wrong # You are right on the money. Actually there have been three different companies make a plastic C&O 2-8-4. First was MRC. This guy I renumbered to make it correct for the ex PM as you mentioned. Then ConCor got the tooling and proceeded to do their usual goof up of paint and numbering wrong. And then LifeLike couldnt get the numbering right either. But then if you are lucky you got a Key with the sand dome in the right place.
The new H-4, with the first run Bachmann 2-6-6-2 in the background. I don't have any of the 2nd run, but I think the mechanism is perhaps the same. It is quieter than the heavy Mountain, and does not have traction tires. There are quite a few external detail differences on the boiler. Note that even the cylinders on the front engine are different...
A comparison of the tenders. Bachmann did a much better job of hiding the bronze pick-ups when compared to the heavy Mountain tender. The new McHenry style coupler is on the tender, but sadly there is a small dummy coupler on the front of the locomotive.
The new Bachmann coupler, a standard Micro-Trains hopper, and a McHenry coupler (held in the tweezers) that I found at Caboose Hobbies during a recent trip to Denver. The McHenrys that I bought do not come with any box - what you see is what is what you get.
The new Vandy tender with the shell removed. Construction is similar to the heavy Mountain tender. The wires between the tender and locomotive are very short, for good operation. This makes removing the tender difficult. Note the connector is inside the tender, unlike the 0-8-0.
More pictures of the tender - the circuitry looks similar to the heavy Mountain. The locomotive comes with two sets of bronze contacts, like the heavy Mountain, in case you want to remove the decoder. I'm not a user of DCC so I'm not sure what other decoders will fit - perhaps the ruler will help someone.. Beware if you disassemble the tender as it is not easy to get back together. Bachmann did thankfully refrain from using glue unlike some of their previous offerings. You must have a set of needle point tweezers, however, to re-connect the rear ladders and front wire grab irons when you put the tender back together, as well as an Opti-Visor and a good light source.
I checked the wheels with an NMRA gauge, and on mine they are not perfect, but they are close enough and can be adjusted. My brother Krek reports that his undecorated unit has all of the wheels in gauge. His tender truck wheels are .002 inch too narrow in gauge, and mine are too narrow as well. The tread width is all .083 to .085 inch, including the drivers. The front LED is too orange for my liking. The lead truck will not always follow the divergent route of my No.4 Shinohara turn-out, but it's too soon to blame it on the locomotive. The tender coupler height matches the Micro-Trains height gauge, and the pilot does not sag down like the first run 2-6-6-2. I imagine that the pulling power will be the same as the second run 2-6-6-2. My layout is too small to run pulling power tests on.
I should be home tomorrow and hopefully mine will be there and i will have a pulling contest. Thanks for the pix Rasputen.
Thanks for the photos. It certainly looks good. A couple of coupler questions. How does the coupler work with MTL's and McHenrys. Is it a McHenry/Accumate style mounting or a T-Shank?
Thanks for the pix Rasputen! Interesting that the new Bmann knuckle is even bigger than the McHenry. Mark
The Bachmann coupler mounts in the same way as the McHenry: The post that the coupler pivots on is part of the metal chassis of the tender. Here is the Bachmann coupler on the left, and the McHenry on the right. Sorry I always have difficulty photographing black parts. The Bachmann trip pin is even a heavier gauge wire compared to the McHenry. The McHenry will drop right in without any modifications.
Thanks again for the photos and taking your engine apart to get them. Even though the coupler is a bit larger than a McHenry at last we have a Bachmann steamer with a working coupler.
Rasp, thanks for doing all this work for us, and the pics, I really appreciate it! That's what I love about this forum, you allways learn ... Kind regards, Otto
Just got home and mine was waiting. Ran it around for a half hour and then put ten Athearn hoppers on it. Pulled them with ease up a 1% grade with a S curve in it. Put five more on and started to slip but made it. Probably would pull around twenty on the flat. Will try that later. My first impression is that its basically the old model with a few details added to the engine. I noticed they also moved the bell and as mentioned the front cylindera re different. The tender is all new and impressive. I hope they sell it seperately as I have a use for several. The new coupler worked wonderfully. as mentioned before the front coupler is a small dummy. Since C&O used these steamers not only pulling but also pushing its a shame they couldnt spend another buck on a $200 engine and put a couplers up front.
MTL used to make conversion kits with replacement pilots, the last they did was for the original Kato 2-8-2. Why they don't make them for Spectrum steam locos only they know.
I'm not sure about that, we still want working couplers on the front of our steam locomotives. How many conversion pilots for the Spectrum 2-8-0 would they have sold by now?
