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Where can I find late 1800s steam locomotives from France, Britain, and Europe in general?

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Where can I find late 1800s steam locomotives from France, Britain, and Europe in general?
Posted by kingfisher13 on Sunday, December 1, 2019 4:22 PM

Title says it all. I'm looking for late 1800s steam locomotives from Europe, specifically engines similar to the famous French 2-4-0 type 120 engine that was in this famous accident:

French type 120 2-4-0 Engine, late 1800s

I don't care what scale its in, I'd like to start a layout using the beautiful old engines from this time period. Are there any companies that make these?

 

Thanks!

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Posted by BigDaddy on Monday, December 2, 2019 10:05 AM

Welcome to the forum, your initial posts are moderated so they may take some time to appear.

We have a few EU members so maybe one of them has seen something like that.  I'm pretty sure that it has never been made by US manufacturers.   Most of us choose our scale first, but you might not have that luxury if you are looking for that particular loco.

Henry

COB Potomac & Northern

Shenandoah Valley

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Posted by Tinplate Toddler on Monday, December 2, 2019 10:36 AM

Late 1800s steam engine of European origin are very rare. Your best try would be to look at what Hornby offers. Some years ago, Hornby bought the brands of Lima, Rivarossi (both former Italien btands) and Jouef, a French brand, as well as Electrotren from Spain. Jouef has this little engine from the period of your choice:

This seems to be the only French steam engine from that period.

Liliput, a subsidiary of Bachmann, has this Austrian beauty for you.

Fulgurex from Switzerland markets handcrafted engines, like this Swiss Mogul:

Just a word of warning - Fulgurex is quite expensive.

Hornby prducts can be obtained through Hatton´s in UK, Liliput through Eurorail Hobbies.

Happy times!

Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)

"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"

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Posted by xboxtravis7992 on Monday, December 2, 2019 11:00 AM

British OO scale from Bachmann and Hornby might have a few things worth checking. It's worth noting though most mainland Europe modeling is done in HO scale, but the British primarily use OO scale instead. It runs on HO gauge track, but the models ars much larger than true HO scale.

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Posted by Tinplate Toddler on Monday, December 2, 2019 12:05 PM

xboxtravis7992
It's worth noting though most mainland Europe modeling is done in HO scale, but the British primarily use OO scale instead. It runs on HO gauge track, but the models ars much larger than true HO scale.

Well, HO scale is the dominant scale in continental Europe, followed by N scale and TT scale. Britain is different. British railway modeling is in OO scale, which is 1/76, running on 16.5mm track. The correct gauge in that scale would be 18.2mm, which is called EM gauge across the Channel. British N scale is 1/144 scale, instead of 1/160 in the rest of the world, excluding Japan, where it is 1/150 scale.

Bachmann has quite a number of steam engines which would fit a fin de siecle theme, but they look definitively British with their inside cylinders, "clean" boilers and striped paint jobs.

Look for yourself:

https://www.bachmann.co.uk/product-category/bachmann-branchline/locomotives/?product-page=1

Here is a link to Hornby steam engines:

https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/shop/locomotives/steam-locomotives.html

Oxford Rail has an interesting 0-6-0 from the 1880s.

http://www.oxfordrail.com/76/OR76DG.htm

Most of the models are equpped with DCC and a NEM coupler pocket, which means exchanging the rather unsightly tension lock coupler with a Kadee coupler is just "a click".

Happy times!

Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)

"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"

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Posted by DSchmitt on Monday, December 2, 2019 12:49 PM

Try https://www.reynaulds.com/index.a spx   Many brands.They probably have what you want.  

I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.

I don't have a leg to stand on.

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Posted by garya on Monday, December 2, 2019 12:56 PM

Many european manufacturers use numbered eras to desiginate time periods for their rolling stock:

Eras
Era Time Period Notes:
Era I Approx.1870-1920 Country & Private Railways 
Era II Approx. 1920-1945 The Period after the formation of large state railways 
Era III Approx. 1945-1970 The new organization of European railroads
Era IV Approx. 1968-1985 Standardized computer lettering on all rolling stock & locos
Era V Approx. 1985-2000 The modern era of railroading

So you're looking for Era I rolling stock.  Nailing it down to the first part of that era, though, may be more difficult.

