The Bachmann 2-6-6-2 Logging Mallet
Back in October of 2008
Bachmann told the world that it intended to issue a 2-6-6-2 T, type of Mallet
(pronounced Mallay, but actually spoken as
Mallet).
This was in September – and
we waited, firstly for an end of November 2008 release date and eventually we
received it (or I did) from Dragon Scale in mid December.
I had pre-ordered 2 of the
Mallets from Dragon Scale back in October, I awaited
their arrival with interest.
So – 12th
December and the first one arrived, a Little River Logging variant, with white
edged wheels, other white edging about and it looked very good.
my second Mallet was a
plain unlettered type, this arrived in early Jan 2009.
So – where to start, I
decided some time previous that both of these locos would be DCC and fitted with
sound, my choice was the Loksound decoder, not cheap –
but excellent sound indeed.
I firstly had a look in the
box; a normal brown, large box, which had a Bachmann Spectrum red box inside it,
fully protected by foam padding – all round.
Out came the red box, and
from that came a further protection device, this time in the form of a
polystyrene box, in which lurked my new loco.
Along the top of the poly
box, is a DVD, the usual notes on how it was put
together, and also a very nice, small booklet telling me all about how this
particular loco came to be.
A largish plastic package
included the usual set of Bachmann add-ons, in the form of a loco driver and his
mate, a load of tools, some spare couplers, oil cans etc etc.
I took out the DVD and put
it into my PC, put the kettle on and began to watch the Bachmann
promotional/instruction DVD on the loco, how it came about, how to look after it
and how to service it. It’s a very good video, giving loads of detail, and
compliments the booklet.
This 2-6-6-2 T is a real
Narrow Gauge model, based on a design proposal number 8043 submitted by Baldwin
Loco Works, to a company named Biles-Coleman of Omak,
Washington, in January 1929.
The design was made but the
proposed loco was never built. If she had been built she would have been Baldwins first Narrow Gauge logging Mallet
.
So – what is the model
like ? Well, when it comes out of the box it looks
brilliant, absolutely superb (but I guess all of us say that about all
new locos). Coming in at about 25” long, 5 “ in
width and 9 ½” high its quite a large sized loco. It has two Mabuchi motors, 2
gear boxes with around 28:1 ratio and 2 flywheels. It is actually similar in
size to the Bachmann K 27 loco – without its tender.
There is a flickering
firebox, the electrics will accommodate all driving controls, such as DCC,
Battery, Radio control etc, mine had its PC board removed and replaced by the
DCC unit, the choice is yours on what to use – it does of course run straight
off on analogue. The electric components are tucked away under the boiler top
which is removable, some have said that these hatch covers are too loose and
make a noise – neither of mine do, they look very good
and are great for access.
Lighting on this loco is
constant, but not bright, and it has electrical pickups from all 12
wheels.
It is fitted with saddle
tanks, and all additional equipment such as a
compressor – look great.
The real Mallets came with
½ , full and tender water tanks.
There is a ladder fitted to
the rear of the fuel bunker, which itself can be run on either coal or fuel oil,
a second set of ladders is in a plastic bag, which also contains a couple of
more sets of couplers.
The loco is recommended for
use with medium to large radius curves, as yet I am unable to attempt running
mine on Radius 1 – I don’t think to be honest it will, we shall see.
The originals running
weight was 70 tons, and it used 38 inch
drivers.
Voltage & Current
It takes .75A to start, and
will then hold steady at .5A
Start Voltage is 2V, full
slip being 3A at 12 V
Locking of the flywheels
gives an even current draw of 5A.
As with all Bachmann locos
they require an initial service before usage, failure to do this may lead to a
damaged loco, further servicing should be carried out as required with Bachmann
stating 6-8 hours running.
This is yet another fine
Bachmann industrial loco, which will I think pull very long and heavy trains
(as did the real ones).
The loco is a bit difficult
to lift and I would suggest to anyone who owns one to consider making a wooden
box in which to transport it. I have broken off both
small platform pieces, front and back but they are only held by plastic
rivets and should glue back on easily. Additionally, its difficult to get the
loco back into the box once you’ve had it out, yet another good reason for
making it its own carrying box.
A crew of driver and
fireman are typical Bachmann, they let the side down a bit and the loco could
really have done with a new pair of crew. Much the same can be said of the bag
of bits – its all there and its adequate – but surely a
little scouting around would have produced some slightly differing items, they
look to be very similar if not exactly the same as the ones which come with the
3 truck Bachmann Shay.
The front and rear couplers
are set too high for me, I will fit Kadees anyway, but
at the moment they wont even connect up to my Bachmann Skeletal trucks, which I
found a bit surprising.
All in all, a great looking
loco, which should once its had chance to be fully
tested by hobbyists be an absolutely great addition to any industrial layout and
in particular logging or mining. With a bit of free lance weathering and/or kit
bashing, I think many hobbyists will be very happy with this new release from
Bachmann
As with all new releases
you will find some people moaning about one thing and another – which is fine,
but I think it should be born in mind that what Bachmann have released is an
absolutely magnificent locomotive, which if looked after, weathered and has
small changes made, will be a very outstanding loco for most hobbyists
layouts.
This loco is actually a
Meyer – not a Mallet – read the other read up on this loco. http://loggingmallets.railfan.net/sub/malletinfo.htm
As with all new locos –
when you take it out of the box, check it over, I've
checked mine and found no problems – but check to make sure everything is nice
and tightened up.
Anyone with any specific
questions on this locomotive – please feel free to contact me at eartheater@blueyonder.co.uk and I will try to help in
any way that I can.
Graham Ash
2009
