
The model’s dimensional flaws aren’t obvious, so Life-Like’s C-424 is a nice model that fills an important gap in the N scale Alco roster.

N scale Alco C-424 diesel

Price: $80

Manufacturer:
Life-Like Products, LLC
1600 Union Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21211-1998
www.lifelikeproducts.com

Description:
Plastic-and-metal locomotive

Features:
Acetal plastic molded handrails
Constant directional headlights
Drawbar pull: .8 ounce
Dual flywheel drive
Eight-wheel drive and electrical
pickup
Engine weight: 3 ounces
Minimum radius: 9″
Rapido-style body-mounted
couplers
Split-frame mechanism

Road Names:
(Two road numbers each)
Burlington Northern; Chicago &
North Western; Conrail; Erie
Lackawanna; New York,
New Haven & Hartford;
Norfolk & Western; Penn
Central; Pennsylvania RR;
Spokane, Portland & Seattle;
and undecorated