So cool!
It is always fun to have some items that are just different from everything else. This Doodlebug fits that bill. These units in real life were like a cross between a passenger car and a locomotive. They usually served areas where full scale passenger service would not be profitable, so these had passengers on one side and a cumbustion engine on the other end.
Issued in the Rail King Line, this unit would look good with anything. It has the unique sounds you would hear on a Doodlebug. This one is from 1998, so it is Protosounds 1. It does not have DCS as it was not a thing yet! BUT there are some neat special interurban station and passenger sounds that you can activate with your transformer--read all about it in the instructions.
We went over this one for you and tested it. All features work. We put a new battery in for you.
For best operation: These early Doodlebugs operate best when you start it up and warm up between 5-8 volts (not the higher voltage you use for most other MTH items. For this reason, these particular units do not know how to behave with the BCRs (after market replacement item) which need higher voltages at start up to charge. So just do not use a BCR, and let it warm up between 5-8 volts.
Features:
- DCRU electronic reverse unit,
- die-cast trucks,
- and operating headlight.
- Operates on O-31 track
- Operating Metal Couplers
- All Metal Gears
- Decorative Metal Horn
- 2 Precision Flywheel-Equipped Motors
- Equipped with Proto-Sound 1.0
- Passenger and Station sounds
- Locomotive Measures Approximately: 16" x 2 1/2" x 3 3/4"
CONDITION: C-7. Tested and runs, sounds, etc. Original battery has been replaced with a new one for you. Windows have scratches and rubs. Paint rubs on steps. Wear on pickups showing it has been run. With original instructions. Cosmetically looks great
With P-7 BOX in great shape with some light shelf and handling wear.
Some History:
Even in the heyday of steam power, it was still expensive for steam trains to serve passengers on small branch lines and secondary mainlines. The solution to high-cost, low-ridership routes was the Doodlebug. Doodlebugs were essentially a cross between a locomotive and a passenger car. The front section housed an internal combustion engine and the rear housed a passenger or freight compartment. Larger consists housed the baggage and freight in the rear compartment and pulled a passenger car behind the Doodlebug, but most were run as single units. At their peak of popularity in the 1920s, Doodlebugs rode the rails in every part of the country