(the following is excerpted from the review on our web page. (peachcreekshops.com)
Each prototype railroad that purchased the USRA 2-6-6-2 locos maintained them in their original form during the WW1 era, but later began to make changes that better suited their own engineering and maintenance departments. C&O for example added angled numberboards in front of the stack, a second air pump on the boiler face and a footboard over the headlight.
The Bachmann undecorated model depicts the USRA loco in a later modernized form. The loco is painted a semi-flat black and is unlettered. The tender is the standard medium USRA design. The C&O H-5 version differs only in the inclusion of the footboard over the headlight and the appropriate paint and lettering, e.g.. yellow window sashes, white running board edges and driver rims.
This is Bachmann's first articulated and the mechanism is quite different from what you might expect if you are familiar with brass articulateds. On this loco each engine frame has an integral idler gear box which drives the center axle. The drive gear is not centered on the axle but is offset to one side. This gear placement has been a common practice for Bachmann for some time and past performance indicates that it is smooth and reliable. Drivers are not sprung. Each driver is equipped with an electrical pickup wiper on both the left and right side. The major departure from conventional practice is that the motor and flywheel assembly sits in the middle of the boiler and is coupled to each driver set via a set of short universals. The design is an adaptation of layout of components used in model diesel drives. The motor is mounted on a cast frame which adds weight and a top weight surrounds this assembly and mounts the PC board for lighting and motor connections. All of this fits into a thin walled plastic boiler shell. The total weight of the loco without tender is just over one pound. The weight and balance achieved by this clever design should allow for good pulling power. Another innovation is that the front driver set actually bears some of the weight of the loco, so the front drives will add to the pulling power. Here again the departure from the design of brass articulateds is evident and a considerable improvement. Both the front and rear engines are articulated which allows the model to negotiate much sharper turns that might be expected. The loco will negotiate an 18" radius curve without difficulty but the trailing truck really hangs out. On
22" radius track the double articulation is not noticeable.
The overall level of detail is excellent and thorough. Parts are well formed and accurately rendered. Drivers and side rods are very nicely done. Boiler details are added on and not cast into the shell. This will make kitbashing a delight. Trying to cleanly remove cast on detail was never one of my strong points. The cab detail is cast on and comes with an engineer and fireman. Under the cab are the traditional Bachmann double electrical connectors which connect to the DCC ready tender. Bachmann has also gotten away from the blue headlight and now incorporates a more yellow LED that is a better replication of what was found on the prototype.
If you want to criticize this loco you certainly can, but the positives significantly outweigh the negatives. I found a few small, very small, flaws. The front pilot steps clip into the pilot and do not quite sit level. Considerable fiddling did not help much and they have a tendency to fall off when handled. Trying to glue them in place with conventional glues was a waste of time. The tender is the weak point. Although well formed and accurately made it lacks the level of detail found on the engine. Cab detail could be improved, but Bachmann is to be commended for resisting the practice to show open firebox doors with a glowing light. On the prototype leaving the firebox doors open was usually sign of a serious problem and poor operation.
This is an excellent loco with excellent detail and very good running characteristics.
John Glaab Peach Creek Shops