Spectrum 2-6-6-2 and tender question

[Pacific Northern]

Is there a reason why the new 2-6-6-2 with the Vanderbilt tender has a recommended 22" radius and the 2-6-6-2 with the standard tender has a 18" recommended radius?

Is the VC12 tender the same as the "old" medium vandy?

[ABC]

The Vandy tender has a tendency to derail or make the car directly behind it derail on 18" radius. The 2-6-6-2's both have a lot of hangover even on 22" radius curves.

[Pacific Northern]

This is the review from Model Railroader on the 2-6-6-2 engine. I have two of these engines and they are probably my best running Spectrums. Look forward to obtaining one of the new releases with sound.

Bachmann, HO scale, USRA 2-6-6-2
Reviewed in the June 2004 issue
Jim Hediger, senior editor
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July 30, 2004

Bachmann's HO USRA 2-6-6-2 is a compact powerhouse.
This chunky USRA 2-6-6-2 is a powerful model that's capable of operating on 18"-radius curves. It's the first HO articulated locomotive in the Bachmann Spectrum line.

The model represents a prototype locomotive developed by the United States Railroad Administration (USRA) during the First World War. The USRA was a governmental body which controlled American railroads and created a series of standardized steam locomotives. This 2-6-6-2 was the USRA's light Mallet articulated design.

Only 30 were built (in 1919): 20 were assigned to the Chesapeake & Ohio and 10 went to the Wheeling & Lake Erie. The USRA's allocation of the 2-6-6-2 light articulateds wasn't popular. The C&O already owned 200 2-6-6-2s of its own designs, so what it really wanted was heavier mainline locomotives.

A similar situation existed on the W&LE where its much smaller fleet of 2-6-6-2s also hauled coal. In the end, both railroads accepted what they could get. Some of these USRA locomotives wound up operating into the 1950s.
Some detail parts were misaligned, but most were simply not fully mounted in their mounting holes.
Spectrum's models are fine replicas of their prototypes. Both closely match the dimensions shown in a USRA drawing published in the Simmons-Boardman 1922 Locomotive Cyclopedia.

The instructions include four pages of exploded isometric drawings that show the model's construction. Several tiny plastic latches and a single screw, concealed under the removable steam dome, hold the boiler in place.

These locomotives combine heavy, die-cast metal mechanisms with highly detailed plastic boiler shells, cabs, and tender bodies. The molded detail parts and piping are crisp; the handrails and uncoupling levers are blackened wire. The cab interiors have a detailed backhead, seats, and a crew.
A two-position drawbar provides a scale foot of extra clearance between the cab and tender for use on tight curves.
The DCC socket is in the tender so most of the boiler is filled with weight.

The 12-wheel-drive mechanism's design is similar to most of today's diesel drives. Its skew-wound can motor is enclosed in the middle of the boiler between a heavy die-cast metal weight and the main frame.

Each six-drivered engine is essentially a cast-metal truck with a vertical gearbox. A universal shaft at the top connects it to the flywheel mounted on the motor shaft. Both engines swivel and rock slightly under the boiler to ensure that all of the drivers contact the rails for maximum tractive effort. This "double truck" design allows the model to negotiate an 18"- radius curve and reduces its front-end overhang on sharp curves.

In contrast, prototype articulateds have the rear engine rigidly attached to the boiler. A hinged joint at the rear of the front engine allows it to swing from side to side.

The model uses all 12 drivers and two wheels on each tender truck for electrical pickup. However, the tender trucks pick up current from opposite rails. Two cables connect the tender and locomotive.

The tender is the same as the one supplied with the USRA heavy 4-8-2 reviewed in the October 2003 Model Railroader, except that this version has Andrews trucks. The plastic body is attached to its die-cast floor with a pair of lugs at the rear and a small Phillips screw.

A National Model Railroad Association eight-pin Digital Command Control (DCC) receptacle is concealed inside the tender, and there's space for a decoder above the PC board. A ballast resistor is included in the headlight circuit, so there's no need to change the lamps when the model is converted to DCC.

All of the engine and tender wheels have RP-25 contours and match the NMRA standards gauge. Bachmann's E-Z Mate knuckle couplers are mounted at the proper height in coupler boxes secured with small screws.

Our sample 2-6-6-2s started smoothly and operated quietly throughout their speed range. Both models performed well at the drag speeds typical of their prototypes. The drawbar pull is equivalent to 56 free-rolling freight cars on straight and level track.

While this is an articulated, its size is a fooler. The boiler is only about a scale 48" longer than a Nickel Plate 2-8-4 Berkshire, so it'll look great on tight model curves and fit on a 13"-diameter turntable. Its USRA design makes it a great fit for many steam-era layouts.

Bachmann has produced a good-looking and fine-running model of a locomotive that will likely prove more useful to modelers than its prototype ever was to the railroads.
HO USRA 2-6-6-2

Price: $349.00

Manufacturer:
Bachmann Industries
1400 E. Erie Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19124
www.bachmanntrains.com

Description:
Plastic and metal ready-to-run
steam locomotive and tender

Features:
Bachmann E-Z Mate magnetic
knuckle couplers
Die-cast metal chassis
Directional constant headlight
Drawbar pull: 4 ounces
(56 free-rolling freight cars
on straight, level track)
Engine and tender weight: 28
ounces; engine alone is 18
ounces
Five-pole skew-wound can
motor with flywheels
Minimum radius: 18"
RP-25 contour nickel-silver
wheels (in gauge)

Road Names:
Chesapeake & Ohio; New York, Chicago & St. Louis (Nickel Plate Road); Wheeling & Lake Erie; and unlettered
June 2004

To view the full article and photos, purchase the back issue the track was featured.



View the Table of Contents of the June 2004 issue.