CAZEPHYR It is hard to believe this was a hit, but TYCO thought so. The song. Pardon me, boy Is this the Chattanooga choo choo Track twenty-nine Boy, you can give me a shine I can afford To board a Chattanooga choo choo I've got my fare And just a trifle to spare You leave the Pennsylvania Station 'bout a quarter to four Read a magazine and then you're in Baltimore Dinner in the diner Nothing could be finer Than to have your ham an' eggs in Carolina When you hear the whistle blowin' eight to the bar Then you know that Tennessee is not very far Shovel all the coal in Gotta keep a-rollin' Woo, woo, Chattanooga there you are There's gonna be A certain party at the station Satin and lace I used to call funny face She's gonna cry Until I tell her that I'll never roam So Chattanooga choo choo Won't you choo-choo me home Chattanooga choo choo Won't you choo-choo me home
It is hard to believe this was a hit, but TYCO thought so.
The song.
Pardon me, boy Is this the Chattanooga choo choo Track twenty-nine Boy, you can give me a shine I can afford To board a Chattanooga choo choo I've got my fare And just a trifle to spare You leave the Pennsylvania Station 'bout a quarter to four Read a magazine and then you're in Baltimore Dinner in the diner Nothing could be finer Than to have your ham an' eggs in Carolina When you hear the whistle blowin' eight to the bar Then you know that Tennessee is not very far Shovel all the coal in Gotta keep a-rollin' Woo, woo, Chattanooga there you are There's gonna be A certain party at the station Satin and lace I used to call funny face She's gonna cry Until I tell her that I'll never roam So Chattanooga choo choo Won't you choo-choo me home Chattanooga choo choo Won't you choo-choo me home
And all this time, I thought the song was about a new house pet...
"Pardon me boy, is that the cat that ate your new shoes?"
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
CNJ831 The Tyco Chattanooga Choo-Choo had its origins in Mantua's USRA 0-8-0 switcher, which resembles the prototype fairly closely and which certainly was no fantasy engine. However, no matter what wheel arrangement is placed under that boiler shell, the boiler's design is that of a switcher.
The Tyco Chattanooga Choo-Choo had its origins in Mantua's USRA 0-8-0 switcher, which resembles the prototype fairly closely and which certainly was no fantasy engine. However, no matter what wheel arrangement is placed under that boiler shell, the boiler's design is that of a switcher.
CNJ:
The two sandboxes are probably the most distinctive switcher element of the boiler casting. Still, it's not a bad-looking superstructure. The proportions and general outline are good.
ISTR that there were some 2-8-0 locomotives converted from 0-8-0s. I think the BC&G had a few. I don't know if these had two sandboxes, however. The reverse was more common, of course...lots of railroads rebuilt road engines into 0-8-0s.
My possibly incorrect understanding is that the Chattanooga was Tyco's best-selling set. There certainly are a lot of them around, even now. If this record is true, the Chattanooga just might mark the high-water mark of the 1970s model railroad "boom".
Darth,
With your penchant for larger locos, may I offer a suggestion? Many years ago, while I was in high school and on a very limited budget, I did some trading and got a pair of these locos. One was the 0-8-0, one was a 2-8-0. I managed to get the tender drive working, and decided to make an articulated loco instead. I used a piece of sheet metal as a "hinge" after sawing and filing the two frames, built the boiler from a chunk of PVC pipe, and added plastic firebox sides, and re-used the stock cab. A few details were added, then a quick trip to the paint shop, and I had a "big" loco. No, it was not prototypical at all, and it was quite crude, but I had a good time with it. One of the few things I ever got rid of, and I am sorry I did!
It just so happens that the NP used the same size drivers for the Z-5 2-8-8-4......
Good Luck, Morpar
So as a 2-8-0 it's completely fantasy? I guess I can do anything I want with it, then? How would it do as a New York Central unit (I've already got a lot of extra decals from when I did my Bowser K-11)?
loatharDarth-I'd like to see how you plan on repowering yours. You gonna put the motor where it's supposed to be??
It's still going to be a tender drive. I'm making an 8-wheel-drive mechanism out of Athearn gears, Intermountain 33" wheels, trucks and a frame made from brass sheet, and a small coreless motor with 12mm flywheels. The trucks will be scale sized, rather than the over-sized stock Tycos, and will have modified Athearn freight car truck sides. It's time-consuming, but it should be an excellent runner once it's all done.
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Maybe someone in Tenn. can help me out, but I believe at one time there was a motel there called "Chattanooga Choo Choo" that used old passenger cars for the motel's rooms?? I'm pretty sure my sister and her husband were there on business and saw it and brought me a T-shirt or somehting.
So, it could be the Tyco engine is sorta-kinda based on an engine they had on display there as part of the motel complex...or not?!?
Wow guys, can we throw in any more misinformation regarding this item!!!
The Tyco Chattanooga Choo-Choo had its origins in Mantua's USRA 0-8-0 switcher, which resembles the prototype fairly closely and which certainly was no fantasy engine. However, no matter what wheel arrangement is placed under that boiler shell, the boiler's design is that of a switcher. As the original Mantua version (the 0-8-0 switcher) it was a good representative of this USRA design for the period, a good runner and popular among those kitbashing locos. It was by no means a low quality model in itself, even though the Chattanooga Choo Choo (especially with the tender drive) was perhaps the worst piece of junk Tyco even offered. In its 2-8-0 or 2-8-2 form, it was simply fantasy but one must appreciate that was not the model's original form/intent. In addition, consider that any of the Tyco versions of the Chattanooga Choo Choo represents a freight locomotive, not the premier passenger power referred to in the famous song.
