2-4-4-2 Arrived here today

[Stevelewis]

My 2-4-4-2 mallet arrived this  morning, its a very nice loco, overall a bit  shorter  than the  2-6-6-2  but  the  tender  is  actually a little longer  than that of the 2-6-6-2.

Runs  smoothly  and  is powerful  10 bogie cars  no problem  will pull more!
Both Lights illuminate  irrespective of  direction of  travel  but  the  trailing  light  dims.
speaker  already fitted in tender  so  sound module  fitting will take  30 seconds ( 21 pin  socket in tender)
I tried to post  phots  but the site rejected  them  but  I have  posted  them on www.rmweb.co.uk  if you  enter  Bachmanns surprise in the  search at the top of the forum page  OR goto trade/products Bachmann that  should  find the  thread.

The loco comes  with all the  usual  additional  alternative  parts!

[rayport]

Looks good, thanks for the link and photos. Does, however, look the cab could be even lower than that on the 2-6-6-2 which to my eye would be perfect if the cab was 1 scale foot taller. Maybe we can persuade them to include a taller cab on these and the IF 4-4-0.

[Stevelewis]

The  cab  is  approx 3mm lower  than  the  2-6-6-2

[Skarloey Railway]

It does look nice, but both it and its larger cousin look undernourished in the boiler department, making the loco a little skinny to my eye. Another few scale inches on the boiler dia and it would have beefed up nicely. Something like this Baldwin mallet built for Serbia http://narrowmind.railfan.net/2662_Serbian.JPG (top of the page)

This would be an interesting conversion. Loses that overlong pilot. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Swiss_Mallet_Tank.jpg

[railtwister]

Hi Steve,

Looking at the announcement photos from Bachmann, I thought the 2-4-4-2 was a factory kitbash made from the same parts as the 2-6-6-2 loco. You say the tender is a slightly different size, can you tell by looking whether all the other pieces, such as cab, wheels, cylinders, pilot, etc. are different from those on the 2-6-6-2? I would expect the boiler and mainframe to be different, but the rest of the loco looks so close to the 2-6-6-2 that I question whether it's worth producing all new tooling. I do like the proportions of the 2-4-4-2 better, although I already have a 2-6-6-2, and once I ran it on my modules I decided I liked it in spite of it's slightly odd look. I'm not sure I can justify the extra expense for another articulated loco, though.

Bill in FtL

[Stevelewis]

Hi  Some  early observations
Tender  frame  is 10mm longer,  tender  body is 5mm longer than the  2-6-6-2,
  cab roof height at highest  point is 3mm Lower than  2-6-6-2
Boiler  from front of  cab to smokebox door  1s 18mm shorter.  than the 2-6-6-2

The cab itself  appears to be  the  same  but  the 2-4-4-2 windows seem slightly different.

the  section from pilot to smoke box front appears to be  the  same on both locos
Hope this  helps!
Steve

[RGS Goose]

Hi Steve,
Are you able to work out yet whether the decoder will allow you to change the light settings to only have the light in the direction of travel lit, changing as the direction changes, or does it have to stay as you have described, with the trailing light dimming?
Regards,
RGS Goose.

[Stevelewis]

Hi
As far as I have bee able to establish at the moment.  None of the  functions from 1 to 16 seem to have  any effect on the  lights.

I do note  also  that  the lights  are rather brighter than other 0n30 locos,  what I intend to do when I get  time  is   try another decoder in it to se if  I can  alter  things,

I am aware  also  that  when these locos  are  used on analogue  the  trailing  light  flashes, which  I am sure is not  prototypical ( correct me if I am wrong!)  I havnt  tried  this  myself  its  just  what  the   dealer  (Tower-Models Blackpool)  advised me  .

[Skarloey Railway]

I do wonder what Backwoods Miniatures are going to do with it. They did a nice job improving the looks of the 2-6-6-2.

[hminky]

It does look nice, but both it and its larger cousin look undernourished in the boiler department, making the loco a little skinny to my eye. Another few scale inches on the boiler dia and it would have beefed up nicely. Something like this Baldwin mallet built for Serbia http://narrowmind.railfan.net/2662_Serbian.JPG (top of the page)

This would be an interesting conversion. Loses that overlong pilot. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Swiss_Mallet_Tank.jpg

The 2-6-6-2 is this locomotive:





Harold

[Skarloey Railway]

@ Harold. I know that was the prototype for the 2-6-6-2 but I still think it looks a little skinny. The Serbian mallets are Baldwin built and just have a bit more heft to them.

[Kevin S.]

If I recall correctly from reading The Locomotives Baldwin Built, the issue for the line the 2-6-6-2 ran on was axle loading.  The track was just too light and poorly ballasted.  The light weight of the locomotive spread over the six axles did the trick but still delivered enough power for the tonnage it was required to haul.

A case of a custom built locomotive for a specific set of needs for a specific railroad.

[Stevelewis]

I must  admit  I have  no reservations  as to the  appearance  of  the  2-6-6-2  & 2-4-4-2 Mallets, many visitors to my layout  often pass comments of approval,

I also have  a very Beefy Mallet  but  that runs  outdoors,  ( Sumpter Valley  Mallet LGB)

[RGS Goose]

Hi Steve,
I haven't had my hands on a 2-4-4-2 yet.
The Bachmann site says the loco is DCC equipped. There is no mention of dual mode like many of their other locos. Can you tell me if the add-on sound module, and the fitted DCC decoder, are dual mode (DC/DCC).
Thanks in anticipation.
Regards,
RGS Goose.

[RGS Goose]

Hi again Steve,
Please ignore my last post. I have had a better look at the details of this loco on the Bachmann site, and found it does say that it has a dual mode decoder.
I think I will have to stop drinking whatever it was, if it does that to me, but ratherI think it might have been too many hours at the building bench before I looked for the info. rather than what I was drinking, as I can't drink anything stronger than coffee and soft drink. Maybe some more coffee will help.
Thanks anyway.
Regards,
RGS Goose.