A lot of readers will be familiar with the Sierra 2-6-6-2 which was also used by Weyerhoueuser.
I was surprised to find that there was a very similar situation between Northern Pacific and Rayoneer Lumber. NP had one of there early 2-6-6-2 mallets in storage and was in amazingly good condition. This engine a NP Z1 was almost a clone of the GN L-1 Mallet but was built without the Belpaire firebox.
There are some excellent photos and historical anodotes of these second hand articulateds in Articulated steam locomotives of North America (purchased my copy over 30 years ago). It is based upon a Sumpter Valley narrow guage prototype and could benefit from a larger boiler in my opinion.
I do not ‘see’ the simularities. The model is still the old Mantua engine that is a ‘splice’ job of two 0-6-0 boilers. There is no forward sand dome and the steam chests are identical - not a compound mallet.
It is good kit-bash fodder if the following can be met:
You’re right on the “similarities”, Jim, but the sand dome and cylinders could be fixed. You’d have to scrounge a dome and move the bell, but those are easy - mis-matches could be explained as an in-house fix of the forward sand box, due to a large tree having fallen on the original one…[:D] The tricky part would be the cylinders - overlays, add a new cylinder head, or maybe the cylinders from a Mantua Mike or Pacific…???
The word is they run fairly well, but that’s an opinion… Considering the number of relatively inexpensive Bachmann USRA 2-6-6-2s out there, might not be worth the effort for a mainline engine…
I presume you are referring to the Mantua model - whose prototype (a simple semi-articulated, not a compound) was delivered to the 3-foot gauge Uintah as a 2-6-6-2T. When the Uintah folded, the Sumpter Valley bought them at a bargain rate and provided them with tenders. Later they went to Guatemala.
They have very small wheels, both pilot and drivers, and simply don’t have the bulk of the real Sierra, Weyerhauser or Rayonier lokes. The superstructures of the models are `foobies,’ as is my version (which owes more to standard Japanese practices than it does to Baldwin - even though Japan never had a twelve-driver steamer.)
The one thing the Mantua model has going for it is the ability to wrap itself around a really tight radius. I run it on 350mm radius, and have tested it (coupled to standard JNR 4-wheel cars) down to 300mm. All of my mods have been to the superstructure, except for the amputation of the cowcatcher pilots (a design unknown in Japan in the 20th century.)
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - including a 2-6-6-2T that never was)