MTH ELECTRIC TRAINS

The largest and perhaps flashiest of Joshua Lionel Cowen's standard gauge electric locomotives wasn't the company's most expensive. That distinction belonged to the 2-motored 408E. But it was the 381E, based loosely on a 4-4-4 wheel arrangement, that has earned the distinction of being one of the most prized possessions that a pre-war tinplate era collector can own. In fact, given the limited capabilities in the 1920s to faithfully recreate an accurate model of a real life prototype, the 381E did a fairly good job of impersonating a Milwaukee Road electric that ran over the mountainous stretches between Othello and Tacoma, Washington. Fortunately, the M.T.H. version of the 381E does an excellent job of recreating the look and colors of the pre-war tinplate original. Aside from the stampings and plates identifying the engine as an M.T.H. model, a user would be hard pressed to tell the difference. Until, that is, one runs a Contemporary version equipped with Proto-Sound 2.0. No original 381E could ever run as smoothly or slowly and nor recreate the sounds of a real locomotive like the M.T.H. version.