In the holiday HistoricRail I saw a 2-6-6-2 Uintah Mallet in HO that I liked…but it doesn’t list a manufacturer AND I can’t seem to find them anywhere online… Who makes these and how good of a locomotive are they? Need help before spending the money, THANKS!
Check this web site and see if any ring a bell:
http://loggingmallets.railfan.net/models/modelmallets.htm
May be the Mantua Mallet that you saw. Sorry, I do not know how it runs. My only Mallet is an old brass PFM that has new motor and gear boxes.
It’s made by Model Power now and the MSRP is $159.98. http://store.modelpower.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1258
It’s oversized for HO scale. The prototype was a 3 ft gauge locomotive and the Mantua/Model Power version is actually closer to S scale in overall dimensions.
Andre
Andre, it’s good to see you posting again…it has been a while. Is this engine (above) the same one that trainworld is offering for quite a whack less?
-Crandell
I just ordered a new Mantua HO undecorated 2-6-6-2T tank (no tender) mallet, model #71018 from http://micromark.com/ for $87.50 plus $12.50 S&H. According to telco with Micromark rep, it should be shipped by end of December. Best price I found in on-line search for mallet after my grandson found the holiday Historic Rail ad.
They also have undec mallet with tender, model #71019 for $97.50 plus S&H. Both models are DC, but DCC ready.
Good luck,
I don’t think Historic Rail stocks anything; they just add 20 percent and forward the order to someone else.
I ordered a couple of DVDs from them, not knowing that I could have gotten them less by ordering directly from Green Frog, who it turns out was the company that actually mailed them.
The 2-6-6-2 HO scale logging Mallet is most likely the Model Power one that is a re-worked Mantua, now made in China. Model Power has been advertising it for over a year already, and they are the only company that has one coming to market.
IIRC it was based on a 3’ gauge engine that they altered to make into an HO standard gauge model. But it’s certainly not S scale (although some S scalers have used it as a starting point for a narrow gauge engine). It uses some components (like the cab) used on other Mantua HO engines like their 4-6-0 and 4-8-0. It’s overall dimensions are pretty close to several early standard gauge Mallets and some standard gauge engines used by logging companies in the Northwest.
My biggest question is how worth it is it? I’ve never really used anything made by Model Power or Mantua, so I’m VERY unfamiliar. For those of you that have it, what’s it’s pulling capacity and general performance like?
I think I would order that loco form someone other than Micro-mark if I were in a hurry. It took me six mo. to get it. I bought the undecorated one with a tender. It performs OK for an $88 loco. And it runs better after bout a half hour of roundy round break in. I disagree with the statement that its oversize to the point of S-scale. It may be oversize but not by that much. I repainted mine and added DCC and it runs OK but It had a hard time keeping the pony trucks on the track when going over Atlas turnouts. I had to Round the notch in the stock rails where the points are supposed to fit in, for smooth running. Turns out all the Atlas tunouts have this notch. Ya gotta remember the saying that goes something like thisa that" the number of wheels on a steam loco is directly proportional to the amount of expletives needed to keep em operating". I think thats a paraphrase of John Armstrongs, but I could be wrong.
Cool, thanks for the info. though I’m putting off ordering it since I decided to buy a BLI Paragon N&W Class J, BUT once I get the mallet(around the first of the year), i’ll post up a review for the others that might be interested.