CNJ831
I may be perpetuating bogus information here (not the first time ) but I think the Tyco boiler was based on the USRA 0-8-0, and to further go out on a limb, I seem to recall someone on these Forums stating that the current IHC 2-8-0 and 0-8-0 uses the Tyco boiler casting with a new frame and motor.
The idea of the power being in the tender may strike some of us as funny or odd but some European makes of steam engines have been doing it that way for years.
It is one of the ironies of this wonderful hobby of ours that sometimes only the very finest craftsmen and most skilled modelers can actually make use of the cheapest entry-level model trains! I won't fault Tyco or other low end lines for finding their niche and filling it but you do have to wonder how many potential life long model railroaders quickly gave up on the hobby due to purchasing stuff that soon broke down. At Christmas time I see unopened train sets for sale where I can see that already the trucks or couplers are broken off the trains.
Dave Nelson
I have a pair of them sitting on the shelf in my work shop, can't honestly say where I aquired them from but I had an idea in the back of my head and was wonderign how it would work. What if one took the powered tender from the Tyco and paired it up with a "normally" powered locomotive. It might make for some interested pulling power
I never really had any problems with them other than the odd "squeal" that oiling would fix. Now if I just had the Life Like, Model Power and Bachman locos I would have certainly gotten out of the hobby. They were junk!
Todd
CAZEPHYRThe song.
The original TV commercial. Note the spot where the loco has a 50/50 chance of coming down on the rails when the drivers lift off.
OntarioToddAs unprototypical Tyco trains were, they were instrumental at getting me (and I'm sure lot's of others) into model railroading. My best Christmas memories revolve around getting a Tyco set in the early 1970's that I stared at in the Sears catalogue for weeks prior to the "big day". There was a store nearby that sold Tyco trains and accessories.
I had a similar experience, but I have to tell you, after dealing with their terrible operating characteristrics, if I hadn't had friends who were playing with Athearn on their 4x8 sheet of plywood, I might have quit model railroading entirely.
As unprototypical Tyco trains were, they were instrumental at getting me (and I'm sure lot's of others) into model railroading. My best Christmas memories revolve around getting a Tyco set in the early 1970's that I stared at in the Sears catalogue for weeks prior to the "big day". There was a store nearby that sold Tyco trains and accessories. My dad would take me there every once in awhile and buy me a building or frieght car. I have a soft spot for that GG1 as I remember my dad buying me the Amtrak version and saying "Don't tell mom". I eventually bought a couple of passenger cars to match. They ran better than the Life Like, Model Power and Bachman of the time and took a lot of abuse from this then-8-year-old. My friend two doors down had a 4x8 layout full of Tyco trains (including the original Chattanooga locomotive) and we would run those trains for hours. Yes, as time went on I discovered brands like Athearn and kadee couplers and eventually upgraded the layout before selling it (I discovered cars and girls). So, even though I won't run them now, Tyco trains still hold a place in model railroading history. I'll likely buy some of the Tyco's I had new in the box (they are cheap on Ebay) and display them as a symbol of how I got into the hobby.
Wouldn't it be closer to a Triplex since it too had drivers in the tender?
Darth-I'd like to see how you plan on repowering yours. You gonna put the motor where it's supposed to be??
Mine came as an 0-8-0, but I added a front truck because there was an empty space for one.Is it at least similar to anything that any RR had?
It was a LONG time ago, but as I recall, the tyco Chattanooga was sold as both a 2-8-0 and an 0-8-0 and possibly a 2-8-2 at some point. I beleive that they did use the same cab/boiler on all versions, and just changed the wheel configurations. So it would depend on which wheel configuration it is that you are asking about. My guess, would also be that it was not modeled after a particular prototype either.
I have seen some pics of some your work though(Very Good, BTW) and I would be interested in seeing the finished results of this also, if you decide to do it.
Doug
May your flanges always stay BETWEEN the rails
I guess it depends on which one. Originally it was a fantasy paint scheme on the Mantua/Tyco 2-8-2. Then they removes the 2- and the -2 and made a really odd-looking 0-8-0 out of it - I guess because at that time Tyco quality was goign down the toilet in a big way. And they wonder why they went out of business? It was real bad there at the end - How about the GG-1 with a pair of 4 wheel diesel trucks? (or maybe they were 6 wheel trucks). Really a shame because in the early days, Mantua was one of the top manufacturers, and prior to Kadee almost everyone used their couplers. Those original mantua locos had prototypes - in many cases Reading steam locos. In fact an old Mantua model of an I10 2-8-0 just went up on eBay. Later they changed to more generic not exact models of anything locos, but there were numerous detailing articles using the Mantua as a starting point, plus replacement boilers and parts from Cary and Mellor to make more accurate locos. After Tyco became a division on Consolidated Foods, it went pretty much the same direction Lionel went after they bcemae part of General Mills. Having owned plenty of Tyco in the 70's, I found those "Roundhouse Talk" ads in MR almost laughable.
To sum up - if you actually have the version with the proper wheels, it's similar but not an exact model of any particular mikado. If you have the one missing the lead and trailing trucks, it's DEFINITELY not a model of anything real.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
The Tyco Chattanooga Choo Choo was pure fantasy and not based on any real prototype at all, as near as I can tell.
Does the Tyco Chattanooga steam engine have a prototype it's based off of? It looks like an old USRA design, but I can't seem to find any pictures of anything that's even close to the Tyco design.
I'm doing a complete repower and repaint, and probably some redetailing, of my Tyco Chattanooga. Any information, like what railroad it most closely represents, details that need correcting, etc., would be very helpful. Thanks!