Is BLI’s Y6b a new announcement, or has my head been in the sand a while? Until today, I have been oblivious to this news. (Edited for typo correction)
I noticed that the other day on BLI's website, but surprisingly have not seen it mentioned anywhere else.
Yes, thats the announcement I saw. I was curious if it was a generally known thing. The Y6b will be on the street sooner than their Big Boy, but until today, it was unknown to me; whereas their Big Boy is a much-ballyhooed thing.
Wow, with a die cast boiler plus a pair of traction tires on each truck, the Y6b should be able muscle long trains just like its prototype. I wonder if it will have tender pickup?
I have Life-Like's N Scale Y3 2-8-8-2 from 2002, DC only with Rapido coupler, before the 2008 DCC re-release with DCC, Sound, Accumate coupler and other improvements. Nonetheless, mine's an excellent runner and looks great.
I like and respect the Y6b, and most articulateds. Being a C&O modeler, I’m likely to pass. But I would buckle in a heartbeat for a Class A.
For sure. I had one of those (that's mine below), as sold by Arnold (with smoke!) and loved it. I ran it so much that the motor eventually quit after many years. I remotored it, but it never ran quite as well afterward. Seeing as MRC/Rowa parts were in high demand on eBay and that my Y3 was a good replacement, I sold it.
Same here. I did add DCC (non-sound) and a Micro-Trains coupler to mine. One of the best running engines I have.
Yes, but technically, that wouldn’t be buckling - it would be proceeding according to plan. My idea of a “complete” C&O roster for my layout consists of: An Allegheny 2-6-6-6 (a pipe dream, thus my Clinchfield Challenger) A 2-6-6-2 (H-4, 5, or 6) A Kanawha 2-8-4 (have two) A 4-8-2 Heavy Mountain (have one; a recent Ebay pickup) A J3a 4-8-4 (probably another pipe dream) A 2-8-0 (have one, needs cleaning & lube) And although not C&O, a Shay to run my planned branch line up some switchbacks, past a coal mine to a lumber camp.
The Rowa motors (which were /are the same as in the Berkshire, which I have and still runs like new) are excellent with the kind of snail-shaped brushes which rotate as they wear so that, as they wear, present the same profile to the commutator and thus, never have to be changed, at least until they finally completely wear out. My Berkshire still has the original brushes in it from about 1970. Granted, it hasn't gotten the steady use Dan's Y6b obviously did but I have never really had to service that loco, not even oiling it (although I have oiled it through habit). The motor and gears are so quiet, you can't hear the mechanism run. The only sounds are the wheels on the track. Doug
I think the Rowa motor was perhaps a bit overburdened by the 2-8-8-2's mechanism, or maybe it was my teenage hand on the throttle. I'd forgotten about the Berk. That too was a good locomotive, both from an era where good steam power was hard to find. I loved my Rapido Pacific too and, through the generosity of a good friend, am happy that I now have a factory perfect example in SOU apple green.
Life Like made an excellent loco with that. I've the sound version (my first north american articulated steam) from the later release which I got to sate my desire for a well done big boy. It's a good time for N scale steam.
