I have a number of the above & found they mostly run well due (perhaps) to the flywheel, but the tenders were too light & derailments were common. I filled the tenders …away from “vital” bits with Plaster of Paris. Result, no further problems. After several months no sign of any reaction between the plastic & the Plaster. Have explored this cheap & effective concept further, with no adverse results. Anyone else tried this?
I use Steel Plate and C/A. You may find this provides a lower centre of gravity, hence less weight required.
I have an old IHC/Mehano pacific, and I found that adding feeders from the tender to the motor also improved performance. It is easy, because all you need to do is run wires from the tender to the loco. The tender already has pickups for running the reverse light.
Andrew
I thought the tender behind my Mehano 2-8-2 was too short for a road engine, and the hole for the plastic clips that hold the tender body to the chassis unsightly, so I replaced it with a MDC 401 oil tender, from which I removed the oil tank to make a coal bunker.