In terms of quality, is this unit as good as some people state? I now have a number of Spectrum locomotives, and I am wondering if this 0-8-0 model is really as good as some people state in the hobby press. I do not have a DCC layout, so the sound unit is not an option. I do know that traction tires as offered in the newer models are necessary for longer train switching situations.
Onrman,
I have two of the 2nd issues and picked both of them up off eBay (brand new) for under $100 each. They both look and operate beautifully.
The only problem that I’ve had with them is backing through an Atlas #4 turnout. The tender is light so it sometimes picks the frog. Loosening the pivot screw that connects the tender to the underside of the locomotive cab will help alleviate this issue. Adding a little extra weight inside the tender helps, too.
Tom
I have 2 of these little 0-8-0’s and they are fantastic. One of mine is from an “older run” and does not have the electrical pick-ups in the tender. The second one (from a newer run) has them. The additional tender pick-ups really make a difference. My older 0-8-0 tends to stall quite a bit on turnouts. My newer one has never stalled. The newer ones also come with an additional driver in the box that the user can install on the locomotive. This additional drive has “traction tires” that GREATLY increase the pulling and pushing abilities of the locomotive.
Funny story… A few weeks ago I was at my club playing with my newer 0-8-0. Another member of the club was trying to pull his 100+ car train up the 3 degree Helix using his 2 brand new Kato SD70MAC’s. His train had stalled out in the Helix and just couldn’t get his train up the Helix. We were both on DCC so I came up behind his train and used my little 0-8-0 as a pusher on the back of his train. I have the traction tires installed on my 0-8-0. All of a sudden his train starts to creep up the Helix and he gets all excited. He started gloating to his son about the impressive power of his new Kato engines. You should have seen the look on his face when he saw my little 0-8-0 coupled to the end of his train pushing…Priceless!!!
Michael
Forgot to mention…I thought so much of the little 0-8-0’s that I have also added two of the 0-6-0’s to my roster…
Michael
I have 3 of them and like everybody said, they are great little loco’s. I’ll probably add one or two more to my roster sometime soon.
Great story, Meyblc! BTW, what do you think of the 0-6-0s?
I have two of the P2K 0-8-0 locos and am very happy with them. I had to install tender power pickup in both as they were quite poor without it. I also installed Soundtrax decoders. I purchased a P2K 0-6-0 and installed a Tsunami in it and it too is excellent.
Don
Whose pickups did you use, or did you just homebrew your own? I have a pair of what I would imagine are of the first run that don’t have the tender pickups.
Jack,
When I converted my first 0-8-0 to DCC I found that it ran very poorly and determined that it was due to power pickup only on the drivers. I also noticed that the tender had all the holes in the floor necessary for adding power pickup. LifeLike at that time made a kit to add power pickup to the tender for about $40 and I bought one. When I purchased my second 0-8-0, the salesman at the LHS mentioned that I could buy an undecorated 0-6-0 tender for the same amount of money which had power pickup, so I bought one of those too. With the 0-6-0 tender all I had to do was swap the upper shell with the one from the 0-8-0 as they both use the same base, it also provided an excellent example of how to install the power pickup kit in my first 0-8-0. Walthers online catalog doesn’t mention the 0-6-0 tender being available but it might be worth asking them if any 0-6-0 tenders (or maybe an 0-8-0 one with power pickup) are available.
Another thing worth mentioning is that the early 0-8-0 had the potential to short out. When soldering a wire to the motor power connection, sometimes the solder was left with a sharp point. With use, this could cut thru the insulating material and make contact with the metal weight in the loco. One of my locos had this problem so I added extra insulation to both engines.
Don