RMC article

[Woody Elmore]

This month's Railroad Model Craftsman contains an article about the old International company and features a picture of the Wabash mogul that they imported in brass.

If you get RMC, read the article, check out the picture and you may agree with me that the Wabash 500 class mogul might be a great little engine for Bachmann to produce.

I had two of the International imports and they were really nice for their day. I wish that I had not swapped them for an Alco Models brass RS -11 (which made more noise than a coffee grinder.)

[japasha]

Woody,

I still have a few of those. I have an old Akane Cab-forward that took me 3 months to payfor when I was in HIgh school. My Rivarossi ran better and had better detail. At the time, Bart Austin of M.B. Austin was importing stuff, some from international, mostly SP. I have the complete set. All have been remotored and re-geared as club operation took its toll. This was all bought from 1960-1964.

[Woody Elmore]

I remember that Akane made a brass pacific - probably USRA. A member of the club I belonged to owned it. It was a mediocre runner and the detailing was not up to the standards set by PFM.

My moguls ran well if a little fast. I think remotored with modern motors they would have been really good performers. I bought one and then had the opportunity to get another at a train show for half the price I paid for my first mogul. So the two engines cost me about $50. Like you I was in college and even $32 for a PFM USRA mike was a lot of money but I really liked those little engines.

Model Railroader ran a six installment article starting in January, 1959 about building an O scale Wabash mogul built by Mel Thornburgh. They also ran a companion piece in Trains at the same time about the last Wabash branch and why the engines lasted until 1954. The Wabash double headed them because they were small but uncoupled them to cross a bridge. A GP 7 would have been too heavy for the bridge. The engines were scrapped when the branch line was shut down. I think there is one still around in the St. Louis Transportation museum.

[ebtnut]

FWIW, Kemtron made a kit for the Wabash Mogul in both O and HO scales back in the early 1960's.  I think most of the parts are still available from Precision.