New York Central steam

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I am looking for quality models of New York Central Mohawks and Niagaras. Anybody have any ideas?

Thanks

2

I would stay CLEAR OF the Bachmann NYC Niagara that’s advertized by Trainworld in MR.
Steam can be tricky and unreliable. Look for premium models and before selection come
on back and post before you buy. There are some lemons in the industry.

What’s your dollar range? Steamers go from $30.00 to $600.00

3

If the locomotive having all dimentions totally accurate doesn’t matter to you, then go for the Bachmann plus Niagra. The detaling may not be up to todays standards, but with lots of tweeking, it can run excellent.

BLI may be plotting a Mohawk right now. So you may want to wait for that one, unless you want expensive brass.

PS–the Bach Niagra isn’t DCC ready. But for $60, you can’t beat that.

4

Other than the Bachmann Niagara, you’re out of luck for big NYC steam in HO unless you go with brass. An enterprising kitbasher could probably convert a Bachmann Mountain into a decent representation of a Mohawk, but it wouldn’t be a simple conversion. No firm has announced new models of any NYC 4-8-2 or 4-8-4, but the Mohawk did finish very high on our recent “most wanted locomotive” survey.
Terry