I found an old mantua pacific, completely made of metal any ideas on the specs, time frame possible costs or any other information on this little loco
Well it’s kinda hard to pin down, if you include the Model Power “Mantua Classic” reissues coming out now (or soon anyway) that engine has been in production for about 50 years. I believe the earliest ones from the fifties had a metal-bodied tender, later ones (from at least say 1970 or on, maybe earlier) had plastic tender bodies. Ones made in the seventies and maybe into the early eighties had brass wheels in the tender, after about 1980 or so they became nickel or nickel-silver(??) An open-frame motor was used until about 1989 when a Sagami can motor began to be used.
i believe that it is one of the older ones as it has a metal body and boiler, the wheels are not brass but a nickel alloy of some sort, my lhs has it and he doesn’t test run it and it looks pretty neat and still in the box ( red color box )if that helps anything as to age
If by “completely made of metal” you are including the tender too, then this is one of the earliest Mantua diecast Pacifics, circa 1952 and for a short time following.
This locomotive was announced with great fanfare by Mantua in the pages of MR, beginning several months before its actual debut, with special “mystery” ads featuring tropical islands, palm trees and hinting at what was coming.
Supposedly a B&O P-7, it actually had some features that can be attributed to Pacifics from other roads and at the time Mantua was well known for its pre-war brass and zamac G-2a Reading Pacific Master Model Builder kits and small, post-war, diecast switchers. The model was initially offered in kit form and later as an early example of RTR, along with a plastic, rather than metal, tender. Another unusual feature of the early diecast Pacific models was the use of a metal, enclosed gearbox.
At the time of introduction (April 1952) the list price was $24.95 .
CNJ831
If the cab and pilot are plastic you could have either the open worm type w/open frame motor or the latest type, which has an enclosed gearbox. This type may have the open frame or a can motor. Nice runners that last a long time.
Jim
Mantua used nickel silver tender wheels and red packaging in the 90’s, and those engines included an enclosed gearbox and can motor. I don’t know what their packaging was like in the early days. If it has an all metal tender, then it is an early version.
Immediately post-war, the smaller engines and later the sets, came in a hinged cardboard box. During much of the 1950’s they used a two-part, long, cardboard box. Bottom half was blue, while the cover was white with the Mantua name and an illustration.
CNJ831
Packaging: others have mentioned a bit, let me add some more; '60’s-'70’s was orangish red, yellow and white. Sometime in the '80’s came blue and white. In these two cases the box were very thin card stock. Later came the deep red boxes, with foam inserts.
The earliest versions had metal pilots and cabs, in the '60’s, these both changed to plastic. I do not know the timing of this change, nor when it was compared to the switch from the metal to plastic tender.
The earliest ones came with an open frame motor and enclosed gear box, next came open frame motor and no gear box, then in the late '70’s / early '80’s there was a version offered with an enclosed gearbox and open frame motor. Next came the Sagami motored versions with gearbox, which were not in production very long due to the earthquake which destroyed the Sagami factory. The final pre-Model Power versions have a Mabuchi motor and enclosed gearbox.
Alliance Locomotive offers a repower kit for these models - about the same as the Sagami and Mabuchi motored versions.
The nickel colored wheels are plated brass. A little scratching or filing will get you down to the brass.
These locomotives will pull, and run for ever with a bit of maintenence. Bowser screws fit to hold the rods on to the drivers, and Bowser drivers can be easily adapted.