MTH brings us a B-class switcher. As Al Staufer noted in his book Pennsy Power, few electrified railways could dedicate electric locomotives simply to the task of switching cars.
But the Pennsylvania Railroad, with its vast network of yards and terminals under wire, could.
In 1926, the Pennsy’s Altoona, Pa., shops began producing these little three-axle gems. Most were built for the Pennsy, but a few were built for its little partner, the Long Island Rail Road. The B1-class locomotives were AC-powered Pennsy engines; the B2s were DC-powered Pennsy engines; and the B3s were AC-powered Long Island locomotives.
Initially, the Pennsy motors were run as semi-permanently coupled pairs. By the mid-1930s, however, they were running individually as needed. Three traction motors, one directly geared to each axle, powered these little mites. The Bs performed superb work shunting cars back and forth, and they served as reliable companions to the venerable GG1s: the Bs assembled the trains, and the GG1s hauled them!
The last of the Long Island units made it to 1956, but a few of the Pennsy’s Bs actually made it into the Penn Central era; the last B-class locomotive was pulled from the roster in 1975. Pennsylvania Railroad B-class locomotive no. 5690 is now displayed at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg.
The model
The O gauge B-class switcher is, to say the least, an unusual-looking model. Basically, it is a die-cast metal box set on top of what could pass for the frame of a three-axle British steam tender.
Although the real locomotives could operate independently, they were often operated back-to-back in pairs. Accordingly, each MTH unit has only a single pilot deck and coil-operated coupler on the front end and a drawbar-and-tether arrangement on the rear end.
The pilot features steps for the brakeman, a simulated uncoupler arm above the coil coupler, and running lights on the pilot, just forward of the steps. There are nice grab irons and handrails on each pilot and along the small raised deck at the cab door, which opens, by the way.
The dark green cab has red outlined window frames. The lead cab windows have wiper blades, while the side cab windows slide open. A lone engineer figure mans each of the units.
If you peek inside the cab you’ll probably mumble something like, “Man, that is a tiny cab.”
Trust me, it pretty well duplicates the prototype. One construction shot in the book Pennsy Power shows a cab being lowered onto the motor and frame. The large internal box that houses the electrical gear is just slightly smaller than the dimensions of the cab itself.
At the rear of each unit are cab windows with wiper blades and handrails, and each unit has a door with a handle. The rear doors don’t open and there is no interior, just wiring.
Each unit’s die-cast metal shell has ample cast-in rivet detail. On the roof you’ll find a headlight, lift rings, a bell, and, of course, a pantograph.
Down by the track, the frame is impressive. It has rivet and hinge detail as well as add-on compressors and sand lines.
Though this is basically a black locomotive, the paint and lettering were applied well. MTH also offers the model in a Pennsylvania RR version.
On the test track
Performance was smooth in all speed ranges. Our low-end speed average was 2 scale mph, while the high-end speed average was a speedy 74 scale mph.
The drawbar pull for the Long Island A-A duo was 2 pounds, 4 ounces.
The BB3, as with all Premier line models, contains MTH’s ProtoSound 2.0 digital control and sound circuitry.
Tuning to Al Staufer once more, he offered this comment about the BB3s’ noise level: ” … possessing a mere fraction of the great GG1’s strength, they make 10 times as much noise with motor blowers and gears loudly whining and buzzing.”
Well, to me, the model’s sound system, while accurate, is about as exciting as listening to paint dry. Actually, it reminds me of an electric kettle I used to make tea. A bit more than a “hiss,” but a lot less than a “growl.” Oh, the various kerthunks and crew sounds are nice, but as I’ve stated before: If you want excitement, listen to a steamer or diesel; if you want to fall asleep, listen to an electric!
Although the BB3s were originally operated in semi-permanent pairs, they were later operated individually. The MTH model, however, functions as a mated pair with a tether connecting the two units electrically.
All the ProtoSound 2.0 features functioned as advertised.
On one of our home test layouts fitted with MTH catenary, the BB3s ran flawlessly with one or both of the pantographs raised. The pantograph frame is properly sprung and stood upright through curves and at all speed ranges.
The head of the pantograph rode flat beneath the catenary wire and did not snag on joints in the overhead line.
Our sample BB3, with a two-position drawbar, is one of the few scale-length O gauge electrics that can handle curves as tight as O-31, a big plus for smaller layouts with catenary (MTH’s catalog says this is an O-54 locomotive).
The only disappointment I experienced with this locomotive was the absence of MTH’s self-raising/lowering pantograph system. However, I don’t imagine the model’s designers could have squeezed the mechanism into this baby. Well, maybe in a few years.
The MTH BB3 ran well and was fun to run, if for no other reason than it sparked my imagination to the point of considering the “what if” of building an entirely new railroad along electric railway lines of operation.
