Exist? 2-6-6-2 Mallet runs on O-42 curves

I would not chance anything from the premier line of Lionel or MTH running on that tight a curve. The overhang would be a bit much.  I have an MTH Railking Mallet and it will run on 031. I like it and it looks good and is a great puller and smoker. I have noticed these out on ebay on occasion

My MTH RailKing Allegheny (2-6-6-6 / 30-1614-1) is suppose to run on O-31 and it does (kind-of). My layout has an inner and outer loop folded into to a doggone. The inner loop is almost all O-31 curves and the outer loop is mostly O-42 with a small section at the fold in O-31. The Allegheny likes the outside loop but has trouble with the inside loop. I relegate it to the outside loop only.

The point is MTH is not very accurate on their designations of what will run on which curves. I have had to cut away some of the undercarriage of some passenger and freight cars that were suppose to be O-31 compatible but were not before the surgery. Some lighted cars required stretching the wiring from the car body to the trucks to get consistent operation on my inner O-31 loop.

While not always possible, it is best to design your layout to not use O-31 track, in my opinion. In my limited spaces for my layout that would have severely limited the trackage. So I have to "adapt" the trains to the layout and be sure that the advertised curve ability is O-31. Now, if I did not live in basement-less California and had an actual basement I could have a grand layout with giant curves....only a dream at this point in my life! I got what I got!

LDBennett

The Sequoia Lumber Company 2-4-4-0 made by ETS will operate on 042 curves. It is available for three rail operation, and with Lionel style couplers. Conventional operation, whistle only. Very nice detail, very smooth running.

It is made to 1:43 scale, very slightly larger than the 1:48 scale we are used to. I usually have three MTH log cars behind mine without any problems. But it looks fine with any of my O scale cars.

The MTH Railking 2-8-8-2 is also rated for O31. I ran it most often on O42 with no problems.

Jim

The point is MTH is not very accurate on their designations of what will run on which curves.

Maybe so or maybe not. It all depends...

You should be aware that different manufacturers rate their trains to operate on their own curved track, and that different trackage manufacturers may rate their track curves differently from each other.

For example, MTH rates their O42 conservatively, outside rail to outside rail, while Gargraves rates their's from center rail to center rail. Further, an MTH engine must be able to negotiate an "S" curve in forward and reverse, in order to be rated for that radius track.

This makes Gargraves track a wider diameter that MTH's, allowing some MTH engines rated for O54 to negotiate Gargraves O42 curves. My MTH PS3 Swiss Crocodile is such an example.

Additionally, Gargraves curves are O32 rather than the customary O31.

In my case it is all MTH engines on 90% MTH RealTrax. I have two sections about 24 inches each that are Atlas Flex track. The problem is never at the Atlas track but on the MTH RealTrax. I have the Atlas track to smooth a S curve where I previously had RealTrax. The trains danced back and forth in that section when I had it connected with RealTrax. Connecting the beginning and the end of the S curve with RealTrax was dictated by the available curve track sections offered for RealTrax. The flex track allowed a smooth S curve. In retrospect RealTrax was a terrible choice and I highly recommend not using that track system. All Atlas Flex track might have been a better choice but hindsight is 20/20.

And yes, the advertised curve diameters for MTH track are tighter than you would expect but MTH trains on MTH RealTrax should not be a problem and it sometimes can be. The safest thing to do is to not use O-31 track and buy only cars and engines that will work on O-31. That should give a nice safety margin.

LDBennett

It may be that 042 is achievable for the scale USRA 2-6-6-2, but you would have to buy - or borrow - one to see exactly where the problem is (I have a friend with the same desire, but I didn't research exactly what on my 2-6-6-2 would not handle his 042 curves; didn't investigate it that deeply). If it is a "simple' as F/R truck swing, maybe fixable; if it is basic architecture (front engine swing; suspension), probably not. I'm sure that it is not the two 6-wheel engine components - a 2-6-6-2 is really just 2 little 2-6-0's joined at the hip, when you get right down to it.

Maybe a friend has one you could research on your track. 

ROW's Chessie 2-6-6-2 runs quite well on 042.  It is a beautiful brass engine and fits my needs perfectly.

But it is  not a TMCC or DCS type locomotive. It has no flywheel and is powered by two motors.

When it first came out in the early 1990s it was quite expensive, but now can be had in excellent condition

for relatively short money.  Also note that spare parts are hard to find. Good luck.

My experience is that articlated engines run through 031, 042 curves and switches better than non-articulated engines do. My three articulated engines are MTH Rail King.

I have a Lionel Lionmaster Big Boy that negotiated O-42 curves (RealTrax).  Of course, the locomotive was double-articulated to perform that feat, and if memory serves me correct, it was supposed to run on O-31 as well!  Of course, the overhang is worse than a school bus taking a sharp corner.

My Lionel N&W mallet #1409 runs on 042 tubular track just fine, if that helps at all.

rod

Thanks again guys for all the great input. I will keep my eye out for one of these that should work nicely. Between train shows and ebay maybe I will get lucky.

Paul

I have a Rail King USRA 2-8-8-2 which runs fine on O-31.  The reason it will run on O-31 is that the rear engine pivots like the front engine.  When I first tried it on O-31, the pony truck kept derailing.  I made some modifications to the pony truck, and now it runs just fine on O-31.  I have a Williams Challenger which requires O-72 as the rear engine is fixed to the boiler.  