Gary

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Posted by Tinplate Toddler on Monday, December 2, 2019 1:38 PM

Gary - era I is usually understood as the pre-WW I era. While there are some engines and rolling stock in the market from that era, they are mainly those, who also made it into era II and even era III. The time before 1900 is very much under- represented, aside from sets of models of the baby years of railroads, i.e. The Rocket of 1829 of the Stockton and Darlington Rlwy. in UK or "Der Adler" of 1835 of the first railway to open in Germany between Nuremberg and Fuerth (the line is now part of the Nuremberg streetcar system). Mass-produced models of later periods, say, the 1870s to 1890s´s, are as rare as hen´s theeth or even worse, as abundant as the Moa bird.

Happy times!

Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)

"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"

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Posted by Spalato68 on Monday, December 2, 2019 3:29 PM
Look for Fleischmann sets (there are AC and DC sets, so be careful, AC set numbers begin usually with “1”).
 
For example, set 4882, I got mine for around 100 Euros (Prussian T3 locomotive built from 1882). T3 from this set runs beautifully with ESU Lokpilot Micro 4, it is a great runner:
 
 
Or set 4899, I have it too, it can be found for less than 250 Euros (Locomotive P8, built from 1906). In this locomotive I replaced old Fleischmann pancake motor with DVD/CD drive motor, runs perfectly with ESU Lokpilot 4:
 
 
This is set 4889 with Bavarian GTL 4/4 locomotive from 1911:
 
 
Set 4901 with Bavarian Pt 273, built from 1909:
 
 
Set 4898 with Prussian S6, very beautiful locomotive from 1906:
 
 
There are more Fleischmann sets – some of them are not really from early epoch I, so I did not list them.
 
Trix also has models from Epoch I. This is very affordable, beautiful set with Prussian locomotive T2):
 
 
Hrvoje
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Posted by Tinplate Toddler on Monday, December 2, 2019 5:45 PM

Spalato68
Trix also has models from Epoch I. This is very affordable, beautiful set with Prussian locomotive T2)

Unfortunately, this isn´t a Prussian T2, but a Bavarian PtL 2/2. This type of engine never made it into Prussia!

The Prussian T2 looked like this.

Verybmuch like a T3 which has lost a set of wheels!

Trix at one time had this beauty in their range of products:

Fleichmann sells this one:

Both engines were Bavarian engines.

Roco/Fleischmann have a Prussian P 4.2 of 1891 origin:

I think this is more like what the OP had in mind.

 

Happy times!

Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)

"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"

  • Member since
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Posted by Spalato68 on Tuesday, December 3, 2019 12:41 AM

Ulrich,

thank you for the correction regarding T2 / PtL 2/2, although I am confused why then so many sellers are listing this locomotive as KPEV T2, for example:

https://www.ebay.de/itm/Trix-22411-Dampflok-Glaskasten-T2-6081-Altona-KPEV-EP-1-KK-OVP-NEUW-MF287/392561889502?hash=item5b668310de:g:MEAAAOSw2BFda~W3

https://www.ebay.de/itm/Trix-H0-22411-Glaskasten-grun-K-P-E-V-T2-6081-brunierte-Rader-Ep-I-gepruft/123951172664?hash=item1cdc10cc38:g:BJoAAOSwDCFd2StN

I do not know train (design) history that well - I assume that both locomotives maybe have the same/similar design origin. More on BR 98 (Glaskasten) can be found here:

http://www.modellbau-wiki.de/wiki/BR_98 - here it says that there are 29 different variations of this locomotive series/type. 

I like this locomotve very much (I have from Epoch 3, DB BR 98). It is extremely small, but cute in a way. 

Anyway, I think OP has received a plenty of suggestions...-:)

Hrvoje

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Posted by Tinplate Toddler on Tuesday, December 3, 2019 3:40 AM

Without the intention to hijack this thread - here is a bit of backgroung on the T 2 steam engine.

After WW I, all of the railroads of the former member states of the German Empire were merged to form the Deutsche Reichsbahn, which then established a uniform numbering and classification system. All tank engines serving second class branchlines of local importance only were classified as class 98, regardless of their wheel arrangement. Hence two completely different engines in the same class. Just an example:

Class 98 subclass 0:

Class 98 subclass 1:

Class 98 subclass 78:

The DRG Class 98 was a kind of melting pot for steam engines that didn´t fit into all other categories.

Btw, that Trix "Glass House" engine was built after 1905.

Happy times!

Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)

"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"

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