End of the line

[RAM]

It was the first time I heard the side rods call Coupling rods

[rogertra]

It was the first time I heard the side rods call Coupling rods

Both are acceptable.  :-)

Although side rods is the more common usage.  I should have used that term first.

[Pacific Northern]

Sad, but common at the end of steam (and occasionally before, as older locomotives were replaced, 4-4-0s going away as Pacifics came in, 2-8-0s going to scrap as 2-8-4s started hauling the hotshots).

Unlettered engine looks very much like an old Bachmann Reading I-10 2-8-0; the other one is a Model Die Casting-Roundhouse 2-8-0 loosely based on a Southern Pacific prototype.  Don't know about the tender with it, though; looks like a switcher tender from Life-Like (now Walthers), but I can't imagine such a pricey tender being with this older model.  The tender with the Reading engine is still in production and shows up with some of the 0-6-0 models.

Too bad the dies broke or were otherwise damaged for the I-10; it would have been a nice engine to be upgraded to the current standard line, the die work was always quite good on it (and it kept the tradition of big Reading 2-8-0s alive in HO; the prototypes were once offered in HO by Varney and Mantua).  Unfortunately, they also had the horrible mechanisms of Bachmann at the time, including a coffee-grinding pancake motor driving through spur gears--ugh!

Yes, I thought that was the Bachmann I-10 2-8-0.  And yes it did have the Botchmann pancake motor which was dumped and the engine now free wheels.  The MDC engine's tender is just an unlettered spare P2K tender, I have more tenders than engines as I tend to have various tenders behind the same class of engine depending on their assignments, just as the prototype did.

My Spectrum 2-8-0 fleet has the stock Spectrum tender behind a couple of engines for regular freight service, two have the Spectrum tender shortened by four scale feet for use on a branch line with a short turntable and at least one has a P2K switcher tender, as shown behind the MDC 2-8-0 in the photos, for use in mainline way freight service.  

The tender in the photo is scheduled to be reassigned to yet another Spectrum 2-8-0 for main line way freight service, as soon as I can get around to it.

Funny thing, I am just packing up my Bachmann I-10 for a one way trip to the Bachmann service department. The engine must by at least 35 years old. It runs pretty erratic, stalls a lot as well as jerking.

Thought what the heck, As Bachmann has a lifetime warranty, we will see what the Service Dept. offers as a replacement.

[MarkInLA]

Hey ! Am I hallucinating or are there both HO and N scales in pictures "End of the Line "? !! It looks like two different scales exist on this MRR !!  Is HO crossing N outside of shot, or what ? !!!

[rogertra]

Hey ! Am I hallucinating or are there both HO and N scales in pictures "End of the Line "? !! It looks like two different scales exist on this MRR !!  Is HO crossing N outside of shot, or what ? !!!

I had another look at the photos and although it is all HO scale, it does look like two gauges due to the photo angle.  I'm not good enough to model in two scales.