SERVOGUY:

I think that is why my RailKing Allegheny works on O-31 (double articulation). I too had trouble with the leading trucks and had to do a bit of a modification. My layout is so tight I have to run the outer loop which is most O-42 but with some O-31. 

LDBennett

Just to add to this, besides the 6-11339 Scale N&W Mallet here is a list of other scale Lionel engines that are rated O-54 or larger, that will run successfully on O-42, or as shown, from my experience:

6-28059 4-8-2 Scale Mountain          O-36

6-38053 4-8-2 L2a Scale Mohawk     O-42

6-38050 2-8-4 Scale Berkshire         O-42

6-38079 4-8-4 GS2 Scale Daylight     O-42

6-11332 4-8-4 ATSF Scale Northern  O-42

By "run successfully" I mean they will operate without derailing, through switches and curves, though some folks may object to the overhang and/or the overall look. To me such things don't really matter too much. If I can run it, I am happy. Also any engines released in the same number sequence (with different road names) should also run equally well. And I bet there are lots of others.

rod

PS: How do I prevent double spacing with this new forum setup?  Every time I hit Enter I get a double space for some reason.

I wondered if the two west coast logging Mallets once offered by Third Rail would run through tighter curves than some.....seems like that prototype usage would require a tighter radius? However,these are obviously logging engines and not Class 1 power.

Barry Broskowitz posted:

The point is MTH is not very accurate on their designations of what will run on which curves.

Maybe so or maybe not. It all depends...

You should be aware that different manufacturers rate their trains to operate on their own curved track, and that different trackage manufacturers may rate their track curves differently from each other.

For example, MTH rates their O42 conservatively, outside rail to outside rail, while Gargraves rates their's from center rail to center rail. Further, an MTH engine must be able to negotiate an "S" curve in forward and reverse, in order to be rated for that radius track.

This makes Gargraves track a wider diameter that MTH's, allowing some MTH engines rated for O54 to negotiate Gargraves O42 curves. My MTH PS3 Swiss Crocodile is such an example.

Additionally, Gargraves curves are O32 rather than the customary O31.

Barry - thanks so much for this information.  Now I know why my Lionel scale J and my Williams scale GG1's  can take 042 Gargraves curves smoothly..... even though Lionel and Williams rates these engines for 054 curves.  

I had no idea that different manufactures used different ways to calculate curvature of their track.  Obviously one size does not fit all ... so to speak 

Thanks again for the clarification!

My layout has one really tight curve on my inner main loop where I employ two K line 027 switches with low profile switch machines.   I run my Railking 2-8-8-2 mallet through a K line 027 ( LH ) switch coming out onto a Gargraves 032 curve ( one piece ) connected to a K line 027 ( RH ) switch.  Never a derailment with the mallet or any of my diesels rated for broader radius curves.  My MTH Premier BL2 handles this curve fine.   

On the outer main line ... I run my Scale Williams GG1's and scale Lionel J ( both rated for 054 curves ) through Gargraves 042 curves and never a derailment.   I cope with the huge overhang by covering the curvature with a tunnel.  

For some of you who may desire a way to deal with the situation of overhang on tight curves .... A hill in front of the curve may hide the overhang or placing building (s )  to block the view of the curve and "unsightly overhang" ( sounds like a term for a weight loss commercial 

I bought a mth scale premier 2-6-6-4 Class A despite the fact it's rated for O-72 and larger curves.   The smallest curve on my outer loop is O-54.   So imagine my delight when it successfully ran around my entire outer loop (the front overhang did scrape some backdrops and tunnels however).  I own a few Railking articulated engines but I prefer to run all full scale now.   Next I hope to replace my Railking Allegheny with a Premier version.   I agree with previous posters that recommend using curves larger than O-31.  Especially if you want to run anything close to scale.

Rod Stewart posted:

Just to add to this, besides the 6-11339 Scale N&W Mallet here is a list of other scale Lionel engines that are rated O-54 or larger, that will run successfully on O-42, or as shown, from my experience:

6-28059 4-8-2 Scale Mountain          O-36

6-38053 4-8-2 L2a Scale Mohawk     O-42

6-38050 2-8-4 Scale Berkshire         O-42

6-38079 4-8-4 GS2 Scale Daylight     O-42

6-11332 4-8-4 ATSF Scale Northern  O-42

By "run successfully" I mean they will operate without derailing, through switches and curves, though some folks may object to the overhang and/or the overall look. To me such things don't really matter too much. If I can run it, I am happy. Also any engines released in the same number sequence (with different road names) should also run equally well. And I bet there are lots of others.

rod

PS: How do I prevent double spacing with this new forum setup?  Every time I hit Enter I get a double space for some reason.

This is awesome! 

lewrail posted:

ROW's Chessie 2-6-6-2 runs quite well on 042.  It is a beautiful brass engine and fits my needs perfectly.

But it is  not a TMCC or DCS type locomotive. It has no flywheel and is powered by two motors.

When it first came out in the early 1990s it was quite expensive, but now can be had in excellent condition

for relatively short money.  Also note that spare parts are hard to find. Good luck.

I don't quite understand "spare parts". The loco is made of brass. Brass Details can be found with PSC, American O scale, etc. The electronics are dated but if they fail one can add ERR electronics with railsounds. Smoke unit is a seuth smoke unit but one can upgrade the smoke to lioneL or MTH fan driven units. 

If you are a purist and only want OEM replacement parts then yes you will have issues.