I originally posted this in the “Kids and Model Railroading” forum but I haven’t had any responses yet, so I figured I’d give it a shot here.
My eight year old son and I attended the local train show last weekend and when we got home he pulled out all my old train stuff. We found a small place in his room to put up a 2’ x 4’ switching layout and I’ve got the board together and even have some track in place.
The biggest problem is that with the track plan we have there’s not a lot of room for cars and an engine on the sidings. I have a 70’s Mantua 0-4-0 tank switcher that would be the perfect engine for switching this track IF it ran well ( and it NEVER ran well as a switcher ). Even an 0-4-0 with a tender is a little too long for this layout.
I’m looking for something similar in size, and it HAS to be a steam engine ( so my son says ). Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can use? I’d like to keep costs down, but I’m willing to pay a little more for quality… It also needs to be pretty smooth, since I know that if the engine is jerky and/or too fast that he’ll lose interest. Does anyone know if the newer Mantua 0-4-0T engines are any good?
For an eight year old I might consider a Thomas the tank engine. Walthers has Thomas and Percy on sale this month for $29.98 each. Don’t know how they run but they should be ok. You would have to add some couplers to them but it isn’t too hard to do. There are several small diesels you could use when you run but someone else will have to comment about the samller tank engine steamers.
No one has made a real quality detailed “Ready To Run” 0-4-0T in years.
Try life-life 0-4-0T. It uses a can motor. You can get them for about $12 off eBay. And there’s few detail parts that will break off. (A boon for young children). However it’s not the best at running at slow speeds.
Bowser also makes a very similar 0-4-0T with a can motor. And it’s made in the USA. This one has an actual seperate main rod connecting to a seperate crosshead, attached to a piston rod. It even uses a gear tower for reduced slow speed action.
If he takes care of it, you can super detail it later on with a valve gear kit, proper air compressors, proper whistle, and bell.
I love my 3! But the old 0-6-0T has been discontinued for over a year. A new version with DC/DCC installed already is coming out this summer. It’s <$100 at most shops.
I think the Life-Like are recent versions of the Mantua engine I had, but I’m not sure I trust them. The 70s version I had ran WAY too fast when it ran at all.
I had looked into the Bowser engines, and they DO look great. I’m not worried about the engine getting damaged, since he’s pretty responsible. I’ll have to see if I can find a decent one somewhere!
And we’re realistic about trying to do a loop - there’s NO way it will happen in 2’ x 4’ in HO! He’s more interested in a switching track plan - but even that is TIGHT. If he keeps up his interest in it, we’ll EVENTUALLY expand things.
I have Thomas, Percy, & James for the grandsons. Thomas is a Hornby loco, and Percy & James are both Bachmann. They all run very good, even over switches!! I don’t think you’ll find anything shorter than Percy!! Good luck!![:)]
While he still watches Thomas the Tank Engine on TV, he’s more interested in a “realistic” railroad.
Percy IS pretty short, but I would need to mount a different body on him, somehow. I think that would take a little more time than he’s willing to wait.[:)]
I’ve heard good things about the new Mantua Classics 0-6-0T, so that’s one option. And like others have said, the Bachmann Spectrum 0-6-0T is excellent.
The Bowser 0-4-0T has one of the smoothest drives around, but because of the short wheel base, you may want to add extra electrical pickups to it, like track sliders on the ends.
The Life-Like 0-4-0T has a fast running motor and a high speed gear ratio, and will run far beyond realistic speeds.
I or my 8 year old step son has the life-like 0-4-0T and Thomas, the LL likes to run better at higher speed probably because of it’s short wheelbase, it was easier to put knuckle couplers on than I think Thomas would be. I haven’t had any maintence issues with either to this point.
Bowser still has some left for sale: http://www.bowserorders.com/.sc/ms/sch/ee?search=dockside (scroll to the bottom of the page) They’re currently $60 each, and I don’t see the detail kit or valve gear kit, so it would be stuck as a basic model (unless you can find the right parts somewhere). I hate to say, because I’m a supporter of Bowser products, but you may be better off with the Mantua or Spectrum switchers.
I have four of the Mantua/Tyco 0-4-0T’s curently running on my layout. One of them is the “newer” plastic body. The first thing I’d suggest is to take it apart and give it a good overall cleaning. Start by cleaning the motor out and adding a drop of oil to each end of the motor shaft, you’ll see the bearings. For cleaning the contact surfaces and wheels, I’d recommend a typing eraser, the kind you sharpen like a pencil. Buff the bottom plate of the motor and the frame where the motor contacts the frame. This will give you better conduction. Next, clean the “V” shaped pickup. Last, reassemble the locomotive, turn it upside down, apply power through leads from the power pack, and clean the wheel treads.
One question I’m going to ask since I didn’t see it addressed above, is “what kind of power pack do you have?” If it’s the small block shaped one that came with a train set, it’s more likely the cause of your poor running than any locomotive, in fact, the best lo
I do have a pretty decent power supply bought a few years ago. And since I’m in the process of soldering the switched and flex track together, I’ll have to clean all the trackwork.
Those are some really good suggestions for the 0-4-0T. Nothing is going to help mine run, sadly, but if I manage to find a newer/older one I’ll be sure and try some, if not all of them!!
Model Power bought the Mantua molds, not Life-Like. If you do find a good running Mantua engine, you can put in a can motor. Might take a while to track down, but Mantua used to make a repower kit featuring a Sagami can motor.
Here’s a pic of the Bachmann / Spectrum 0-6-0T:
BTW it may be too late but a 2’ by 4’ isn’t that great for a switching layout because of the shortness. If it’s not too late, cutting the board in half to make a 1’ x 8’ layout would work a lot better. You could use small buildings and/or flats as the industries. Plus you could get a good sized / good running engine to use without having to worry, maybe a Spectrum 2-8-0 or Life-Like 0-6-0 with factory sound!!
If we had 8’ or even 6’ of space, I would have grabbed it, but we’re in an older house with small rooms, and with the bed, desk and bureau in my son’s room, there ISN’T any more than that 4’ section. [:(]
That’s why we NEED the small engine! I’ve managed to create a track plan that allows for the engine and at least one 40’ car past the switch points on each siding, at least. I had to trim the ends of a few Atlas #4 switches and reverse the throwouts on some, but so far the trackwork is working surprisingly smoothly.
I found a site http://yardbirdtrains.com/ that has all sorts of parts/repower kits for Mantua engines. I hope they have some options for the old 0-4-0T!
