Ok onceagain I would like to state that I am as green to this hobby as can be soplease bear with me… Ok I see many wheel configurations on these steam enginesand some of them are very large with articulating drive wheels. I am just wonderingwhat the pros and cons of the very large or the very small locomotives? The only locomotiveI have is a Bechmann 0-6-0 it’s a fine looking little Locomotive but looking atit from the side it looks a little funny because it has no rear wheels? I look atlittle locomotives like the Bechmann 4-4-0 (see link) and that is what an oldsteam locomotive should look like in my mind. Is there a big disadvantage tothese little locomotives? Of course ifthere is anything else you think I might need to know about steam locomotivesor any style that you think I might not be aware of please throw it at me lol…thank you for reading. http://images.search.yahoo.com/imag...b=140089acd&sigi=138lb9gtt&.crumb=TCfZArmt6yH
For some basic info on the why and wherefore of prototype wheel arrangements, check out www.steamlocomotive.com Near the left top you'll see a drop-down menu labeled "Wheel Types." This gives you a menu broken down by number of drivers (the large wheels in the middle of the engine). If you choose, say, 4-4-0, you get a page with this info: "The 4-4-0 or "American" type locomotive was widely used in North America during the 1800's. This wheel arrangement was well suited to the grades and curvature of the railroad of that time. Around 25,000 4-4-0 locomotives were built by companies including Rogers, Baldwin, Cooke and Mason. However, the design required the firebox to fit between the driving wheels which limited its firing (and thus steaming) capacity and by 1900 larger locomotives were needed." There are also links to railroads that used that type of engine, with pages containing mechanical specs on those engines. That might be more info that you want, but the generic info I quoted above may be a nice primer for you. Have fun! Jim
IMO there is not much of a disadvantage (in N scale) to the small steam engines vs. the larger ones. Some of them won't pull as well as the larger ones, but some will really surprise you with how many cars they will pull. Actually, If you are running on a very small layout (with tight radius curves) the small locos have an advantage. Having said that most all large locos will take curves as tight as 9.75 so that does not have to cause most people a problem either. I have several of both small and large steam engines and I can't say I really see one having an advantage over the other. There are pros and cons to each. I like them all! I myself would be interested in hearing some other members pros and cons concerning small steam vs. large. (in N scale)
The key to happiness with steam is buying something reliable, regardless of size. There have been a number of threads about recommended steam locomotives; here is a recent one: N Scale Steamers In general, the smaller the layout, the happier you will be with a relatively small locomotive. Smaller locos look better on tighter-radius curves, too. But you also will want to consider era - running a 4-4-0 with a 1950's boxcar would be a bit out of sync timewise (though you could easily do that with a 2-8-0, a number of which ran until the early 50's). Finally, also consider whether you will be using Digital Command Control or not. If you go the DCC route, you will be well-advised to get a loco that either already has a DCC decoder in it, or which can be converted via a "drop in" in the tender. One of the best running steam locos of all time is the Kato Mikado (a 2-8-2 wheel arrangement), which I would very highly recommend for all but the smallest of layouts, but NOT if you are using digital command control, since the Kato Mike wasn't designed for DCC and converting it is difficult. So I'd consider the size of the layout, the era you want to model, DCC or not, and then choose something that is a known good runner from the recommended lists. Nothing kills interest in the hobby more quickly than a locomotive that won't run well. John C.
A lot will depend also on what you decide to model and the era not to mention the road, unless you do a theoretical or fictious shortline. The little 4-4-0 type did make it on some roads up into the early 1950s however much different looking from the Bmann version. By then they burned either coal or oil rather than wood and often had some modern appliances added such as a Pyle or Nathan generator for the now electric rather than oil lamps and other appliances. The survivors were used on branchlines with light rail and bridge loadings with light traffic. The Model Power 4-4-0 is a fairly good rep of a more modern one. They got bumped into secondary service by the 4-4-2, 4-6-0, and the 2-6-2s. The real workhorses usually were the 2-8-0s and the 2-8-2s for freight. The mainstay for passenger service was the 4-6-2 Pacific until about 1925. As passenger trains got longer and cars heavier the 4-8-2 Mountain class came into being. About 1926 to 1927 the 4-8-4 came into use for both passenger and fast freight, however the 4-6-2s made it into the last years of steam in secondary passenger service and freight. The 2-6-2 type was generally not a great performer, probably the one lemon among the wheel arrangements, and very few made it into the later years. Generally a four wheel lead truck was there for guidance at speed. A four wheel trailing truck was there to support a larger firebox thus greater steam production, more power and speed. The advent of the four wheel trailing truck generally signified the start of the superpower era with the Hudsons 4-6-4 type, the Northerns, Berkshires which were 2-8-4 freight locos, and the 4-6-6-4 Challenger types. But as said earlier the mainstays were the 2-8-0s and 2-8-2s. The 2-8-2s are hard to come by right now. But for the more modern era Bmann makes an excellent 2-8-0, and a 4-6-0, along with the 4-8-2 Heavy Mountain and a light 2-10-2. Kato has the excellent GS-4 4-8-4 and there is a hard to come by Kato 2-8-2 and GN S-2 4-8-4 also by Concor/Kato. Stay away from the Bmann light mountain. The earlier version was a poor runner and needed a lot of work to improve it. That said Bmann has an updated version of the light mountain now out that is much better and runs as good as the heavy Mountain, but unless you can tell the versions apart I would steer away from one and go for the heavy Mountain for big steam.
Nice post John, that helps explain some of the wheel configurations for me. I thought the 4-6-2s were used right into the 50s as passenger service. However, weren't the smaller configurations used primarily as switchers and/or short line engines? That 0-6-0 for example was a switcher along with the 0-4-0. Those wouldn't need trailing and forward trucks as they never were really used for any "serious" speed, correct? Also wanted to say that I have that Bachmann (spectrum) 2-10-2 and its a great runner. Its brand new with DCC so not the older version.
Yes the 0-4-0, 0-6-0, 0-8-0 and 0-10-0 all were built primarily as switchers and were occasionally used for short transfer service particularly the 0-8-0 and 0-10-0. There were attempts by some roads to use elderly 2-8-0s and a few other types as switchers but for the most part it didn't work out. Purpose built switchers had all the weight on the drivers for excellent tractive effort, in some cases more than a similar road engine with lead and trailing trucks, and were designed for quick starts and stops to kick the cars around in the yards. Since the switchers were low speed and did not need to maintain a bigger supply of steam at speed they could have smaller fireboxes that didn't need trailing truck support or a lead truck for guidance. A few roads like the GN took old 2-8-0s and removed the lead trucks and converted them to switchers rather than buying new. The also took poor running 2-6-2s and converted them to excellent 4-6-2s that saw many years of service. And roads like the Pennsy and a few others developed some Pacific types late into the steam era that equaled some of the Hudson types, and those Pacifics continued into the end of steam. A lot of the early Mikes and Consolidations indeed did soldier on for quite a while in secondary service while the newer 2-8-2s took over. No longer powerful or fast enough for mainline service they held down the peddler and way freight work for years until the Alco RS series and the GP 7s came along and retired them for good. During the early transition era it wasn't at all uncommon to find an 0-6-0 working a big yard with a Alco S-2. In the small town I grew up in the latter part of the 1950s the local freight came in on the NP behind one of thier 2-8-2s while the GN locals came in behind GP units. And the Holly Sugar yard was worked by a 0-4-0T, built in 1885, that shoved sugar beet cars up a 6 % short incline to unload them. That little steamer ran for about 72 years before being replaced. I had to dig a bit but here is a photo of that 1885 era loco that made it into the end of steam.
Tonga, for my $ you can't go wrong with the old Roundhouse 2-6-0 locos. They run whisper quiet/smooth and pull well, the best $50 you'll spend on Ebay for a loco. Cheers & have fun!
When you say2-6-0 do you mean Bechmann? … I must saythe one 0-6-0 that came with my set seems to run very well… it started making aclicking noise then someone suggested I pop the top and tighten the side screws…been running good from then on..,
I believe he is referring to the old Roundhouse/MDC now Athearn I believe. There are two locos out there that one and a 2-8-0 both are modeled in the early style of the 1890s -1900s. The newest is the Bmann 2-6-0 that just came out and it represents a little more modern version of the 2-6-0. Also there is the Atlas 2-6-0. All are good runners and the initial reports on the new Bmann 2-6-0 is that it is also a good runner.
