Marowicz Wrote:
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> The MDC 2-8-0 was a complete nightmare to get
> running well. Many (most?) came with brass wheels
> which collect track dirt faster than anything else
> I know (worn nickel silver tyres are also very
> quick to collect dirt when the brass shows
> through). Getting the drive train to run smoothly
> can entail a lot of heart breaking work, Steve
> Hatch has done an excellent article on getting
> these going in the HOn3 group in groups.io You
> might read it!
>
> The boiler and tender frame are make of a zinc
> alloy called Zamak. This has, when drilled, a
> nasty habit of melting spontaniously and then
> resetting itself round the drill bill so it cannot
> be pulled free of the hole. I mention this just in
> case you need to drill for headlight wire. Drill
> slow and use lube, stopping frequently.
>
> Finally the replacement motor was a Sagami - no
> longer made. A Mashima would work but these are no
> longer made either and getting harder to find.
>
> So at the end of the day you'll have a 375 look
> alike (well, almost) that doesn't run very well
> and has poor pulling power. I am really sorry to
> be so negative about these loco kits but modellers
> that have been in HOn3 for any length of time have
> tried to get them going half decently and failed.
> I am one.
>
> Mark K
> Durango CO
I remember all of those things when I played with those back in high school around 1990. It took two kits for me to have 1 decent RGS 41 that, no matter what I did to shim the journals, still had a pronounced waddle. It's memory of those problems that stays my hand each time I come close to bidding on one on eBay, but nostalgia isn't always a rational force...and I wonder sometimes if given my current modeling skills and proper tools if I could do it better this time. Then, though, the idea of converting a giant slab of zinc into a DCC & sound-equipped companion to my Blackstone fleet just doesn't seem like a reasonable investment of time and money to me. And...being that I model the RGS First District I'd be hard pressed to explain the presence of the 375 north of Rico on rails that wouldn't support her.
___________
Dave Vollmer
Rio Grande Southern in HOn3
Colorado Midland in N scale
Colorado Springs, CO
