i was looking around on the net the other day and i came accross a photo of Denver and Salt Lake 2-6-6-0 #200. I would like to kitbash a model of this locomotive since i can’t afford PFM’s brass model. I was just curious if the Mantua 2-6-6-2 would be a good place to start, or if i would be better off starting from scratch. thanks. jason
A picture of the locomotive in question that you want to model would be good for comparison. I already know what the Mantua looks like. Are you aware the Mantua engine also comes in a model with a tender? I would recommend the blue box Mantua model, as the orange box is the older version, and is prone to splitting drive gears. Replacements are nearly impossible to find.
The Mantua 2-6-6-2T side tank engine was reviewed in May 1982 Model Railroader p 35. (Mantua also had a tender version of this engine if I recall right but I think the mechanism was essentially the same). Review said it was a freelanced replica of the Uintah No 50 (a narrow gauge engine). Some specs: 10’ wide over cylinders; 52" drivers and “a wheelbase that is quite close to that found on other 2-6-6-2 engines of the late 1920s.”
I have no data on the D&SL engine that interests you but maybe the data above will give an indication if this conversion would be worth the effort. I think a lot of guys have used that Mantua articulated for various kit bashing purposes.
Dave Nelson
I don’t really have a feel for the size of the Mantua model, so I’ll pass along some stats on the prototype and you can take it from there.
The domes will need relocation. The original tender (22 tons coal/9,000 gals water) seems to have been about the size of the model’s, but late in-service pictures show what appears to be a substantially larger tender.
The overall wheelbase from the pony truck axle to the rear driver axle is 39’2". Overall length is 83’ with tender. The drivers are 55" and each engine has a wheelbase of 10’. The pony truck has 30" wheels. The front cylinders are 33.5", while the back cylinders are an obviously smaller 21".
Dimensions taken from the L-77 2-6-6-0 class drawings in Don Heimburger’s Rio Grande Steam Locomotives – Standard Gauge.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL