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 Posted - September 06 2007 : 05:22:18 AM
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Hey gang,
I recently purchased a few HO steam locomotives from a fellow museum member at Railroad Days this year for $10 a piece. Since I was robbing the trains as a fundraiser for the museum during the festivities, I really felt like I had literally robbed the guy afterward when I got them home and saw what this little guy was considering that as I was perusing his "for sale" table, I had a Colt .45 on each hip and Alicia was holding my shot gun while I shopped. I originially bought this engine as an after thought after I paid for the rest of my "loot", but as I turned to walk away, this little guy caught my eye and I couldn't resist. It was cute and I thought would make a great addition to the set of Central Pacific 34' overtons I bought from a vendor there last year. The size and era were perfect for what I had been hoping to accomplish for my little "logging commuter train" for my logging branch of the layout. I didn't realize at the time that the thing was brass.
Guys, what the heck *did* I buy? It's kinda funky, in that the bottom of this little 2-8-0 is stamped "Mantua" and upon seperating the boiler from the frame, I confirmed that indeed it does have the guts familiar to us Tyco/Mantua collectors. The firebox is the typical plastic Tyco piece like my other Tyco steamers have. Other than that, it is a very delicate brass construction in that the boiler and walkways as well as the pilot. The tender is a heavily modified Rivarossi tender that has been converted to burn pil instead of the former coal load. The problem is that it has absolutely NO provisions for power pickup. What I need is for someone knowledgeable about repowering and restoring these old steamers to add electrical pickup. The motor works fine, I just need to get power to it by rail, rather than by hooking up transformer leads to the motor. I imagine tender pickups would be best, but being steam, I am afraid to even try and don't know where to start. If it was a diesel, it'd already be roaming the rails, as that is where my experience and expertise lies. With steam, I'm lost. I won't even begin to get into what I did to the Rivarossi 2-8-8-2 that I tried to clean. I took it apart to clean it up and restore it and it's now in pieces in an Athearn box. I have no idea how to put it all back together. I don't want this to happen with this little 2-8-0 trying to install power pickup shoes in it. Anyone interested in tackling the power pickup problem? Photos are attached.
BTW: What is this thing? I mean, who manufactured it? Was it a scratch built engine? Norm (the guy I got it from) doesn't know as it is very old and he had had it for many years. Any ideas?
Tom Carter 
Railroad Training Services
Railroad Training & Consulting
Stockton, California
www.railroadtrainingservices.com
tomwcarter@railroadtrainingservices.com
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 Posted - September 06 2007 : 12:52:03 PM
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I would guess it is a kit-bashed loco (a nice job too).
Here is an idea for pickups.
http://2guyz.info/Content/pa=showpage/pid=5.html
Ray
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Posted - September 08 2007 : 06:48:56 AM
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Almost looks like one of the old MDC kits.
A lone amature built the ark! A large group of professionals built the titanic!
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Posted - January 30 2008 : 2:46:54 PM
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quote:With steam, I'm lost. I won't even begin to get into what I did to the Rivarossi 2-8-8-2 that I tried to clean. I took it apart to clean it up and restore it and it's now in pieces in an Athearn box. I have no idea how to put it all back together.
Originally posted by SilverStreak - September 06 2007 : 09:22:18 AM
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Hi Tom,
Mantua's early kits were brass, or partially brass, and there is this photo of a Consolidation from their 1940 catalog.
/tyco/forum/uploaded/NickelPlate759/mantuacatalog1940pg05.jpg
It's a model of a much heavier Consolidation than yours, and I think the boiler was die-cast.
http://www.hoseeker.net/mantuamiscellaneous.html
In case you still need help with that 2-8-8-2, HOSeeker has the original exploded diagrams and parts lists that might help you piece it back together.
/tyco/forum/uploaded/NickelPlate759/ahmy6bmalletpg1.jpg
http://www.hoseeker.net/ahmmiscellaneous.html
Nelson
The Tyco Depot
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midmo1
Little Six
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Posted - January 30 2008 : 8:28:18 PM
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Nice 2-8-0!!!!
Ted
midmo
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Roy
Little Six
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Posted - January 30 2008 : 8:33:07 PM
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SilverStreak,
The drivers on at least one side should be insulated. Often, that insulation is between the driver center(the part with the spokes) and the rim. Check this first, and get back to us.
Edited by - Roy on January 31 2008 12:26:35 PM
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Posted - August 20 2008 : 6:18:28 PM
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I think Ive finally figured out what this was and how it was modified. It started as a 2-6-2 Mantua/Tyco Prairie and was modified using one of these Mellor kits which I had forgotten about. As I recall the kit cost more than the original loco
Loopy
If you can't fix it with a hammer, you've got an electrical problem.
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Posted - August 20 2008 : 9:37:18 PM
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That is a neat 2-8-0 kit.
I'd like to see it after it's built.
Ray
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