Maybe I’ll have to try it to find out the limit on mine. So far seven is the most I’ve ever needed to take up the grade at a time. There are only 8 customers on my shortline and 4 of them are reached before the steepest part of the grade. It has taken 7 cars over the summit with no problem at all.
My PFM 4-6-0 is a poor puller. I improved it by adding some weight, but it still does not match my MDC 4-6-0 pulling abilities. So I double-head them, with the PFM placed upfront to highlight its details. But the MDC does most of the wo
The PRR’s 2-6-0’s (Class F) were used as fast freight engines at a time when regular freights were powered by 2-8-0’s (Class H) and passengers by 4-4-0’s (Class D) and 4-4-2’s (Class E). It found high drivered 2-6-2’s (original Class J) to be unstable at high speed and went with 4-6-2’s (Class K) for 6 coupled passenger power.
The Class F locos were gone by the Thirties, the Class D’s had their drivers (80 inch) replaced by smaller diameter ones (68 inch) to become branch line dual purpose locos - see the D16sb at RR Museum of PA, the Class E’s (except for the E6s, which had the power of a light Pacific) became secondary line engines, early 2-8-0’s such as H6 were demoted to way freight and switcher duty (Despite its heavy traffic, the PRR had only 90 0-8-0’s (Class C) which were not well liked due to the damage they inflicted on track) followed by the H8, H9 and H10 classes as they were replaced by Mikado’s.
The MILW Prairies were a different breed than the high drivered speed demons of the PRR and LS&MS (NYC). First, as a type, the 2-6-2’s were the first engines to use a trailing truck to support a large firebox, behind the drivers. This was to be copied by virtually all future road locomotives as it resulted in a free steaming boiler that produced plenty of steam. In addition the combination of low (63 inch) and moderate (69 inch) drivers clearly marked them as freight or dual purpose machines. Last, the MILW engines had their driving rods connected to the third set of drivers. This made for a comparatively stable loco, those 2-6-2’s with the rods connected to the second pair were right at the center of rotation of the locomotive, which caused them to yaw (a problem also on center connected 2-10-2’s or any center connected symetrical wheel arrangement). Essentially, the MILW engines and its contemporaries had everything a modern engine had - except power. They enjoyed a brief moment of glory as mainline freighters, but wer
Ah…excuse me, Beau? I’m VERY interested in this. What is this separate 2-6-2 group of which you speak? Can you hook me up with a link to some info, photos?
Thanks,
-Matt
Your wish is my command, my little swamp turnip. We’ll start with logger McCloud River, which had no less than eleven of the beasts
McCloud River 2-6-2 “Prairie” Locomotives in the USA (steamlocomotive.com)
Bonhommie and Hattiesburg Southern
bhs250a.jpg (900×675) (hawkinsrails.net)
Klondike Mines
km4-gueller.jpg (1070×520) (steamlocomotive.com)
Red River and Gulf
rrg-15.jpg (400×196) (msrailroads.com)
Eureka-Nevada
RAILROAD PRINT EUREKA NEVADA Ry 2-6-2 STEAM LOCOTIVE #7 | eBay
Sierra Railway
Sierra-Railway-30.jpg (900×544) (ncry.org)
Here’s the mother load, technical descriptions, some photos, just pick the railroad you never heard of and you’ll probably find locos meeting this description (Locobase is a great reference)
2-6-2 “Prairie” Locomotives in the USA (steamlocomotive.com)
If it doesn’t have photos, pick a railroad, then do an image search using “Name of Railroad 2-6-2”
Mantua made a 2-6-2 that was similar to the ones Baldwin made for the logging industry. With rubber tires. With some fine tuning, they can be fine runners.
Simon
Thank you. Very useful links. I like those low-rider 2-6-2s. Something to consider as a Shay alternative if I ever find room/time/$ for a logging line.
Here’s sometging you might want to consider
HO MEHANO TRAIN LINE BALTIMORE & OHIO DCC READY 2-6-0 MOGUL #M 533 | eBay
That looks pretty much exactly like those two IHC Moguls that I bought, many years ago, at Hobbies For Men, for ten or twelve bucks apiece. I’ve remotored mine and re-detailed it, too. It’s a much better loco than it was when I first bought it.
If that person’s asking price is $91.00, my re-worked version…
…should be worth at least a couple hundred…there’s gotta be more than a few gullible purchasers around.
Wayne
I’ll give you two hundred…rubles
A really sweet looking loco Wayne… I’m guessing you added extra weight for better performance? And extra power pickup on some of the wheels?
I have an old MDC 2-6-0 unbuilt kit on my shelf. I just might tackle that one soon!
Simon
Thanks for your kind comment, Simon.
I have added all-wheel current collectors on some of my locomotives, especially if the original set-up isn’t reliable…
This 0-6-0, on loan from a friend, wasn’t a very reliable runner, so I decided to equip it with all-wheel pick-up. The loco…
…and the tender…
…and a view of the whole shebang…
I haven’t added any weight to it, as he may want it back as-is. I’m hoping to buy it, though, so that I can convert it into a TH&B switcher.
While my friend does not have an operating layout, he does have a layout of considerable size. When he moved from nearby Hamilton 10 or 15 years ago, to a ranch in the Rockies in British Columbia, he took his layout with him…as best I can recall, it consisted of 12 4’x8’ sheets of plywood, set-up in what I would call an exaggerated boxed-in “E” - four sheets with the long sides parallel, forming three operating “pits” between them, and another four sheets at right angles to those. on each side. Access to the pits was a scramble under the table. Here’s a sketch, (no trackplan) as I remember it…
Operations were from the pit at right, while the others were mostly access points for layout work or maintenance. It occupied pretty-well all of the basement, except for his stereo equipment.
The layout was dis-assembled and crated, and
A few minutes ago, I decided to see what one of my Bachmann 10 Wheelers could do with a train. On level track, it could manage 16 cars (I had 17 cars on it originally, but one was a half-pound baggage car, which proved to be too much).
The loco and tender tipped the scales at 19oz.
I also backed the 17 car train partway down the 2.9% grade, but even two locos couldn’t move it uphill.
Wayne