Trix Mikado

[tstage]

I just found out on Tony's web site that they are offloading the Trix 2-8-2 Mikados for only $230 (w/sound). Anyone have any strong opinions on these locomotives? Seems I remember reading somewhere that the sound on the Trix Mikes was a bit disappointing and anemic?

I appreciate any input any of you can give me. Thanks!

Tom

[tstage]

Update: Looks like the one downside could be that "it will NOT accept the new LokSound V3.5 software". See link below:

http://www.tonystrains.com/tonystips/2006/032906b.htm

Perhaps someone can comment on the disadvantage of this. Is this something that can be upgraded so that it is compatible? Or, would the upgrade NOT be cost-effective?

Tom

[jnichols]

The v2 Loksound decoders aren't terrible by any means, but don't expect the same performance you get from a newer generation decoder. The biggest difference is the fact the whistle is a recorded sound and can not be made short or long. You press the whistle button and sound plays. Other than that the BEMF is top notch as it has always been with the ESU decoders, and the rest of the decoder is pretty straight forward.

Honestly at $230, who cares what sound system is in it? The model is a beautiful example of a Mikado, and the only way to get something nicer would be in brass. If I didn't already have one of these, I would certainly snatch one up at that price.

Jeff

[tstage]

Thanks, Jeff. [:)] Yea, at ~36% MSRP, I'm giving it serious consideration. I don't know if this is a viable option. Would it be possible to switch out the ESU decoder for a different sound decoder (e.g. Soundtraxx, QSI, or Tsunami) and still have it work well?

Tom

[orsonroy]

Tom,

If you're looking for SPECIFICALLY a NYC H-6a, you can't beat the Trix engine. It's beautifully detailed and runs like a dream.

BUT...in general, it's overpriced and the sound decoder is for crud (you can't even play the whistle!). If you're looking for a generic USRA light Mike with onboard sound, go with the BLI engine, which can be found for less than $150 these days.

[tstage]

Thanks, Ray. Gotta BLI "Light" Mike already and have been very happy with it. Picked it up for $160 back in November.

When I originally bought my Mike, there were oodles of them on eBay. Then, right after I bought mine, the entire inventory of them seemed to just suddenly "dry up". I have the NYC #5101 and wanted to see if I could find the #5115 for about the same price. (Haven't checked recently.) Anyway, when I saw the Trix Mike for $230 I thought, "Whoa! I remember how much those were going for. THAT'S a decent price."

I read the July '04 review in MR. They pretty much said what you stated: That the sound from the ESU decoder was good but not great, and the whistle had a "fixed" duration. That's why I was inquiring whether or not the LokSound V. 2.0 system could either be upgraded or replaced with a QSI or Soundtraxx sound decoder. I e-mailed Tony at TTE and asked him whether it could be done or not. Hopefully, I'll hear something from him in the next day or so.

Anyway, thanks for the input, Ray. [:)]

Tom

UPDATE: Just checked eBay and found the NYC #5115 Mike for ~$188. Would like to find it for about $30 cheaper.

[jnichols]

Tom,

While the BLI Mikado is a very nice model (the light version anyway), the Trix Mikado is in a whole different class both in detail and performance. I have both models, and while I think the BLI offers a ton of bang for the buck the Trix is the superior model.

You were asking about the sound system being replaceable? No problem. I have swapped mine out for a Loksound v3.5 and you could do this just as easily with a Tsunami or QSI's new system.

Jeff

[tstage]

Jeff,

What was the cost of switching out your LokSound for a newer version, if I might ask? Did you keep the same speakers, or did you have to swap those out as well? I thought about just getting the Trix Mike and upgrading or replacing the sound system at a later time.

Tom

[mikebonellisr]

Mine runs great,...smooth,quiet,and good throttle response.I do have issues with the whistle.The "chuff" is nice and deep and in sync with the drivers but the whistle always blows two longs when engaged.I'm thinking of sending it to Tony's to have a Tsunami installed (If it's possible)

[tstage]

Thanks for the input, Mike! [:)] According to Jeff, it should be possible. I'll let you know what and when I hear from Tony. I also e-mailed Bruce Petrarca @ Litchfield Station and Tim Smith @ Empire Northern Models with the same question. Should hear from them today.

Tom

[jnichols]

Tom,

If I recall correctly (I did this install a while back), I used the original equipment. Remember Loksound decoders require 100 ohm speakers, so if you decide to install your own keep that in mind. When I get home tonight I'll take it apart and confirm what I did.

Jeff

[Anonymous]

Just one word for those of you that don't have DCC the sound on this engine does work on just DC power. Just a heads up.

