-Dan
Builder of Bowser steam! Railimages Site
I think the Pennsy 0-4-0's had Belpaire fireboxes. That would leave this loco out. A real Pennsy guy might contradict me, though.
It looks like one of the all-metal ones. I would dis-assemble it and put all the metal parts in some acetone, as mentioned on another post. If I did that, I would make great efforts not to breath the fumes, have it on my skin, or be near open flames--I'm thinkin' outdoors. If you do, make SURE you don't accidentally put in something that's more than just metal. I'm thinking, for example, that the insulation on the drivers might be damaged if put in the acetone. So, no trucks, drivers, motor for a start.
I had a variant of this loco. I seem to recall the the space for mounting the front coupler is very narrow--might be tricky. The Kadee website has coupler recommendations. Maybe they've got something for yours. If not, I guess you're going to have to get a sample pack and puzzle it out on your own. Of course, this little guy and his siblings were VERY popular. Perhaps someone out there has done the deed, AND recalls how they did it.
Best wishes on your project, Ed
I have one of those locos that I assembled from a kit back in the mid-1960's. I believe the metal that it is cast from was called Zamac, an allow of zinc and other metals. It was sold under the Tyco name. You should be able to sand the original paint off.
The motor that was used back in those days was their biggest drawback. If you can find a can motor that will fit, it should improve the running qualities significantly.
If you ever decide to try putting a decoder into it, you'll have to change the motor because one motor brush is connected electrically to the frame.
Yes it is the standard Mantua all metal "Shifter" which shared a tender and boiler/cab casting with the 0-6-0 "Big Six" (the 0-4-0T was called the "Booster" and the 0-6-0T was the Little Six -- they too shared a boiler/cab casting, and all of them had the same motor and drivers). All were generic and had no specific prototypes although the 0-4-0 engine does have some vaguely PRR lines to it, without a Belpaire firebox of course of a true A5. With added details the engine can end up looking like various prototypes. In the November 1964 Model Railroader Mantua ran an ad showing how one man had converted the 0-6-0 version to a Southern Pacific prototype by changing the tender and adding valve gear and a flanged center driver (and he had clearly added Kadee couplers to front pilot and tender). I think you'd agree it looks pretty nice even by today's standards. Oh and by the way .. in that same issue of Model Railroader, America's Hobby Center was advertising the kit for the 0-6-0 --- at $8.25. That was cheap even back then. The 0-4-0 ready to run, with smoke, was $10.88. The 0-4-0T kit, again all metal, was $5.95. I bought one and it was one of my most reliable engines for years.
With a bit of tinkering is can be a very smooth and fairly quiet running engine, and quite a good puller as well. You cannot solder details to Zamac but there are ways to add details, either using ACC or screwing in small brass screws and soldering details to those.
Sometimes getting the gears to mesh well was a trick. One old technique was to put a piece of paper between the worm gear and main gear, then tighten the motor in place, and carefully remove the paper (by turning the commutator of the motor with a tooth pick) and lube the gears. If done just right that prevents overtight meshing of the gears and would make it smooth and quiet both forward and backward.
The horn hook couplers are not difficult to replace with Kadees -- probably no room for a #5 draft gear box but maybe some of their newer high number couplers would be good -- remember to insulate the couplers from the frame or use a plastic Kadee coupler). You may have to experiment with offset shank versions to get the right height. Sometimes the coupler pocket needs enlarging by milling it out and a motor tool is useful for that. Do not put too much pressure on the frame -- the zinc can break.
The engine is very easily disassembled, even if you lack the original instructions. The metal is a zinc alloy. Almost any commercial paint remover would work but do NOT immerse the entire engine as the motor, wheel insulation, gears, and parts of the cross head have plastic and would suffer. Nor would I advise scratching or wearing the paint off as whatfew details there are (rivets mostly) would suffer. Maybe a long soak in Pine Sol followed by vigorous tooth brush action would work. The frame and cylinders are easily separated and stripped of paint as well.
Frankly these older Mantua metal steam engines are frequently seen at swap meets, often in pieces, and that can be a good way to acquire any parts that might be missing. If you are lucky you might even come across the working valve gear set that Mantua marketed for this engine back in the 1960s.
