Photo journal of the MTH Erie Decapod. I made an earlier post and some how it got lost in the blackhole so now I'm typing everything all over again. I did a detailed comparison of both this model and the Sunset Erie model only shy of taking out a digital caliper and measuring. The one thing they do have in common is the gearbox protrusion going into the belly of the beast... oh well. At speed viewed from normal distances, there too many distractions to this small 10 wheeled wonder for me to have issue with its flaws. All I offer are these few photos.











Hey what's this doing here?

quote:

I made an earlier post and some how it got lost in the blackhole

That Black Hole you speak of appears to be on the 3 Rail forum.

Tom, thanks for letting me know, Oh d00h.

Dear Moderators:
I did not mean to litter on that side and I honestly didn't mean to cross post the same article. My apologies.

Nice photos. Looking forward to seeing photos after you make the engine dirty and stuff.

Thanks, dirty would be a bit hard most photos are b&w. Sand, dust and grime I think would be a start. I'll have to ask one of the elders if they recall what it looked like in full color.

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You make me want to convert to 2-rail. I'm still not feeling it yet though.

Dear Michael,

Thanks for the photos of your new MTH 2-10-0. It's interesting to hear that the Sunset model of the same engine has the same gearbox protrusion showing under the boiler. Any chance of posting a photo or 2 of the Sunset model?

And how does the sound of this new MTH model compare with, say, your MTH UP
4-12-2?

Steve

Mike--

Thanx for posting pix of yr Erie Russian dec. I just rec'd the WESTERN MARYLAND version, & agree that the model has some nice details: Working cab side windows & roof hatch, bell rope & throttle rod to steam dome, air compressor piping, etc.

Mine hasn't run yet, but I'm not worried about its operation. I've been very pleased with the performance of my other MTH locos & expect no less from this one. What does bother me is the silly-looking tender. The tender chassis on this Russian Dec has been extended a good four scale feet to the rear, like a flatcar deck, way past the rear truck. I'm willing to be proven wrong if someone can provide an un-photoshopped picture or un-altered drawing of such a beast, but at this time my opinion is that there's no prototype for a tender like that in US locomotive practice! It appears the tenders were built that way for Russia, but I don't think they stayed that way too long after the undelivered locos were distributed to the US railroads.

My guess is that the tender rear-end extension was required because of the long-shank 3R coupler design provided with the model. The extension appears to be a separate piece, held with two screws at the rear corners of the tender body. I think it is possible to remove that piece and fabricate an end sill to fit just behind the tender body, but I wish that MTH had done this instead of selling an odd-looking tender to the consumers. MTH has made switcher tenders with sound & working rear couplers that look "normal" (ie, prototypical); so I have to wonder why they didn't do it here?

The other thing that some might term a "flaw" is the large gearbox on the #2 drivers that sticks up into the boiler. The horizontal driveshaft from the motor is aligned just above the bottom of the boiler. I noted with interest that your older Sunset model is made similarly. I think those came out before the advent of Sunset's "3rd Rail Division" & development of their low-level driveshaft arrangement.

Too bad imo, because one very distinguishing feature of the Russian 2-10-0 is the large open space between the bottom of the boiler & the top of the frame. This model would seem to be a great candidate for a low-level driveshaft arrangement. Imo, a slight "viewblock" protrusion in front of the firebox throat sheet is far less objectionable than a large obstruction in the middle of the frame. I wish MTH had done a better job of engineering this product to make it look more like a scale model & less like a toy.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: jwmathews,

Woody,

Does the Western Maryland version have the extended smokebox that the WM applied to these engines? I am guessing not since this is a diecast model.

I have a brass Sunset model of the WM Russian Decapod that I intend to rework and extend the smokebox, and possibly rework the drive to hide that gearbox assembly. It does detract from the appearance of the model.

Joe Foehrkolb

Joe--

I just measured the length of the smokebox as 5-1/2' from the front edge of the boiler. I think you're probably right that the smokebox length on all the MTH models would be the same in view of their die-cast construction.

The MTH catalog illustration showed the loco with a switcher-type footboard pilot. The model actually has a road-loco boiler-tube pilot. There's one photo of the 1108 in the Morning Sun book on the WM. Its pilot appears to be made of flat bars rather than boiler tube pieces and its outer footboard supports are slightly different than on the model; but imo the model is a lot closer to the WM prototype than as depicted in the catalog illustration.

What I cannot get over is that rear tender deck. I found a photo of one of the Russian locos in an old LOCO CYCLOPEDIA and as built for Russia the rear deck was extended as on the model. It may have been to mount a backup light but the photo angle makes it hard to tell. That extension also shows on a Frisco diagram, but I've not seen a photo of a Frisco loco clearly showing that extension.

