A few days ago I reply to a topic about N scale switcher.
Many of us where asking about a good steam switcher.
Seeing what atlas had made with his N shay, I think it would be technicaly possible to produce a very good small steam switcher like a 0-4-0 or 0-6-0 with excellent running capabilities and electrical pickup.
I think we don’t ask for a big puller but a suitable 5 or 7 wagons is well enough for a switcher.
So the request is open, which one you would like to see?
Any of the 0-whatever-0’s would be good. I would think that Bachmann could step up and do a USRA 0-8-0 easy enough since they already have a good 2-8-0 chassis to work with. Also, a 0-10-0 could be done without much more work (especially if they go forward with the 2-10-0 I so dearly want), though the market may not exist to justify the tooling expense (limited prototype use). Shorten that same chassis and a 0-6-0 becomes a possibility. And thats just Bachmann! (PLEASE BACHMANN, NO MORE OF THE STANDARD LINE STUFF…IT’S NOT WORTH THE MONEY!)
Athearn also has a 2-8-0 that is good and they have a great chance to make a big splash with an 0-8-0 off of that chassis.
Life Like either needs to fish or cut bait.
Atlas has the technology and an 0-6-0 chassis. They just need a 20th century body and they’re in business and all wheel pickup (yes, the tender too).
Model Power…They seem to want to play ball (4-4-0 & announced 2-6-0) but they seem to be stuck on 70’s technology. Pity really.
Whoever jumps on this, PLEASE include all wheel pickup, including the tender, 5 pole motors, somewhere for a decoder, and maybe even a flywheel.
I don’t know, what do you think?
USRA 0-6-0 would be generic enough to apply to many different roads. Also, I think they’d be suitable for those one or two car pick ups and setouts as well as moving a fairly long cut, say 10-15 cars. I have the LL HO 0-6-0, which has been the best-running steam switcher for me, so far. Pretty small boiler in N scale, though, is there enough room for a descent motor?
smyers
0-8-0’s were on most of the major roads as well as many of the smaller roads. USRA design would be a good starting point. You could easily make it road specific from that point.
As to the room for a motor querry, Atlas’ 0-6-0 has a five pole motor inside the cab of an 1863 switcher. Look at how small it is;
That’s Atlas code 55 track it’s on.
Marklin does this sort of thing all the time all the time. Many of the european manufacturers have small loco’s, though I’ve not tried them myself so I can’t vouch for how well they run.
The point is, the technology exists, we just have to apply it.
I think some folks are missing the point pushing this ‘lets convert an existring chassis’ to a switcher. Look at the suggestions:
o - Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0 - The drivers are way too large for most switchers to start with. Bachmann may still produce a regular line USRA 0-6-0(at least in HO), but a ‘good’ 0-6-0 would be nice.
o - Atlas 2-6-0 - Driver spacing and drives are another ‘no-go’.
o - Athearn/MDC 2-8-0 - driver spacing/size is good, but that tender/motor have to go.
I think starting over with a good USRA 0-6-0 or 0-8-0 of P2K quality would be the benchmark here. We want an engine as good as the Life-Like SW1200…
Jim Bernier
A 28 ton 2 truck Climax.
Now that Kato is doing a NW-2, I’d settle for a CF-7 in N-Scale.
gtr
GTIRR,
When did Kato announce a N scale NW2? - Nothing on their web site. They did do a HO NW2 a long time ago…
Jim
OK, lets…
You’re right, they are, but the frame, motor, and gear tower are there. It’s not much more and you’ve got a decent 0-8-0. Half the battle is already won.
They still make the Prarie which came from the 0-6-0, so the chassis is still available. Give it a new 5 pole motor, gears, and a new body and we might have something.
I’m with you all the way on the driver spacing issue. I was mearly using that loco to suggest that they wanted to be in the N scale steam business, not that it was a contender for a switcher. Sorry about the confusion.
You would think that they could do away with that “feature”. That being said, I do own 2 of the 2-8-0’s and 1 of the 2-6-0’s and they are fantastic runners.
This would of course be the best path to run. I was just suggesting that you wouldn’t “necessarily have to” do this as most of the building blocks are already in place for some fine loco’s.