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PS replying to some above posts -- yes a plastic "look alike" train set engine was offered some years back, easily identified by the spur gears that could be seen behind the drivers (as opposed to the traditional worm and gear in the center of the frame on the original). And Mantua offered various 0-4-0s and 0-6-0s after the original metal kits were retired, generally with metal frames but plastic bodies, but this one here is from the 1950s. Before that Mantua kits were formed brass.
I do not have my engine in front of me, but I recall a screw inside the stack that held both the engine and the cylinders to the frame. Once loosened, the boiler would slip forward. If the cylinders were raised the cross heads would eventually fall out but would stay connected to the piston and main rod. Maybe the only tricky aspect to the engine engine was getting piston rods and crossheads and cylinders back in place. Two little metal nubs hold the cross head in place. Take careful notes when disassembling the engine.
If you remove the rods, Mantua used a hex head screw (the kits came with a tiny little hex wrench). Notice how the various bushings on the drivers' pins are fitted as you disassemble. Don't rely on mmory - take notes. Mantua used brass bearings which might need a bit of cleaning and lubrication.
Dave Nelson
Agamemnon wrote:Funny thing, I have the same model of loco, made by Lima, probably in the 70s or 80s. I always used to wonder what the prototype was, since there was no indication. Durable bugger, it is, too, having lasted all these years. Exposed plastic gears, makes a noise like a bad shaver and moves like a limpid whelk.
Not the same locomotive.
The Mantua/Tyco ones before the 70's were made in Woodbury Heights, NJ (near Camden). I have several Mantua/Tyco engines of this vintage and they all still run well. For disassembly of this engine, start with the drawbar screw on the tender. This should be where the wire from the motor connects to the tender for electrical pickup. To open up the locomptive, the screw is accessed from the bottom, in the center of the frame between the cylinders. Hold the parts together while removing this screw (the frame, cylinders, and boiler are separate castings), then set the locomotive upright and lift the front of the boiler. Two tabs hold the back of the boiler in place, and it should just slide off at this point. The cylinders are now loose on the frame, and before you lift them off, note where the crossheads and guides are mounted into the frame and cylinder castings. Remember this for reassembly.
For mounting a front coupler, I ended up milling out the frame to clear a Kadee #5 mounted in its pocket. For the rear one, remove the existing coupler, drill and tap the hole for a 2-56 screw, and mount a Kadee #5 in its box.
NeO6874 wrote:Some great suggestions from all of you,I've (finally) gotten the screws out, and the cylinders are "glued" to the frame - probably from all the paint on the castings right there... tis gonna need some work getting them loose. For the side rods, and all manner of other metal bits on the sides - what would be a (fairly) safe way to bend them back straight?
Having the frame and cylinders "glued" together like that is common on second hand locos. By your picture, the only metal bits on the sides should be the main rod, connecting rod, and crosshead guide. These can usually just be flattened out with a pair of pliers.
NeO6874 wrote:I think this is third or even fourth hand at this point . LOL!Looks like I have a lot of work ahead of me...good thing I picked an "easy" loco to rebuild - the vendor I bought this from had a Mantua Mike 2 or 3 boxes above this one that really caught my eye...
The Mantua Mikado is a great loco, I have four of them. Although it may sound surprising, the mechanism isn't that much more complicated than the loco you are working on now. Just more connecting rods to the other drivers.
TomDiehl wrote: NeO6874 wrote:I think this is third or even fourth hand at this point . LOL!Looks like I have a lot of work ahead of me...good thing I picked an "easy" loco to rebuild - the vendor I bought this from had a Mantua Mike 2 or 3 boxes above this one that really caught my eye... The Mantua Mikado is a great loco, I have four of them. Although it may sound surprising, the mechanism isn't that much more complicated than the loco you are working on now. Just more connecting rods to the other drivers.
TomDiehl wrote: Agamemnon wrote:Funny thing, I have the same model of loco, made by Lima, probably in the 70s or 80s. I always used to wonder what the prototype was, since there was no indication. Durable bugger, it is, too, having lasted all these years. Exposed plastic gears, makes a noise like a bad shaver and moves like a limpid whelk. Not the same locomotive.
You are quite right, the mechanical construction is vastly inferior and the entire thing is ridiculously wobbly. Before I wondered into this thread, I thought the loco was some kind of "original creation" by Lima, I didn't think it possible that such a device could have ever existed in real life. I mean, it has all the grace, poise and powerful appearance of a dachshund.