There's a couple of these on eBay, and I was wondering about y'alls opinions of them. Are they decent locomotives, or can they be made to run well? Any problems? What's an appropriate price for one with no major problems? (missing one eccentric crank)
Jon AFAIK this model is based on the Nickel Plate "Van Swearingen" Berkshire. These were made in Europe (Germany) by BEMO for MRC around 1970. Parts and replacement motors are virtually non-existent. The side rods and valve gear are all-plastic (not necessarily a bad thing). They run reasonably well considering their age and the production technology in use at the time of their introduction. Some folks say the Rivarossi 2-8-4 is produced from the same tooling but I don't think that is correct (however I may be wrong). I would not bid more than $65.00 for either of the two units currently on eBay. The missing eccentric is probably not a big deal and as long as the adjacent parts of the valve gear are not affected it should run OK without it. I believe this is the one you are referring to: ====== http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1732010338 ====== Here is another one http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1732565257 ====== But of course it is your money Caveat Emptor
Yep, those two are the ones. So they run decent for an older loco? Hmm... We'll see how the auction ends. It'll probably be more than $65, so I may just have to look for a Con-Cor/Riv. unit somewhere. It seems that they tend to go for alot more tho.
After just having finished replacing the crank pin and associated rods on a Minitrix 2-10-0 with one off a Minitrix 4-6-2, I wouldn't touch either of these with a 10ft. barge pole. Unless of course you had the spare parts and also the dexterity, steady hands and eyesight of a brain surgeon. PAY PEANUTS AND YOU GET MONKIES!
A point of clarification for the record: The MRC line was made by Rowa, not Bemo. This included the 2-8-8-2, 2-8-4, and the corrugated coach, pullman and tavern lounge observation. Bemo made a version of the 2-8-8-2 (rumored at the time to be a "2nd set of tooling" but this has never been confirmed) which Charles Merzbach imported, most with Suethe smoke units. There were differences in the "Bemo" production units from the Rowa units, but their parentage is not clear. The Rowa locomotive tooling went to Rivarossi after Jim Conway of ConCor bought it. The passenger car tooling was supposedly lost, either at the Rowa factory or at Rivarossi. This included the first Slumbercoach by ConCor which was made on the Rowa core, floor, underframe and end molds.
MRC was definitely made by Rowa - I have 3 of the (NKP prototype) 2-8-4's and 1 of the (N&W Y6b prototype) 2-8-8-2's in MRC/Rowa cases. The 2-8-8-2 came factory equipped with a smoke generator. Later I bought a Con-Cor 2-8-8-2 with metal drive rods (the Rowa's had plastic rods). They are all very good runners. The original Rowa motors had magnets that seemed to lose strength. The motors were probably the weakest feature. The gears and rest of the mechanism seemed to be very high quality, even by today's standards. Very smooth and quiet. I looked at the cases last night - the one for the 2-8-8-2 had no MRC markings on it - just Rowa. Mike NYC- 1956 [ 22 May 2002, 14:17: Message edited by: Mike Kmetz ]
On the MRC(ROWA) Berk's there is an age related problem on them, that of the plastic gears on the drive axles splitting rendering the units inoperable. There is a fix for this, though almost as hard to get, the drivers from a RR Berk are a drop in replacement and their solid brass like on the non import 2-8-8-2's Also there is a fellow down Fla. way who owns the replacement parts inventory for both MRC steamers, last I knew he was still the treasurer at the Suncoast Model Railroad Club (their listed in the N-Trak Club listtings at the N-Trak web site).