I think that the first QUALITY steam switcher that should hit the market should be the USRA 0-8-0…and please let it be by Kato! (everyone else has serious steam issues in N)
But the switcher I’d LIKE to see come out in N scale would be the NYC B-10/B-11 0-6-0. The engine screams “not USRA”, which is something we need to see in both N and HO. Besides, they’re cute.
And as for the Roundhouse/Athearn motors being in the tender: get over it. Most quality European HO steam has a tender motor. Look at the advantages:
I had the opportunity to run an Athearn 2-6-0 and 2-8-0 this weekend, on my Ntrak club’s layout. They both ran as nicely as my Kato Mikes. They might be fugly engines, but they will run!
There are a few small steamers I would like to see in N scale.
There are three switchers I would like to see:
~ Any 0-10-0 steamer
~ CNJ Class E 0-8-0 Camelback
~Any 0-8-8-0 switcher/pusher, preferably the Erie Camelback version[:D]
I would also definitely like to see a B & A 4-6-6T.
An 0-6-0 saddle tanker. There should be plenty of room under the shell for a decent motor.
Camelback’s would be a nice, and so far completely ignored, addition to N. The market would be smaller then some of the more generic steam out there that still needs done, but if a company wanted to make a splash and cause a stir…
Camelbacks are an important part in railroad history, especially hear on the East Coast, with the anthracite deposits and all. If a company definitely wanted to stir up the market in N scale, the 0-8-8-0 Erie camelback would be the best way to go, because it is just that odd of a locomotive. Of course, MTH has done this in O scale, but they have produced weirder things before, so it wasn’t quite an impact.
Regarding the motor in the tender. So what! I have four, nay, make that five of the MDC/Athearn teapots, and unless you stick your face up within 6 inches of it, you can’t see the linkage. That driveshaft may be a problem in HO, but its a non-issue in N. G’head, I dare ya to actually see the thing.
The problem with doing a camelback in N scale is it would only compound one of the two biggest problems faced by small N steam, electrical pickup over switches. Hmmm, and what would this camelback’s primary function in life be? Switching…
It could be done, but the operational reliability issues without going to handlaid turnouts will seriously reduce its market appeal.
Bikerdad,
I was always under the impression that camelbacks were used wiely in passenger service. Many RR’s used them for just that because they could make good steam with that wide firebox, so speeds were good. Switching too, no doubt, but they ran the open rails as well. Guess that would make it kind of a GP type loco for steam.
You’re right about the electrical pickup thing, if the motor is in the boiler and if the boiler isn’t metal. If the boiler is metal it should have close to the same weight as any other loco, maybe more then some of the plastic boilered ones with the weights inside. Also, as you pointed out so eloquently, the motor need not be in the boiler at all. It could be inside the firebox (some camelbacks had not only a wide firebox but also a tall one making it a great place for a motor to hide) or even the tender. The fireman’s cab would hide a driveshaft pretty well I think. Think about it; five pole motor, flywheel, good geartower, and looks like no other N scale loco before it. Done right the whole thing should come out on par with the roundhouse loco’s as far as performance goes and would set your RR apart from all other N scale layouts that came before. The possibilities are interesting.
Scott,
An 0-8-8-0 huh? That’s a big boy! Need a big yard for that. The marketing would probably be pretty limited though due to it’s limited prototype use and the fact that most modelers don’t have huge layouts that can justify such a loco. It would be cool though…
All,
You know, another loco that would be nice to have, though admittedly not a switcher, would be an Atlantic. Great passenger loco and so far not done. You could even do a set of passenger cars to go with it so it would have a wider market appeal. That way you could buy a loco or a whole train at once. It shares some of the s
Not USRA would be superb. I’d love a camelback or a boxcab.
You know, as I was typing that post earlier I was thinking that a boxcab would be perfect. Big and bulky (read: packed with lead for weight) and lots of room for a motor.
But alas, age doth creep up on me. Plans and ideas wither away into the nether reaches of the mind never to be heard from again.
WOW, 4:45pm and I need to go to bed! I’m getting out there![:D]
Just an help for those who want to remotor an old steam switcher like the old Atlas/Rivarossi 0-4-0 or minitrix 0-6-0; see small geared motor at the following web site, but be aware that the price would be a little expensive.
( I use some of their motors as mashima or sagami motors and always PC tender floor with Kato or Bachman trucks, which take current on the both sides).
The web site is www.micro-loco-motion.com
I hope to help you.