Thank you for taking me to school on this. I’ve edited my earlier post to reflect what I’ve learned here so that I don’t spread misinformation.
thank you to all who replied to the original question and thank you for the education we have all received. i am somewhat new to this hobby, but newer still to the art of steam locomotives. my original question came about because i purchased a Mantua 2-8-2 steam engine listed as a camel back and thought it was such a wonderful design, also because i just thought it was cool(my wife and kids thought it was neat). The model is probably from the 70’s or 80’s because of the box design and color scheme, the tender is marked “Reading” but I don’t know if they had any such locomotives of this wheel arrangement. I have seen pictures of an 0-6-0 camelback/mother hubbard on the fallen flags website undeer the “Reading” name. Anyway thanks again for the responses and enlightenment.
I dont believe the Reading had any 2-8-2 camelbacks. (although I could be wrong)
The Mantua engine is based on a Lehigh Valley 2-8-2 camelback. As is the case with all model railroad locomotives, the manufacturers paint them up for any roadname that will sell, regardless of whether the prototype line ever actually had that type of locomotive.
Scot
According to George Drury’s Guide To North American Steam Locomotives, Reading had 57 2-8-2 Mikados classed M-1sa, none of them camelbacks. I knew this book would come in handy.
Camelbacks were outlawed by the ICC. The engineer had absolutely no chance in the event of a boiler explosion and the fireman was very vulnerable to falling off on that back deck plus communication was next to impossible.
Yet the CNJ operated 4-4-2 and 4-6-0 camelbacks right up to their last days before final dieselization.
IIRC, the ICC outlawed camelbacks for NEW CONSTRUCTION (date??) but did not mandate withdrawing existing camelbacks from service. Doing so would have been impractical - significant percentages of the LV, D&H, CNJ and Reading locomotive rosters would have been affected (and the ICC wasn’t about to pay for replacements!)
Chuck (who would love to model camelbacks - which did not exist in Central Japan in September, 1964)
Actually its more an early 1900’s engine, pre-WW1, post 1905.
They are nice engines though.
Mantua also made a camelback Pacific, which is a LV model, the RDG never built any camelback Pacifics. Mantua used the camelback boiler on a 4-4-2 underframe and the Reading did have camelbacK Atlantics although the boiler is a bit big.
Dave H.
He meant the model itself is from the 1970’s or 1980’s! [;)]
Scot