Model Power/MRC steam!

[eric220]

With the photo that @Lemosteam provided, I went back and looked at my loco.  Sure enough, it's numbered 1227.  Normally I would applaud new road numbers with new releases, but in this particular instance, 1223 has some significance.  That said, changing road numbers is probably the least worrisome modification that would need to be made to come up with a model of 1223.  Fortunately, this is the exact same tooling as the old MP models, so I was able to swap the cabs.  Fastest renumbering ever.

[Cajonpassfan]

Well, the fat wheels do bother me. In addition of the look, they also push the sideframes much farther out than they should be (or need to be), and this is a problem on tenders with side sills that should be lower than the top of the sideframe. This can result in tender riding too high to clear. Bachmann has similar "sideframes too far out" condition which makes their Vandy tender underframe and trucks look wrong to me.

I tried to use the Bachmann six wheel trucks on some kitbashed Santa Fe tenders but can't get them to fit between the sidesills because of fat wheels and sideframes too far out. See pic.

Back to the MRC loco. I contacted their service to inquire whether the new DCC Sound tenders would be available separately. While they have no parts now, I understand a container is on its way with among other things tender "floor kits", and decoders available separately. (Well if I have to buy and install a separate decoder, it's not gonna be MRC).
Unfortunately, the MRC website has no Parts Dept., but I did receive quick, if not always useful responses from custome service.
Otto K.

[mmagliaro]

Saw that coming Max!

Ha ha ha! Yes!

Unfortunately, after much photo viewing, I find that the NP didn't have any 4-4-0's that looked like this.  There are just too many differences.  The Atlas 4-4-0 is almost a dead ringer for an SP&S 4-4-0, and that was my original plan when I get around to doing one of those.  It probably doesn't run as well as the MP engine, but that will be part of the project when the time comes.

[Chris333]

At least the fat wheels look smooth. Last runs looked like 150 grit.

[Cajonpassfan]

Bump!
I finally bit the bullet and acquired the new version of the Mogul (on sale at MM) equipped with DCC and sound. I'm reasonably pleased (especially since I was able to sell my old D.C. one, with the old pickups, at a good price).

Here's my initial impressions: The new loco runs smooth right out of the box, no wobble, no hesitation, nice slow speed and reasonably proto top speed. The sound is just okay, it's no ESU or TSU, but alright. The chuff corresponds nicely to driver revolutions, so the only thing I did so far is put in some momentum, a little for startup, and a bunch for stopping. There is a selection of 18 whistles, but so far I haven't found one I love. The relative volumes of the various sounds is right on to me, but the overall master volume, factory set at maximum, is a bit low. Okay for a quiet train room use at home, but probably inadequate where there's bunch of other noise, like shows or large clubs I would think, but that's a problem inherent to scale sound. Once I get to it, I'll probably replace the speaker with a cube.

The engine weighs in at a healthy 85 grams (with tender, with most weight in the loco) and pulls surprisingly well. I had an 11-car passenger train, a mix of LW and HW cars, sitting in the yard and she walked away with them with little trouble (looking a bit silly doing that). Impressive. The all-wheel electrical pickup is equally impressive, the loco has not stalled on me once going through Atlas c55 turnouts.

I bought an undec version on purpose, as it comes with all the optional items:  alternate cab, cylinders, pilot, smokebox front and headlight, and even a set of tender truck sideframes, complete with built in pickups. That is a very nice feature and we ought to let the manufacturer know we appreciate the options; to my knowledge no one else goes into the trouble of providing optional alternate parts in the box.

Overall, I'm happy with the purchase.
Otto K.

[mmagliaro]

Thanks for the review.  The old 2-6-0 was one of the best running (if not THE best running) of the MP steam, in my opinion.  It was one of the two that had the 5-pole Mashima which is a cherry motor and it had nice low gearing.  I've still got my first-run one, spotlessly kept in its box.  I ran it a little when I got it, and planned to do a kitbash with it, but never got around to it.

I'm glad to hear they built upon it and added the tender pickups.  That ought to make for a really nice engine.

[Paradise275]

Eric, to make your Athern passenger cars more free wheeling, simply replace the wheels with Micro-Train wheels.
You don't have to change the trucks. The difference is phenomenal.

Rick