Anyone have any experience with the Trix 2-8-2 Lt Mikado? I’m considering buying one used and have no experience with this brand. Any comments from experience would be appreciated. George.
If the price is reasonable, there is nothing wrong you could do in buying one. Compared to the likes of BLI and others, the Trix loco is of superior quality. Make sure that it is in good overall condition and, if possible, make a test run before purchasing it.
I enjoy mine. Its level of detailing is good, about the same as you would expect from the best rated Spectrum engines, not as detailed as a P2K Heritage steamer.
It rides well on the rails and is very reliable. It is a light engine, its metal shell and all. I decided to subject this beastie to the Bull Frog Snot treatment on one pair of drivers and it can now pull on my 3% grade what my much larger and heavier BLI Niagara was pulling…four long passenger cars and a reefer up front. Quite impressive!
If it has not been abused, or run for 50 hours or more, especially if it had to work hard, I would say you should enjoy the use of the Trix Mikado for many years. They went for somewhere near USD$450-500 when introduced, were discounted, and then blown out at places like Tony’s Train Exchange in 2005/2006 for USD$225. Note that they came with an earlier version of the LokSound decoder, so it was a good bargain. I would guess that you would be looking at USD$150 or within $30 on either side of that figure, depending on its working history and overall condition?
-Crandell
George,
IMHO, the Trix is the best looking and best running Mike on the market - period! The detailing is very nice and they run like a Swiss watch. I bought one of the NYC Mikes and liked it so much that I bought it’s sister. Of my small roster of NYC steam and early diesels, my Trix Mikes remain my favorites.
Like Ulrich said, make sure the one you’re looking at is in decent shape before you buy it. I bought the first one new and the second one “pre-owned” off eBay; both for ~1/2 MSRP. The first one was flawless. The second one had been sitting in a display case so it was in great shape. However, it arrived with a missing headlight lens and the LokSound decoder had some intermittent sound issues. Even though the sound was effected, it still crawled at speed step 001 - just like my first Mike.
I tried tinkering with the decoder on the second Mike but could never resolve the intermittent sound issues. I replaced the missing headlight lens with a kit that I bought from Marklin and eventually upgraded the problem decoder with a newer V3.5 LokSound decoder. (The Trix Mikes come with the older LokSound V2.0.)
George, I personally like and prefer the sound of the LokSound 2-8-2 chuff over the equivalent QSI decoder. Although the QSI decoder has a nice sound, the LokSound chuff has a wonderful “throaty” quality to it. And, as far as being smooth running? The Trix Mikes are second to none. They run as smooth as glass - right out of the box.
I can only site two three minor faults about the Trix Mikes:
- Shell - On the NYC version, Trix forgot to paint the smoke box “graphite”. It’s black (like the rest of the locomotive) so I just pretend it’s sooty.
- Whistle - On the older V2.0 LokSound decoders, the whistle is “fixed” so you have no control over how long you can play it. Press F2 and you get a single whi
Hey Crandell,
I find the Trix Mikes virtually on par - detail-wise - with the Heritage locomotives. Parts are mostly metal with plastic in places where things might be more apt to break - e.g. the piping underneath the cab.
I’m glad the BFS is working well for you. Believe it or not, the Trix Mike is MUCH heavier than the BLI Mike. However, I believe the difference in “pullability” has more to do with the type of motor that Marklin used in their Trix Mike.
If you manually push the Trix Mike along the track, the wheels will slide for a few inches then spin freely; as if the gears are stripped out of it. Do the same with a BLI MIke (or any other steamer) and you end up burnishing your track. Even so, I’ve been able to pull 12-15 pieces of 40’ rolling stock up a nearly 2% grade on another layout - without any driving spinning.
Actually, when Marklin first released the Trix Mikes, they were originally going for $600. After a while Marklin eventually redu
Tom, the NYC never painted their smokeboxes graphite, if they did it was a very dark black graphite. The current BLI Mohawk is incorrectly painted with the light gray graphite and oil smokebox. A custom painter friend of mine did NYC locomotives all in flat back paint, then masked the smokebox and firebox and covered with Krylon Satin Finish to get a proper NYC locomotive.
Regards
Rick
Rick,
For the most part, I agree with you. My understanding is that the smoke boxes were slightly lighter (graphite) than the rest of the black engine.
Yea, it’s too bad that BLI couldn’t have gotten the correct smoke box color on the NYC Mohawks. At least it’s easier to darken it up than to lighten it.
Tom
I’ve got mine from ebay in summer 07. I’ve changed the front coupler, inserted some lead and weathered the engine. Here you can see and hear it .
Wolfgang
Wolfgang,
How exactly did you end up retrofitting a working coupler on the front end of your Trix Mike? And, what coupler did you end up using?
I investigated it and the one problem I kept running into was that - no matter what Kadee coupler I tried using - the back of the coupler boxes would interfere with the pivoting of the front pilot - even if I trimmed them as short as possible. I was also doing my best to avoid running the mounting screw for the coupler box up through the front floor plate. Thanks.
Tom
I have the Marklin version of the UP and NYC Mikes. They are the Trix engines but with a pickup shoe.
The Mikes are my absolute favourites[:P] ! I will most likely purchase a Trix DCC (the PRR) later on.
I’ve got the idea from my friend Friedhelm. Here’s the HowTo.
Wolfgang
I did use a Kadee #148. The box can be cut at the end to fit fine.
Some used super glue and glued the box in place. I didn’t trust the glue and used a screw. However the screw can be seen from the top even it is painted black. I suggest to try the best glue you have at hand and have a screw if it fails only.
I wish. Currently there are four listed by a retailer on eBy with “Buy Now” prices of around $400.00 each. Perhaps this guy wants to make them sale proof and keep them for ever?
Bruce[:)]
I can get one for $75. If someone will give me $150-200 for it, I’ll buy it tomorrow (8/6/09), and sell it to them.
It’s a long drive and I would have to go tomorrow,or wait until next Friday, so let me know.
If anyone needs a BLI hudson, I can get one of those cheap, as well.
Good looking “Mike”, Wofgang! Great job of weathering!
Crandell,
How does the bullfrog snot work out for you in HO? I bought some but haven’t used it yet. Some people were saying it was hard to apply? What are your thoughts.
Chris
Does anyone have shorting problems on the tender when backing up
Not so far, but I don’t run any of my engines often or much. If you have a short, and you sense it’s something related to the tender, could if be the unique tether/drawbar on those locos? I dropped my engine five years ago and had to order a new drawbar assembly. Perhaps there’s something going on inside it.