Ok, so I love Broadway Limited and Proto steamers, but come on guys, how about something smaller than a decapod. I’m in the market for a small steam yard engine for my HO layout. I know Bachman makes one, but it’s not in their Spectrum line, and there’s an old issue from Life Like and one from Mantua (I think). Does anyone have any suggestions or experience with any of these or others? I remember having an American Flyer HO slope back switcher many decades back that ran great! Surely someone has made one like it since 1958! Lefty
I too have one of the Flyer 0-6-0’s; and while it’s kinda cute and historical, I sure wouldn’t say it ran great. It did, and does, run. And it has a motor (a DC-70, I think) hanging out the back of the cab. Like I said, historical.
The Tyco/Mantua 0-6-0’s are kinda OK. I have one that dates back to about my purchase of the Flyer loco; and it runs pretty well. Plenty of weight, and you used to be able to get outside valve gear for it.
BUT, you for some reason didn’t mention the Proto 0-6-0 and 0-8-0. I’ve heard really great things about them. How about one (or more) of them?
Ed
It seems the Proto 2000 0-6-0s are becoming hard to find (although I think my LHS still has a couple left). They were by far the best non-brass 0-6-0s out there.
I have two 0-6-0s with tenders. One is an old Mantua/Tyco. It’s pretty nice, but the old motor is very fast, and it’s kind of noisy at high speeds. The other is an AHM/Rivarossi, which is the simple version without handrails or a valve gear. It was also very fast with its stock gearing and motor, but it’s also a very smooth runner. I did have to add electrical pickups in the tender before it was reliable, though.
The more recent Bachmann 0-6-0s are probably pretty good runners, considering how much they’ve upgraded the rest of their products. Brass ones seem to be fairly common on eBay, so that’s another choice. And the brass 0-6-0s often go for around the price of a Proto 2000.
I’m not sure the Proto 0-6-0’s had a slope-backed tender model.
But, if you’re looking for a small steam switcher and you can find one of these, it may quickly become one of your favorite engines. I was a late Transition Era modeller, but one day I strolled into my LHS and there was this short, dark beauty. She winked, gave a bit of a cough and whistled at me. I was hooked.
In short, it was love at first sight. I now have a dual-era layout, and I’ve been accumulating steam-era rolling stock and automobiles so that I can choose whether to run 60s or 30s, depending on my mood.
But, I digress. This engine is a solid, reliable performer. The sound and running characteristics are superb. Traction tires were included, but I haven’t used them. The engine has all-wheel pickup, including the tender, so dead spots just don’t happen. That’s an important feature in any switcher, when you’re dealing with a yard and many turnouts.
I hope they made enough of these so that you can get one, because you’re sure not gettin’ mine.
Good grief ! trouble finding a slope back switcher? there must be dozens of types, in plastic, metal and brass, and how can you have a steam layout without a ladderback switcher ( I think it’s the law you must own one) I have an old metal ‘roundhouse’ goat, it pulls like an ox, over the years they must have made dozens of different type, it seems strange that you cannot find one.
While they’re not especially good pullers, the Proto USRA 0-6-0 and 0-8-0 are smooth runners and, being plastic, easy to re-detail. Most of the sloped-back tenders with which I’m familiar are cast metal - I run DC so I can’t say if they’d be of any use for a DCC-equipped loco.
EDIT: I just had a look in my collection of odds ‘n’ ends and found a John English all-metal sloped-back tender and an old Mantua, with a metal underframe and plastic body. I’m not sure from where the Mantua one came, but the John English, loco-only, is on the dead line, out behind the car shop:
I re-detailed my Proto 0-8-0 to more closely resemble a specific locomotive, and improved its pulling power at the same time:
Wayne
This was a big project but a lot of fun. I found the 1949 English Yardbird Kit on Ebay. I found the valve gear kit and detail kit on a forum about Yard Birds. I found a bunch of pics here. PRR Steam Roster Pt1 - NE Rails. I got a sound decoder and speaker in the tender.
Very nice work on your Yardbird, Art. Mine was a poor runner and poor puller, too, and was stashed away in its box for many years. I’ve never been a fan of sloped-back tenders or 0-4-0s, but I thought that the loco, minus its motor and with a bit of added backhead detail, would make a good scenery item behind the shop.
Wayne
If–and this is a very BIG “If”–you can come across one, Roundhouse used to make a sweet little 0-6-0 with a slopeback tender that was kinda/sorta based on an SP-Harriman prototype.
It was the usual pickup–one side of the loco and the other side of the tender, but I remember mine having no problems with running through the frogs of the turnouts, and it had a small open-frame motor (easily replaced with a small can) and a built-in reduction gear. The little puppy could crawl pretty well.
As to converting it to DCC, if you find one, I have no idea, but it sure was a cute lil’ ol’ thang for its time. I’ve still got mine, and occasionally it happily waddles around my yard making up trains. But if you can find one (check E-Bay, occasionally) and you don’t mind doing a little tinkering and kit modifying, it might be right up your alley.
Hopefully, some day, Roundhouse might re-release it.
Tom [:P]
Also dont forget the Bowser PRR A5 0-4-0, basily an upgraded yard bird kit with can motor/better gearing, and superdetailing all in one kit, now discontunied from Bowser, but out there on the market. They also did a nice PRR B6 0-6-0 switcher. Both are kits that need built like that old Yardbird kit. But with patience and carefully assembly, they yield a nice running engine. Mike
Thanks to everyone. I ordered the Bachman 0-6-0 slope backed switcher today at my LHS. It’s standard Bachman, not Spectrum, but it has smoke (!). I know their standard mechanisms often aren’t great. I’ll squeeze (or rather Paul at the shop will squeeze) a decoder into the tender. Anyone have any experience with this model? Lefty
I did a 2-6-2 Bachman and used a 0-4-0 slope back tender and installed a sound decoder
here’s the step by step
http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/p/155104/1714726.aspx#1714726
Here’s a video of it running