My 2-4-4-2 mallet arrived this morning, its a very nice loco, overall a bit shorter than the 2-6-6-2 but the tender is actually a little longer than that of the 2-6-6-2.
Runs smoothly and is powerful 10 bogie cars no problem will pull more!
Both Lights illuminate irrespective of direction of travel but the trailing light dims.
speaker already fitted in tender so sound module fitting will take 30 seconds ( 21 pin socket in tender)
I tried to post phots but the site rejected them but I have posted them on www.rmweb.co.uk if you enter Bachmanns surprise in the search at the top of the forum page OR goto trade/products Bachmann that should find the thread.
The loco comes with all the usual additional alternative parts!
Looks good, thanks for the link and photos. Does, however, look the cab could be even lower than that on the 2-6-6-2 which to my eye would be perfect if the cab was 1 scale foot taller. Maybe we can persuade them to include a taller cab on these and the IF 4-4-0.
The cab is approx 3mm lower than the 2-6-6-2
It does look nice, but both it and its larger cousin look undernourished in the boiler department, making the loco a little skinny to my eye. Another few scale inches on the boiler dia and it would have beefed up nicely. Something like this Baldwin mallet built for Serbia http://narrowmind.railfan.net/2662_Serbian.JPG (top of the page)
This would be an interesting conversion. Loses that overlong pilot. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Swiss_Mallet_Tank.jpg
Hi Steve,
Looking at the announcement photos from Bachmann, I thought the 2-4-4-2 was a factory kitbash made from the same parts as the 2-6-6-2 loco. You say the tender is a slightly different size, can you tell by looking whether all the other pieces, such as cab, wheels, cylinders, pilot, etc. are different from those on the 2-6-6-2? I would expect the boiler and mainframe to be different, but the rest of the loco looks so close to the 2-6-6-2 that I question whether it's worth producing all new tooling. I do like the proportions of the 2-4-4-2 better, although I already have a 2-6-6-2, and once I ran it on my modules I decided I liked it in spite of it's slightly odd look. I'm not sure I can justify the extra expense for another articulated loco, though.
Bill in FtL
Hi Some early observations
Tender frame is 10mm longer, tender body is 5mm longer than the 2-6-6-2,
cab roof height at highest point is 3mm Lower than 2-6-6-2
Boiler from front of cab to smokebox door 1s 18mm shorter. than the 2-6-6-2
The cab itself appears to be the same but the 2-4-4-2 windows seem slightly different.
the section from pilot to smoke box front appears to be the same on both locos
Hope this helps!
Steve
Hi Steve,
Are you able to work out yet whether the decoder will allow you to change the light settings to only have the light in the direction of travel lit, changing as the direction changes, or does it have to stay as you have described, with the trailing light dimming?
Regards,
RGS Goose.
Hi
As far as I have bee able to establish at the moment. None of the functions from 1 to 16 seem to have any effect on the lights.
I do note also that the lights are rather brighter than other 0n30 locos, what I intend to do when I get time is try another decoder in it to se if I can alter things,
I am aware also that when these locos are used on analogue the trailing light flashes, which I am sure is not prototypical ( correct me if I am wrong!) I havnt tried this myself its just what the dealer (Tower-Models Blackpool) advised me .
I do wonder what Backwoods Miniatures are going to do with it. They did a nice job improving the looks of the 2-6-6-2.
Quote from: Skarloey Railway on August 24, 2012, 08:54:17 AM
It does look nice, but both it and its larger cousin look undernourished in the boiler department, making the loco a little skinny to my eye. Another few scale inches on the boiler dia and it would have beefed up nicely. Something like this Baldwin mallet built for Serbia http://narrowmind.railfan.net/2662_Serbian.JPG (top of the page)
This would be an interesting conversion. Loses that overlong pilot. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Swiss_Mallet_Tank.jpg
The 2-6-6-2 is this locomotive:
(http://www.55n3.org/locomotives/mallet/image/2662_Ingenio_9.jpg)
(http://www.55n3.org/locomotives/mallet/image/obj15geo13pg1p33.jpg)
Harold
@ Harold. I know that was the prototype for the 2-6-6-2 but I still think it looks a little skinny. The Serbian mallets are Baldwin built and just have a bit more heft to them.
If I recall correctly from reading The Locomotives Baldwin Built, the issue for the line the 2-6-6-2 ran on was axle loading. The track was just too light and poorly ballasted. The light weight of the locomotive spread over the six axles did the trick but still delivered enough power for the tonnage it was required to haul.
A case of a custom built locomotive for a specific set of needs for a specific railroad.
I must admit I have no reservations as to the appearance of the 2-6-6-2 & 2-4-4-2 Mallets, many visitors to my layout often pass comments of approval,
I also have a very Beefy Mallet but that runs outdoors, ( Sumpter Valley Mallet LGB)
Hi Steve,
I haven't had my hands on a 2-4-4-2 yet.
The Bachmann site says the loco is DCC equipped. There is no mention of dual mode like many of their other locos. Can you tell me if the add-on sound module, and the fitted DCC decoder, are dual mode (DC/DCC).
Thanks in anticipation.
Regards,
RGS Goose.
Hi again Steve,
Please ignore my last post. I have had a better look at the details of this loco on the Bachmann site, and found it does say that it has a dual mode decoder.
I think I will have to stop drinking whatever it was, if it does that to me, but ratherI think it might have been too many hours at the building bench before I looked for the info. rather than what I was drinking, as I can't drink anything stronger than coffee and soft drink. Maybe some more coffee will help. ;D ;D ;D
Thanks anyway.
Regards,
RGS Goose.
All,
I have my new 2442 up and running, its really nice. the 30 sec install of the sound module is really nice too. What confounds me is where is the documenation that is specific for this loco...that matches up with the sound module. I use decoder Pro to manage and work with all my locos, but this one only comes up with a DCD or DCX identifier, and one can't even change the whistles.
I also have a problem with blinking lights, loco runs along and the lights start blinking, it doesnt stop though, just blinking, and then proceeds. A friend who recently purchased one has the same problem.
So I would like the link to the documentation for the CV load for this loco specifically, not the standard boiler plate CVs.
Thanks,
Les
Have you taken time to look at the Bachmann Parts, Service and Information page?
I have found the sound documentation there in the past for my Bachmann on board locos.
Rich
Rich,
Thanks for the quick reply, yes I have taken a look at those documents, however I am not confident that they apply to this specific decoder + sound module...although they might. I have the generic listing of all the CVs so I guess I can start the research there. I am trying to resolve several issues, one is the erratic blinking lights, that occur at different times, different places on the RR, warm or cool loco, it doesn't appear to be a over heating issue, nor a conductivity issue. I also want to look at the different whistles too and functions.
Thanks again,
Les
Hi Les,
You might want to give Soundtraxx a call inquiring about the board and CV settings for the Bachmann 2-4-4-2, I believe the sound board (maybe even the whole darned decoder) is their design. If not, I'm sure they'll tell you. It's a new product, so it may take a while for Bachmann to get their documentation up to speed (that's kind of how it was with the "Sound Value" released last year).
Bill in FtL
Bill,
Thanks I will call Soundtraxx. I was able to do some more with it today, Used decoder pro and called the sound module and decoder a DCD, I read all (supposedly) the CVs and was able to do some looking around and changing values. I also was able to read CVs that Decoder Pro didnt expose...like a different whistle. However the blinking light happens when another loco has a problem on the RR, or just sitting there, I haven't caught the number of blinks yet, knowing that Soundtraxx will ask about that. Still diagnosing and looking around...a great loco though.
Les