Staufer's ERIE POWER has one 3/4 angle photo of a Russian dec taken shortly after delivery to that road, but it's difficult to see the rear end of the tender. The in-service photos of the locos in that book again are not broadside enough to tell if the extension is as long as built on the model.

Can anyone point me to a prototype photo (WM or other) that CLEARLY shows the length of that tender rear extension? That has to be one of the most unusual things I've ever seen on a locomotive!

Woody--

There is a picture of a Western Maryland I-1 Russian decapod showing the extended tender deck in the book "The Western Maryland Steam Album" by Bill Price. Only thing is the prototype "porch" is half the lenth of the one on the MTH model.

So it is prototypical, just not that much.

Thanx, Chessieman--

I'm wondering if somebody makes an O scale patio table...one of those with a couple of chairs on that back porch might make a nice place for the brakemen to sit and take their ease when not having to walk about switching cars! Maybe put a scale bottle of Gray Poupon on the table?

Whew!

beautiful, beautiful pictures of the russian and CSX diesel. great track
work too! the decapod is naturally right for the broad 5 ft (1.25 inch ga)
gauge = 0-gauge track though the unsold ones were converted to the standard
gauge of 4 ft 8.5 inch.

carman

Please check my pictures on the shortened deck of the MTH Decapod in the photo albums.

* Note: Not my work, my friend a retired machinist placed the extra wide deck in his home milling machine.

OGR Photo Album Decapod Deck

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Tom--

Thanx for posting the pix. The shortening job appears very well-done. I'd like to see what it looks like on the bottom.

quote:

Originally posted by jwmathews:
Tom--

Thanx for posting the pix. The shortening job appears very well-done. I'd like to see what it looks like on the bottom.

I'll try and stop over this coming week after work and get Harold to turn it over. He's in process now of adding an AtlasO scale coupler I believe.

Tom,

Please thank Harold for me and thanks for sharing. I have the inspiration to do it. I will have to get to work on mine in mill if the O scale patio furniture Woody suggested doesn't work out. Really a 4 foot deck should be good enough to also hold a grill.

Woody

The Seaboard Russian at Spencer Shops has a rear deck that is 4- 6 in boards wide.

LIRR--

Thanx for info. A few years ago I saw that SAL loco at Spencer--didn't notice anything too unusual about it though I wasn't concentrating on its tender. The 2' extension you describe isn't that much longer than the normal end sill extension of 12-18" and wouldn't bother me (and other modelers, I expect) very much.

But that 7/8" (3-1/2 scale feet!) extension on the MTH tender just strikes me as so jarring. The thought of a bbq grill as suggested by Mike Pitogo above, in addition to the patio table & chairs had crossed my mind, but the addition of an extra item would unbalance the fung shwei (I'm sure the spelling is wrong). (A table with two chairs would center nicely but where would the grill go--which side, etc?) Methinks adding another piece of furniture to balance the grill would clutter the deck too much.

Another (perhaps less off-the-wall) possibility would be to install a tool box centered on that long rear deck--but it would have to be so large it would look more like a large crate!

quote:

......the addition of an extra item...

Wet bar.

I'm a good old fan of the classic round kettle webber grill. I have both the 16" and the bigger 18" family size. I would think one of those should fit should someone be creative enough to build a scale model. And I'm a serious charcoal fan when it comes to grilling and what a better source for coal than a tender grillin' and chillin on the porch deck.

quote:

Originally posted by jwmathews:
(A table with two chairs would center nicely but where would the grill go--which side, etc?) Methinks adding another piece of furniture to balance the grill would clutter the deck too much.

Another (perhaps less off-the-wall) possibility would be to install a tool box centered on that long rear deck--but it would have to be so large it would look more like a large crate!

Well, it IS Russian, how about a bottle of Stoli back there...

Oh, almost forgot Rule G

For those that wanted some pictures of the underside, and for those that wondered about picnic table size. See album with updates.

Tom--

Many thanx to you and the owner of the loco for yr efforts in taking & posting additional pictures showing the underside. The technique should work equally well for shortening the MTH KD mounting pad to match the shortened rear deck. All that would be needed would be to drill & tap new holes for the KDF box mounting screws.

Very nice workmanship by yr friend--I think the tender looks much better.

The picnic table or other furnishings would be suitable only for the rear deck in its original (3.5' deep) form. The suggestion of a wet bar by mwb above might lead to violations of Rule G and therefore would not be acceptable to RR officials, but a BBQ grille would give the engine crew a means of cooking comparable to the caboose stove for the rear-end crew. No problem getting coal either--tender bunker just a few feet away!