[Anonymous]

I bought one yesterday, a UP for $220 on Ebay and am thrilled. I think it is a very nice value for the money. I have the Trix Big Boy and I couldn't resist the Mikado at that price. I would take advantage of it and get one while supplies last!

[Anonymous]

Believe it or not, I saw the Trix NYC mike run at a toy store in Las Vegas the other day! Very smooth running and well detailed. The sound was good, except for the whistle duration being fixed. Now if someone would just dump their invetory of Trix Big Boys.[}:)]

[tstage]

Well, I just picked up a new Trix Mike off eBay. Boy! They must really be offloading them. I found a whole slew of them for sale.

Picked one up for $10 cheaper than I found at Tony's. There was one that was $20 cheaper than that but I knew the guy who was bidding on it. (He had just recently helped me locate some good info about the NYC Mikes so I didn't feel right about bidding against him for it.)

I did get an e-mail back from Bruce Petrarca @ Litchfield Station. He said that the 2.0 LokSound decoder could be swapped out for the newer 3.5 decoder. (Course, that comes with a $110 price tag.)  I may do that sometime down the line, but for right now I can live with what I've got.

Tom

[Darth Santa Fe]

The MRR review for the Trix Mikado said it's the best example of this type of Mikado available.[:D] All the nuts and bolts are actually recognizable as nuts and bolts, and the smoothness of the metal castings is as good as high quality plastic.[:D] The only problems are, it's 1 ft. too long over-all, and it's missing the jacket clamps. What are jacket clamps[?]

But it's an over-all 99.9% perfect engine.[:D]

[tstage]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Darth Santa Fe
What are jacket clamps[?]

DSF,

I was wonderin' the same thing...

Tom

[doctorwayne]

The jacket clamps are the gadgets that were used to hold in place the sheet metal jacket over the asbestos lagging around the boiler. The Athearn Mikado and Pacific both have them moulded along the top of the "boiler" casting, although some modellers filed them off, thinking that it was flash from a poor casting job.
The Trix Mike is a good-looking loco, and some of the prices mentioned are a big improvement over the $500.00-plus price that I was quoted when they were first released. Still, a little too rich for my road, so I'll have to stick with my Athearn Mikes.

Wayne

[tstage]

Wayne,

The Athearn Mike is still a nice locomotive. The detailing isn't as good as the BLI but it's a smoother runner by far. It's too bad it doesn't pull as much. I can get mine to pull about 20 cars on 0% grade before it starts to spin it's drivers.

Tom

[doctorwayne]

I agree, Tom, that they are smooth runners. I have four of them that I modified for my own free-lanced road. I added weight, removed the springs on the trailing trucks and balanced the locomotive about the centre of the driver wheelbase. I also updated the tenders with full current pick-up, using Bachmann tender trucks. They'll haul 15 or 16 cars up an uncompensated 2.5% grade.

Here's a pair of them at work on my layout. Not the best of pictures, but about all that I can offer until the next batch gets put on a cd.




The modified locomotives (loco only) weigh 16 3/4 ounces each.

Wayne

[tstage]

VERY nice, Wayne! Beautiful detailing on the layout, as well! Wow! 15-16 cars up a 2.5% grade. That's quite the improvement. It proves, once again, ya' don't have to own a Mercedes to enjoy this hobby. Wayne, I admire your "engine"uity.

Tom

[jondrd]

QUOTE: Originally posted by doctorwayne

I agree, Tom, that they are smooth runners. I have four of them that I modified for my own free-lanced road. I added weight, removed the springs on the trailing trucks and balanced the locomotive about the centre of the driver wheelbase. I also updated the tenders with full current pick-up, using Bachmann tender trucks. They'll haul 15 or 16 cars up an uncompensated 2.5% grade.

Wayne

DrWayne,
I remember original MR review of Athearn Mike cautioning about splicing into wiring harness for better pickup. You obviously accompanied same without making it a "I'll never do that again" type project. Guess MR underestimated capabilities of its readership. Would like some details-interested in doing similar to enable my A-Mike to utilize its excellent slow speed capabilities across switches without stalling. Again, this is my recollection re MR review-may have mixed it up with another review.
Well done.[tup] [tup] [:D]

Jon

[doctorwayne]

Thanks for the kind words, Tom. Here's another view: as with the first shot, this is after my initial modification, which brought the loco weight up to about 14 1/2 ounces. After picking up two more fairly cheaply, I modified all four to the specs noted previously.




