Need Help with Steam 0-4-0

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I have an 0-4-0 locomotive labeled “Southern” and “27”. Green with rectangular (not slope-backed) tender. I’ve had it for MANY years and I’m wondering what it is. Is it prototypical? I doubt it. . . . I’m thinking it was made by Mantua as I can find some Internet information about similar locos. But most information is about a Pennsylvania RailRoad loco with slope-back tender.

I’m just curious as to its origin. I’ll try to link to my blog and include a photo there:

http://blacktop-crossing.blogspot.com/

Happy New Year!

2

It looks to me like the body of an 0-6-0 on a 4-wheel chassis, and the tender looks like the tender from the Mantua 4-6-0. And no, it is not prototypical. Mantua used to do this all the time.

I have to wonder if this locomotive was offered under the Tyco brand name.

3

What you have is a Tyco 0-4-0 “Pony”, made in '76 and '77: http://tycotrain.tripod.com/steamengines/id3.html

The Tyco 0-4-0 rides on a Mantua frame (Mantua and Tyco were one and the same until 1967 or so), but they created their own shell with a central headlight so they could add a light bulb more easily and cheaply. The earlier Mantua 0-4-0 had a headlight mounted on top of the smokebox front, making the use of a light bulb very difficult. The Mantua 0-4-0 also used a much more realistic slope-back tender, which you should be able to find pretty easily if you ever want your own 0-4-0 to look better.

4

Thanks for quick responses. Looks like you, two, are right on. I had seen the reference to Tyco and Mantua – mergers, out of business, discontinued, whatever. I guess I didn’t get to the “Tyco” site because I was pursuing the Mantua!!

On the Tyco site, I see that there were 0-4-0’s for Santa Fe and Pennsylvania a couple of years earlier than the Southern edition. That’s what I was running into with my search.

The date is right on – my son was three, so I was probably getting ready for a father-and-son activity! I also have some “Model Railroader” magazines from that era (mid-70’s)!!

I could not find ANYthing on a Southern loco of this sort. It was pretty evident that the 0-4-0 was not prototypical. I also saw a review of the Pennsylvania issue about 100 scale mph. I know the little Southern loco will haul buggy.

Thanks again. This forum is amazing.