The Lockheed Constellation family were tough birds to maintain compared to the Douglas DC-4/6/7. They were, in typical Lockheed fashion, far more complicated than the corresponding Douglas products. The L49/C-69 Connie was the first airliner where all the flight controls were hydraulically boost operated. That meant dual hydraulic systems, primary and secondary. You never saw an in-service Connie where the underside of the rear fuselage didn't have red juice on it. Even the VC-121 SAMFLEET VIP aircraft and the VC-121E Presidential. Both systems were powered up full pressure if engines were running.
Douglas flight controls were straight mechanical which made them more work to fly, it is true, but less complex with no boost packages although rigging could be interesting. Lots of cables. Basically, the hydraulic system on a Douglas prop liner was turned off in cruise flight, that is, put into bypass. On the DC-4 it did run at low pressure to power the autopilot servos and the cowl flaps.
The engine installation was much better on the all the Connies. Except for the L049/149, the power section cowling blossomed out easily. Best of all, you had full access from the rear accessory section through firewall doors. The EC-121/WV-2 types were a bit more crowded in the outboard nacelles due to an extra generator/alternator gearbox taking up room.
The Douglas products lacked rear access except through the side panels. Made it tough to reach in through the lines and wire looms to change a starter or a generator. The power section cowling was in three pieces and had to be manhandled off and deposited on racks to work the engine. In a wind, taking off a big piece of cowling could be interesting while standing on a ladder.
Douglas got away without a flight engineers station just giving the engineer a folding jumpseat aft of the pedestal. The Connie flight engineers station had everything there and was certainly easier to monitor. However the whole cockpit on the Connies was more cramped as it was squeezed into the pointy end.
I think the fact that Douglas propliners stayed in use longer is because of their basic simplicity. For sheer beauty however the Connie, particularly the L-1649 Starliner wins, hands down.