I am in the process of constructing a proto-freelance layout of the Santa Ana & Newport Railroad as if it had remained independent from the Southern Pacific and survived into the 1950’s. As the real line had close ties to the ATSF, I am assuming that my 1950’s era locomotive fleet consists of ATSF cast-offs in the form of 1000 Class 2-6-2 Prarie locomotives (represented by Model Die Casting loco kits). Unfortunately, I only discovered the MDC 2-6-2 kits shortly before that line was dropped. Thus, my current SA&N fleet remains at three such kits. Since I have not been able to find any more MDC 2-6-2 kits, at least none anywhere near the price range I paid for the original three, I have been considering the purchase of the Bachmann Standard Line 2-6-2 Prarie locomotive to augment my fleet. I have noticed that current versions of these locos displayed at a LHS appear far better detailed and less toy-like than they used to appear. A bit of detailing could make these locos appear similar to the MDC kits. However, I have no experience with how these locomotives operate. I have upgraded the MDC kits with NWSL 72:1 gearing, A-Line can motors, flywheels, all driver and all tender wheel electrical pick-up, plus DCC sound. They now run incredibly well with good torque, slow speed operation and realistically slow top speeds. How would the Bachmann 2-6-2 locos compare and would they be worth the trouble to upgrade? Should I instead pay the extra money for the Bachmann 2-8-0? Was there an ATSF 2-8-0 loco class that these could be made to represent?
You can search this forum, but I asked nearly the exact same question about the bachmann products a while ago. I wasn’t ATSF specific, but I asked about the operation of the 2-6-2 (and 2-6-0) relative to the 2-8-0.
All responders said the mechanisms of the smaller steamers are different than the 2-8-0, and their operation stinks. Rather badly according to some.
Go with the 2-8-0. I haven’t done so yet so I can’t report any personal experience.
The Bachmann “prairie” is just a USRA switcher with extra wheels. Not very realistic in my opinion, but what the heck, it’s your railroad.
The Bachmann 2-6-2 is rather small - it is their 0-6-0 with pilot/trailing wheels. It is pretty much standard Bachmann and most I have seen were poor to OK as runners. I would still look for MDC ATSF 2-6-2 kits if that what the prototype used. The current Bachmann 2-8-0 is a very good runner, and while not a ATSF 2-8-0 - it is a ‘start’ for detailing!
Jim
The last I knew those locos had pancake motors and lousy pickups from the wheels.
I had a couple 0-6-0 that came with the Vanderbilt tender and gave them away as all I wanted were the tenders.
You can sometime find the MDC2-6-2 on ebay but pricey. I just looked. And there are a couple.
Jays Trains has a 444 U.P. Harriman 2-6-2 Kit (Sagami Can Motor) for $97.00.
Rich
A check of the Bachmann site shows that the diagrams for the base 0-6-0 does not have a pancake motor. It has been years since the pancake motor has been used.
Give Bachmann some credit for upgrading their model railroad line.
True, the pancake motor’s been gone from all Bachmann products for nearly a decade now. But from what I’ve heard, these new 0-6-0/2-6-0/2-6-2s aren’t much better. They apparently wear out quickly even if they run well out of the box, and the smoke unit can sometimes melt the plastic shell if run for too long. As much of a Bachmann supporter as I am, I would recommend caution with this particular model after seeing the usually negative reviews.
Just keep searching at train shows and eBay. A good model will turn up eventually. And when using eBay, don’t be too specific. Keep searching for all 2-6-2s listed under HO scale, because not everyone knows what they have beyond the wheel arrangement alone.
Thanks for the responses. I guess I’ll keep looking for MDC kits.
Check your PM. I sent you a couple possible sources.
Rich
I have just pulled out of storage a 2-6-2 Prairie that I built from a Roundhouse kit (stock #443) about 25 years ago. I’m wondering if this was actually produced by MDC and sold with the Roundhouse label. I have no clue as to the class that it is based on. There are a couple of things that don’t appear to be typical as far as the photos of Prairies that I’ve just been checking out tonight. First, the kit came with a small Vanderbilt tender. Second, the headlamp is not mounted at the crown but centered in the front of the boiler. My project was a first (and only) effort with a steam loco kit. It sold then for a rather modest $39.98 (couldn’t afford anything then offered by Bowser, let alone the brass then coming out of Japan and Korea). Although it was sold as Southern Pacific equipment, I lettered it for an imaginary Southern Oregon & Siskiyou short line. The engine still has the original gearing and motor and could use some cleaning and retouching here and there. I don’t recall that I added any extra parts. Additionally, I seem to have some loose detail parts that may be left over as they don’t fit with any of my rolling stock or the GP9 that I still have to get painted in Black Wodow livery. I do not have any SP decals that may have come with the kit…
I have recently exposed my grandson to model railroading, perhaps as a cheap excuse to jump back into it myself after a rather fitful start so long ago. I still envision modeling something in southern Oregon during the early to mid 50s that mixes SP with the local SO&S. I was hoping to resurrect the Prairie for hauling small freight consists or pulling a string of MOW kits that I gathered in the 80s from various sources. I am pausing with the Pairie, however, because I’m wondering how to replace or plate the brass drivers with something that doesn’t require so much cleaning. Also, the rather open design of this un
I bought an undecorated and lettered it for my RR so authenticity was not an issue
I really don’t run it that much since my other Bachmann/BLI steamers are more appealing
However I just hooked up 12 Ore cars and a caboose weighted to standard and ran them and as far as I can see it handles the load with no problem
It was cheap enough but since I rarely use it was $$$ not spent well
Attuvian,
Hang on to that kit! Of the three kits I own, one is the same Harriman loco with the Vandy tender (and brass wheels). The other two are the ATSF style with plated wheels. The MDC kits can be made into great runners following a bit of upgrading. MR published an article a few years ago about upgrading an MDC 2-8-0 kit. I used most of the author’s ideas plus a few of my own. I wasn’t sure about the gearing change until I tried it on one kit. Wow, what a difference! I couldn’t change over the other two kits fast enough. Best of all, the 1:72 gear sets will keep your five-year old from launching the loco off the track – it simply won’t go that fast anymore. If you search MR, you should be able to find the article. One of the article’s upgrades that did not work was adding a flywheel between the stock can motor and the drive gears. The author admitted to using driveline parts that were out of production and the system I was able to cobble together vibrated badly. Fortunately, I was able to find a sale on the A-Line 1630 double shaft motors and purchased three. These motors made it easy to add the re-gear kits and a flywheel. With the extra electrical pick-ups I added to the insulated drivers and tender wheels, these kits became fine runners. I’m almost afraid to admit that I added the early MRC 1627? steam sound decoder to each of these kits. Fortunately, I have yet to suffer any failures. The sounds are’t too bad either (except for an audible glitch in the whistle sample best suited to these locos).
steemtrayn,
Yes, the referenced MDC ATSF-style 2-6-2 kit is exactly what I am looking for. I bought two of these from Standard Hobby on a clearance sale for $35 each (the Harriman kit was $40)! Most of the units I’ve seen still available are at full list price (around $95) so the current asking price is more in my ballpark.&nbs
This was just posted (still current as of 12/22/10. It’s a Roundhouse #442.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Roundhouse-HO-442-Undec-2-6-2-Prairie-Loco-KIT-NOS
Mantua made a 2-6-2 which was also basically an 0-6-0 with lead and trailing wheels added. I think some of the later ones included a Sagami can motor, otherwise you can retrofit one. They used to make a kit to do that, might still be around somewhere.