I see Key made a C&O H-8 (2-6-6-6) in brass a few years ago, and still has C&O K-4's in stock (2-8-4's). I've never bought brass before, and if I bought one of these would intend to run them. Are the good runners? All geared drivers? How hard are they to DCC convert?
I can't answer anything about the 2-8-4's but I have an H-8 and I will answer what I can. Good luck finding an H-8, they are getting fairly rare although I might know where there is one setting. The last one I saw sold for $1500.00. Mine set's in it's box until the layout is done. I won't take any chances with it. They are absolutely beautiful loco's. OldRK has one that he runs regularly and he would be a better reference for pulling power and such. My test loop doesn't have large enough radius to do it justice so it stays tucked away for now without a coupler on it. Mine does run very smooth and have decent low speed performance. Think big radius, mine would run around a 12" but barely. 14-18" is best for this loco. It is articulated just like the real thing, the rear engine is mounted solid to the boiler. They offer a traction tire in the box to increase pulling power. Only one axle per engine is geared and the other axles are rod driven. DCC should not be too dificult, the motor is already issolated, it would be just like doing any other hardwire install. It will require removing the boiler though. I haven't been brave enough to take mine apart yet to see. There are also H-4,5,6's (2-6-6-2's) and a C&O 2-10-2 available in brass also I believe.
Key is the way to go if you are going to buy any brass. However, Rio Grande Hobbies web site unfortuneately states "- Due to low orders, Key Imports Brass future orders have been cancelled." I doubt if we will ever see any N scale offerings from them again. :tb-sad:
The Key Imports website itself does not state anything about cancelling production. Just checked Caboose Hobbies, they still have Key pre-orders listed. Should check other shops in the web. I saw Key engines also listed at the bay, but many of the sellers only offer shipping within the US, not to Old Europe. Nevertheless the bay seems to be the quicker way to get some Key engines Just my 2 cts (Euro-Cents exactly)
Agreed. The Key website indicates they are alive and well in N Scale. Some of their present and planned projects do seem to be butting against plastic - GS-4, Big Boy, Challenger, Cab Forward and a number of F units. The only C&O item is a K-4. The way I read the statement on Rio Grande's is that they (Rio Grande) have cancelled future orders. It might be good to check Uncle Dave's Brass for Key past and present, new and used C&O items. http://www.uncledavesbrass.com/BRAS-KEY.HTML Ben
I have an Allegheny... and a berkshire, but in NKP colors. The Allegheny is a site to behold parked next to a BigBoy or Challenger. Both the Allegheny and Berk are excellent and you cant go wrong getting one. When you find an Allegheny on the big auction site, you can expect the price to push near $1K or more. Several Berks in NKP have been on the site lately trading at less than that price. I am not sure if E-vendors listing the C&O Berk really have them in stock, or whether they would have to order back to Key to get one from inventory. They were issued a while ago. Dave
Currently, there is a slew of Hallmark diesels on ebay. The price activity is low. One item is tempting, but due to the price activity, I'm wondering if Hallmark is shelf queen material.
Regarding Hallmark brass diesels - two things. Modern plastic diesels run better and have nearly as good detail as brass. Hallmark quality was not as good as some others. They invariably will have split gears. The good news is you can often pick up a faulty Hallmark diesel cheap then restore it to like-new operation with a couple of gears from Northwest Short Line.
Did I hear my name get mentioned? Yes I have one of those monsters. The Key C&O 2-6-6-6. I also have the C&O 2-10-4. Love em both. The Texas will slightly out pull the Allegheny. Those are the only two brass units I own. Thats because they aren't available in plastic and I'm a die hard C&O guy. I saw the last Allegheny go for $1,500 on ebay a couple of days ago. Got mine for $800. The Texas was also $800. If santa wants to bring me a K4 that would be swell. I run them both with long trains. Love to watch them go by each other. As mentioned dont expect to run them on short radius. The Allegheny really looks silly going around anything but a sweeping curve.
I'm now getting upset. I see the Key model is a true to prototype C&O K4 unlike the plastic ones. $750. How can I raise that much? $750. Christmas is just around the corner.$750. Am I a dreamer or what?
[ame="http://youtube.com/watch?v=1TpEbvArFsM"]YouTube - Big Train[/ame] The Allegheny is at the very beginning. Pulls about 50 cars.
Your Allegheny looks great! I hope you post more pics and videos of it. I am a huge fan of the H8 and being that the brass ones are hard to come by, I hope Kato or Athearn will build one.
WElcome to trainboard. Go to my pictures here at TB for more pictures of all things C&O . Here is a link to my C&O steam stuff with a picture of the Allegheny. http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php/cat/1636 Also have a blog here on C&O stuff. Will do some more Allegheny stuff just because it sounds like a darn good idea. Where you from?
I run 4 of the Key 2-6-6-6's, 2 of the 2-8-4's and one 2-10-4 on my layout. All are DCC-equipped by myself. The locos are good runners, however the 2-6-6-6 is sensitive to the track. Especially in curves on a grade, the short fixed wheelbase (only 3 axles on the rear engine) in combination with the drawbar pull necessitates exact track alignment and not too tight a radius. On my layout, there's a 5-turn helix with a 1.67% grade with a radius of 21". When pulling a 27-car coal train up, even minor faults in the track will tend to derail the front engine outwards. The loco will pull those 28 cars up 2% grade without slipping. The 2-10-4 will pull the same train up but the front driver tends to climb the outer rail, but rerails itself when on the stright line. The 2-8-4 has excellent tracking and pulls more than 20 cars up said grade. These locos will need a 1 amp decoder, I had 0.5 amp decoders first installed in the loco shell, but they obviously couldn't take the load. Now I have run for some years with the larger (Lenz) decoders, they are housed in the tender, since the boiler shell is too small. They work perfectly. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SInKbTay7CY"]YouTube - Extra 1645 East, Thurmond to Hinton WVa[/ame]
You can't go wrong with the Key locos. I have 5 in the SP livery. 2 cab forwards and 3 MTs. all are excellent runners. The articulateds do take a bit of fiddling to run great on less than perfect track work. The drivers are a bit underguaged on all of mine, but this is only an issue with code 55 track. I havn't converted mine to dcc, but they are easy to do so. If you do find one that is in need of some TLC, most of the driveline components are available from Northwest shortlines.
I have several Key brass locos, and they are all very good. However, if you want a C&O Berk just for the heck of it, consider getting a Life Like and renumbering/relettering it. Some of the Pere Marquette Berkshires were renumbered and relettered by C&O and used for a while in Kentucky and West Virginia. e.g. http://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/dr0001/co2695.jpg
Welcome to Trainboard. I bet you are the only Swede with four N scale Alleghenys. Wow. Nice to see the C&O running over your way!
I see the 2-6-6-6's come up for auction every now and then on Ebay, type in N scale, sort for Highest first, they come fairly regularly on the first page...hope this helps...
jmha, yes, welcome to Trainboard! That's a very impressive layout you have there. The sense of realism is top notch. I especially like how you did the tunnel, highway bridge and station at Prince.
