Will a 4-8-2 be capable to stay on track with an 18" radius track? I would like to purchase the engine mentioned in the subject. Can I buy direct from Bachmann?
I don't own the heavy mountain but I have the light mountain which is basicly the same locomotive. It will go around 18" radius track if it is PERFECT. It is really more happy on 22" though.
information from Model Railroader indicates the Spectrum Heavy Mountain requires a 22" radius track.
HO USRA heavy 4-8-2
Price: 199.95
Manufacturer:
Bachmann Spectrum
1400 E. Erie Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19124
www.bachmanntrains.com
Description:
Metal and plastic ready-to-run locomotive with DCC receptacle
Road names:
(*USRA long tender)Chesapeake & Ohio with Vanderbilt coal tender; Illinois Central*; Norfolk & Western*; Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac*; Southern Pacific with semi-cylindrical oil tender; painted but unlettered*
Features
Blackened metal wheels
Cast-metal boiler and frame
Directional LED headlight
Drawbar pull: 4.8 ounces
E-Z Mate knuckle couplers
Flywheel drive
Minimum radius 22"
NMRA medium DCC socket
ABOUT THIS ARTICLE
Appeared in: October, 2003 issue of Model Railroader Magazine
View the Table of Contents of the October 2003 Issue
You can read the full review of the Spectrum Heavy Mountain on the Model Railroader site.
I hate to contradict Model Railroader but my 4-8-2 runs only on 18" curves and does it just fine The edition is 2003 and changes could have been made since then
Don ::)
I have a mountain too and even the 22"r has to be good
The Bachmann catalog makes no reference to requiring 22" radius. I had one and it ran just fine on my 18", didn't even look too bad. I only returned it because the sound was terrible.
How it runs and how it looks are different issues. 8)
My BLI 2-8-2 Heavy Mikado, pulling 17 cars, runs 18" curves at full throttle, about 130 HO mph, but I usually run it at half that speed.
Quote from: grumpy on February 05, 2009, 12:44:46 AM
I hate to contradict Model Railroader but my 4-8-2 runs only on 18" curves and does it just fine The edition is 2003 and changes could have been made since then
Don ::)
Is your engine a Light or Heavy Mountain? What is the model number?
The Bachmann USRA heavy Mountain needs at least a 22 inch radius curve. It is NOT nearly the same as the USRA light Mountain by Bachmann. It wasn't in real life; it isn't as a model.
Understand that a model's ability to track a curve is a factor of many things, many of which are manipulated by the model maker.
If models were built to real standards any x-8-x with x= 2 or more for the first x, the minimum radius would have to be something like 48"
Gene
My loco is a heavy mountain. It runs and looks good on 18" curves ( my opinion ).
Don ???