I just found out on Tony’s web site that they are offloading the Trix 2-8-2 Mikados for only $230 (w/sound). Anyone have any strong opinions on these locomotives? Seems I remember reading somewhere that the sound on the Trix Mikes was a bit disappointing and anemic?
I appreciate any input any of you can give me. Thanks!
Tom
Update: Looks like the one downside could be that “it will NOT accept the new LokSound V3.5 software”. See link below:
http://www.tonystrains.com/tonystips/2006/032906b.htm
Perhaps someone can comment on the disadvantage of this. Is this something that can be upgraded so that it is compatible? Or, would the upgrade NOT be cost-effective?
Tom
The v2 Loksound decoders aren’t terrible by any means, but don’t expect the same performance you get from a newer generation decoder. The biggest difference is the fact the whistle is a recorded sound and can not be made short or long. You press the whistle button and sound plays. Other than that the BEMF is top notch as it has always been with the ESU decoders, and the rest of the decoder is pretty straight forward.
Honestly at $230, who cares what sound system is in it? The model is a beautiful example of a Mikado, and the only way to get something nicer would be in brass. If I didn’t already have one of these, I would certainly snatch one up at that price.
Jeff
Thanks, Jeff. [:)] Yea, at ~36% MSRP, I’m giving it serious consideration. I don’t know if this is a viable option. Would it be possible to switch out the ESU decoder for a different sound decoder (e.g. Soundtraxx, QSI, or Tsunami) and still have it work well?
Tom
Tom,
If you’re looking for SPECIFICALLY a NYC H-6a, you can’t beat the Trix engine. It’s beautifully detailed and runs like a dream.
BUT…in general, it’s overpriced and the sound decoder is for crud (you can’t even play the whistle!). If you’re looking for a generic USRA light Mike with onboard sound, go with the BLI engine, which can be found for less than $150 these days.
Thanks, Ray. Gotta BLI “Light” Mike already and have been very happy with it. Picked it up for $160 back in November.
When I originally bought my Mike, there were oodles of them on eBay. Then, right after I bought mine, the entire inventory of them seemed to just suddenly “dry up”. I have the NYC #5101 and wanted to see if I could find the #5115 for about the same price. (Haven’t checked recently.) Anyway, when I saw the Trix Mike for $230 I thought, “Whoa! I remember how much those were going for. THAT’S a decent price.”
I read the July '04 review in MR. They pretty much said what you stated: That the sound from the ESU decoder was good but not great, and the whistle had a “fixed” duration. That’s why I was inquiring whether or not the LokSound V. 2.0 system could either be upgraded or replaced with a QSI or Soundtraxx sound decoder. I e-mailed Tony at TTE and asked him whether it could be done or not. Hopefully, I’ll hear something from him in the next day or so.
Anyway, thanks for the input, Ray. [:)]
Tom
UPDATE: Just checked eBay and found the NYC #5115 Mike for ~$188. Would like to find it for about $30 cheaper.
Tom,
While the BLI Mikado is a very nice model (the light version anyway), the Trix Mikado is in a whole different class both in detail and performance. I have both models, and while I think the BLI offers a ton of bang for the buck the Trix is the superior model.
You were asking about the sound system being replaceable? No problem. I have swapped mine out for a Loksound v3.5 and you could do this just as easily with a Tsunami or QSI’s new system.
Jeff
Jeff,
What was the cost of switching out your LokSound for a newer version, if I might ask? Did you keep the same speakers, or did you have to swap those out as well? I thought about just getting the Trix Mike and upgrading or replacing the sound system at a later time.
Tom
Mine runs great,…smooth,quiet,and good throttle response.I do have issues with the whistle.The “chuff” is nice and deep and in sync with the drivers but the whistle always blows two longs when engaged.I’m thinking of sending it to Tony’s to have a Tsunami installed (If it’s possible)
Thanks for the input, Mike! [:)] According to Jeff, it should be possible. I’ll let you know what and when I hear from Tony. I also e-mailed Bruce Petrarca @ Litchfield Station and Tim Smith @ Empire Northern Models with the same question. Should hear from them today.
Tom
Tom,
If I recall correctly (I did this install a while back), I used the original equipment. Remember Loksound decoders require 100 ohm speakers, so if you decide to install your own keep that in mind. When I get home tonight I’ll take it apart and confirm what I did.
Jeff
Just one word for those of you that don’t have DCC the sound on this engine does work on just DC power. Just a heads up.
I bought one yesterday, a UP for $220 on Ebay and am thrilled. I think it is a very nice value for the money. I have the Trix Big Boy and I couldn’t resist the Mikado at that price. I would take advantage of it and get one while supplies last!
Believe it or not, I saw the Trix NYC mike run at a toy store in Las Vegas the other day! Very smooth running and well detailed. The sound was good, except for the whistle duration being fixed. Now if someone would just dump their invetory of Trix Big Boys.[}:)]
Well, I just picked up a new Trix Mike off eBay. [:)] Boy! They must really be offloading them. I found a whole slew of them for sale.
Picked one up for $10 cheaper than I found at Tony’s. There was one that was $20 cheaper than that but I knew the guy who was bidding on it. (He had just recently helped me locate some good info about the NYC Mikes so I didn’t feel right about bidding against him for it.)
I did get an e-mail back from Bruce Petrarca @ Litchfield Station. He said that the 2.0 LokSound decoder could be swapped out for the newer 3.5 decoder. (Course, that comes with a $110 price tag.) I may do that sometime down the line, but for right now I can live with what I’ve got.
Tom
The MRR review for the Trix Mikado said it’s the best example of this type of Mikado available.[:D] All the nuts and bolts are actually recognizable as nuts and bolts, and the smoothness of the metal castings is as good as high quality plastic.[:D] The only problems are, it’s 1 ft. too long over-all, and it’s missing the jacket clamps. What are jacket clamps[?]
But it’s an over-all 99.9% perfect engine.[:D]
DSF,
I was wonderin’ the same thing…
Tom
The jacket clamps are the gadgets that were used to hold in place the sheet metal jacket over the asbestos lagging around the boiler. The Athearn Mikado and Pacific both have them moulded along the top of the “boiler” casting, although some modellers filed them off, thinking that it was flash from a poor casting job.
The Trix Mike is a good-looking loco, and some of the prices mentioned are a big improvement over the $500.00-plus price that I was quoted when they were first released. Still, a little too rich for my road, so I’ll have to stick with my Athearn Mikes.
Wayne
Wayne,
The Athearn Mike is still a nice locomotive. The detailing isn’t as good as the BLI but it’s a smoother runner by far. It’s too bad it doesn’t pull as much. I can get mine to pull about 20 cars on 0% grade before it starts to spin it’s drivers.
Tom
I agree, Tom, that they are smooth runners. I have four of them that I modified for my own free-lanced road. I added weight, removed the springs on the trailing trucks and balanced the locomotive about the centre of the driver wheelbase. I also updated the tenders with full current pick-up, using Bachmann tender trucks. They’ll haul 15 or 16 cars up an uncompensated 2.5% grade.
Here’s a pair of them at work on my layout. Not the best of pictures, but about all that I can offer until the next batch gets put on a cd.
The modified locomotives (loco only) weigh 16 3/4 ounces each.
Wayne