Howdy all: Are there any reliable N scale Steam Switchers available. I have a shay which works fine for it, but Northern Pacific didn't have any that I'm aware of. It would be nice to have a reliable one to go with my two VO-1000's.
Bill, Depends on what you call a switcher. I've had pretty good luck with the cheap Bachmann 0-6-0. I think it cost about $24. I haven't installed a decoder yet, but it runs quite well on the test loop.
Hi Pete: The thing that concerns me about those smaller engines is having them stall out on insulated frogs. Have you tried it switching cars in the yard at all?
Just make sure the tender trucks pick up power. I THINK (not sure) the newer Bachmann tenders pick up power. if not, you can make them or buy the power pick up trucks and swap them out. I recommend using a Micro Ace JNR small steamer. You can swap out the tender and a couple mods to make them US spec/American look They are very good runners, high quality, excellent detail (approaching brass) , tender power pick-ups, and have traction tires as well. Most start at about $55-60 I have bought many of them. A great source with great prices is Samurai Express on ebay: I have purchased a few from him. http://stores.ebay.com/Samurai-Express_N-scale-Railroad_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ2QQftidZ2QQtZkm Here is a nice one for only $55 (2-8-0 but very small) - photo of one in my sig: http://cgi.ebay.com/MicroAce-9701-Steam-Typ-9600-LargeDef-USED_W0QQitemZ280003846174QQihZ018QQcategoryZ486QQcmdZViewItem Here is a 2-6-0 - would make a great steam switcher - $60 http://cgi.ebay.com/MicroAce-7401-Steam-C-50-110_W0QQitemZ280003847601QQihZ018QQcategoryZ486QQcmdZViewItem
If you're willing to put some work into a tender, I think almost anything could be made workable. I have a very old, very rebuilt Rapido 0-6-0 (rebuilt to a 2-6-0 and repowered with a Trix U28 motor). I completely junked the tender deck and trucks and shortened a Kato caboose frame to fit the tender body; that gives me 8x8 frictionless end-axle pickups in that tender. Man, that thing will walk through the WORST TRACK now and never hiccup. You don't need flywheels! So I'd go with what you really want, just be ready to get a Kato caboose for parts and rebuild the tender system. NOBODY but Kato does truck pickup right, don't bother with wipers, anything else. That Kato frame is worth its weight in gold.
Steam switchers The Athearn 2-8-0 is actually an 1889 Northern Pacific prototype and either Athearn or the original maker MDC Roundhouse, did make it lettered for NP. It can be easily "modernized" to resemble a post-WWII locomotive. It has excellent slow speed and picks up from 16 wheels, eight on the locomotive and eight on the tender. If you add tender pickups (see Randgust's post) to the MiniTrix 0-6-0 it is a bit fast, but won't stall on turnouts. It's a PRR prototype, though.:cat:
Hello Bill, depends what you are looking for: At the time the NP used the VO1000 they had basically two types of steam switchers: 060 Class L9 Number 1040 - 1134 and L10 Number 1160 - 1169 080 Class G1 Number 1170 - 1173 and G2 Number 1174 - 1193 For the L class indeed a Bachman 060 is the right starting point. The cab looks different and the NP used a rectangular tender (not a slopeback). I can second Randgust's comments on tender pickup. The 080 Class G1 were assigned by the USRA to the NP. NP did protest as they found the engines too expensive. Once they were usd the NP liked them so much that they ordered near copies as class G2. The main difference is the cab, with the G2 more NP-standard. The Gs had only 51 inch drivers, same as the tiny 060, so the Bachman Consol will have slightly oversize wheels. Alsdo the domes where "flatter" on the NP. But starting woith a consol will give you an excellent running model. I use them extenbsively for switching and like the performance: Slow speed, enough muscle for nearly anything, surefooted runners through yardladders (though I use PECO Electrofrogs...) Hope this helps Cheers Dirk
Pete For two years, I thought it was my bad trackwork. It still happened on a 1x8xwhatever on my workbench with nailed down track and turnout.
You can sometimes pick up an old Rivarossi 0-8-0 real cheep. Some don't run well because of a warped/crumbling frame so be sure that is not an issue. It is based on an Indiana Harbor Belt engine but can be bashed into something else. Here I turned one into a Santa Fe prototype.
Russ: I have several of those 0-8-0's and they can easily be converted as you suggest. If one of those loco's can be found make sure the frame isn't warped as Russ noted in his post. Stay cool and run steam.....
The Rivarossi 0-8-0 is a strange model. It seems they lasted either 30 seconds or a lifetime. Once the ZAMAC-alloy frame warped, they were cooked forever. A few years ago, I bought about 30 of the cooked ones on eBay. There are five that showed signs of life. I remotored two of the others with a Mabuchi FF-30, with lots of problems "correcting" the frames with a lot of filing. I promptly decided they were not worth the effort in salvaging. If you do find a good one, they are decent runners. The tenders have electrical pickup, so I've kitbashed some of them.
. Didn't Robert (Pray59) do this. His was based on a NP 0-8-0. Might drop him a line to get some ideas. Eric
This L&N C2 is made from a Tomix 2-8-0 drive (with the "2" removed), an Altas 0-8-0 shell, Kato Mikado side rods and valve gear, a Kato Mikado tender with an Atlas coal bunker. The motor is located in the tender. The motor is from a LifeLike E unit, with one flywheel removed.
I made an NP G2 Class out of the Bachmann 2-8-0 which runs great. The only really noticable thing is the drivers on the Consolidation are too big fo an 0-8-0, but I lived with that. The only thing I would do different is the choice of DCC Decoder. If doing it all over, I would use a Lenz Gold Mini and Lenz Power 1 module in the tender. I have fit this combo in a Z Scale Mikado, and I can run for 11 seconds with the power removed from the track. If you use the gold mini and a power 1 in your small switcher, you won't have to worry about stalling anymore. If you don't use DCC, make sure you have tender pickup fixed for all wheels. -Robert
The Bachmann 0-6-0 does pick up fom the tender. I've just finished a 24-hour break-in run. It is quite smooth at about 20 scale MPH. Low speed is not up to the Spectrum 2-8-0. It requires 3 or 4 volts to run, and will not creep reliably I ran it across a number of Atlas No. 7s without any problem, but I won't really know until I put a decoder in it, which may not happen for a while. Like most Bachmanns, it soils the track from over-lubrication. I'm now going to clean my Uni-Track loop and see how it does.