Jondrd, I run my locos on DC, so that big "pigtail" got removed, with the pick-up wires from the drivers wired directly to the motor. I'm also not a big fan of working lights, so the circuit board thingy was not much use to me. You need to shave down the bolsters on the Athearn tender to accomodate the Bachmann trucks: otherwise the tender will sit too high. By the way, the Bachmann axles are quite a bit too long to fit in the Athearn trucks. I ordered the trucks direct from Bachmann, complete with axle wipers and mounting hardware. I installed them in a manner similar to the way Bachmann uses them, with the rear truck feeding power to the same motor terminal as the loco pick-up from the right side drivers, and the front tender truck connected to the other. If you operate with DCC, I'm afraid that I can't offer too much help, although if you can determine which side of the loco pick-up wire runs to which connection on the circuit board, then I would think that you'd be able to solder the appropriate wires from the tender trucks to those same terminals. I ran a new pair of wires from the tender to the loco, with a two-prong mini plug to allow easy separation of the tender/loco for service.

Wayne

[jondrd]

QUOTE: Originally posted by doctorwayne

Thanks for the kind words, Tom. Here's another view: as with the first shot, this is after my initial modification, which brought the loco weight up to about 14 1/2 ounces. After picking up two more fairly cheaply, I modified all four to the specs noted previously.




Jondrd, I run my locos on DC, so that big "pigtail" got removed, with the pick-up wires from the drivers wired directly to the motor. I'm also not a big fan of working lights, so the circuit board thingy was not much use to me. You need to shave down the bolsters on the Athearn tender to accomodate the Bachmann trucks: otherwise the tender will sit too high. By the way, the Bachmann axles are quite a bit too long to fit in the Athearn trucks. I ordered the trucks direct from Bachmann, complete with axle wipers and mounting hardware. I installed them in a manner similar to the way Bachmann uses them, with the rear truck feeding power to the same motor terminal as the loco pick-up from the right side drivers, and the front tender truck connected to the other. If you operate with DCC, I'm afraid that I can't offer too much help, although if you can determine which side of the loco pick-up wire runs to which connection on the circuit board, then I would think that you'd be able to solder the appropriate wires from the tender trucks to those same terminals. I ran a new pair of wires from the tender to the loco, with a two-prong mini plug to allow easy separation of the tender/loco for service.

Wayne

DrWayne,
Thanks, another "how to" learned from the forum. Those Athearn Mikes of yours and the environment they run in is top notch. [tup] [tup] [:D]

Jon

[SUPERGRINGO]

Are the Trix Mikados up to NMRA standards? Also, are they a reliable engine like they won't fall apart on you after constant use?

 

Marcos

[tstage]

Well, being the OP of this '06 thread, this is a blast from the past.

Marcos, to answer your question, the Trix Mikados are beautiful specimens of German engineering and run very well.   They come with RP 25 profile wheels and are quite sturdy models.

I bought two off eBay a few years ago for $220 and $250, when many vendors were dumping them because Trix was getting out of the American market.  (Trix was Marklin's American division.)  My two NYC Mikes continue to run smooth and flawlessly.

The only thing I don't care for on the Trix Mikes is the "orange" LED and the sound of the horn.  And you'll be hard pressed to find one now for less than $450.

Tom

[selector]

I agree fully with Tom.  I have had mine for maybe four years now, and it is a real gem. 

Crandell

[Forty Niner]

Hi Tom,

My personal opinion of them is that they are still a bargain compared to the MTH mikes, granted the BLI versions are a lot more in line for a plastic 2-8-2 but if I was going to spend any more money for one it would be the TRIX version in a heartbeat, hard to beat that German engineering, but.......it's not cheap. Of course "quality" never is cheap.

Dr Wayne, I love what you've done with your Athearn mikes, as usual your efforts are top notch. Appreciate your info on getting them in shape, as a DC only user this will save me a lot of "trial & error".

There is a shop on the west coast that was selling factory returns a couple years back, mikes and pacifics, for an average of about $10 each. I nabbed a pile of them at the time, about 60 of them, and have plans to get some of them running but also wanted to model a "dead line" and figured those would be an inexpensive way to do that. Now I may be tinkering with them to see how many I can get going again. They're still a nice looking little engine and for my private road they are just the ticket.

Mark

WGAS

[mikebonellisr]

My Trix is one of my better runners.I had Tony's change the sound system to a Tsunami...I'm very happy with the model and sound.

[tstage]

Well, after this thread popped back up on the forum, I fired up one of my Trix Mikes and ran it around my layout.  I had forgotten how enjoyable it was to listen to it chug along the mainline at speed step 060.  And it still runs flawlessly.

Tom