Marklin Large scale 2-6-0

THIS IS JUST what toy train folks have wanted for some time: a locomotive packing some offensive firepower.

Trust me, the snowplow gives this engine a whole different personality from your run-of-the-mill light steamer. At last we have a locomotive that just begs to have Lincoln Log obstacles built across the track, herds of large scale cattle astride the rails, or an Indiana Jones action figure tied to the track, struggling to escape certain doom. Well, okay, that may not be what the designers had in mind, but this is one macho piece of steam power.

The Märklin Maxi line of trains offers rugged stamped-steel equipment designed for little hands and heavy duty running (CTT, January 1996). This model, no. 54541, may not possess the level of detail that a die-cast metal or plastic shell might possess, but it makes up for it in charm, precision assembly, and the careful application of selected period details.

Old no. 146 looks like one of the engines you might have seen in the American Heritage History of American Railroads or Lucius Beebe’s Hear the Train Blow back in your school library days. It is a representation of a turn-of-the-century Union Pacific light-duty 2-6-0 Mogul with a simulated oil headlight and a straight stack. Body detail is limited to brass-colored boiler bands and handrails, domes, and a neat bell that emits a faint tinkle when tapped.

The large cab is empty, but Märklin is one step ahead of the game and provides engineer and fireman figures for your own creative placement. Cab detail is limited to simulated pipes and gauges printed on the simulated backhead, but I suspect dedicated large scalers would know of parts sources for customizing a cab interior. The tender is made of metal, carries a simulated wood load, and features a backup light. A tether runs from the tender to the engine for the sound system.

One obvious detail item stands atop the rest: that snowplow! The snowplow turns this engine from a quaint little steamer into a manly piece of industrial gear. You can easily visualize this machine battling a blizzard on the Nebraska prairie or slugging its way up a narrow Colorado mountain pass.

By the way, the CTT staff firmly denies ever having placed HO locomotive boxes on the track and using the plow to knock them for a distance. We would never abuse test products for that purpose!

The plow is attached to the front of the engine with 10 screws, so it isn’t going anywhere unless you hit a handful of paving bricks head-on! If the track on your railroad is less than level, don’t worry. The plow has a short rubber skirt that will prevent the metal plow from shorting out on uneven track. Putting aside for a moment the obstacles of running an electric train on wet, snowy track, this engine could probably do wonderful job blasting its way through backyard drifts of the white stuff.

Readers may have noted the black snowplow on our test locomotive, whereas Märklin’s advertisements show a striking white and black plow. CTT failed to pass the “try to apply your own self-adhesive decal” test, so if you are a butterfingers, have someone else affix the plow’s warning stripes!

This engine includes steam sounds. Don’t panic if at first you can’t find a control for the sound – it’s on the frame of the rear tender truck. The system is a basic chuff that provides satisfactory steam noises for layouts that otherwise might not have sound. The rate was pretty good, and while the sound doesn’t rival a digital recording like RailSounds or ProtoSounds, it doesn’t have to.

This engine operated flawlessly. There was no motor noise, and the siderods and running gear also were silent. With the sound system turned off, virtually the only noise was the clickity-clack of the wheels going over the rail joints. Now that’s quiet in any scale! The locomotive is also compatible with Märklin’s DELTA control system (CTT, November 1996), which allows individually controlled trains to operate on the same track.

The Märklin Mogul was a pleasure to test. Performance was good, and the 7 lb. locomotive racked up 1.94 lbs. of drawbar pull, which averages out to approximately 46 modern, free-rolling large scale cars.

Although an AC locomotive, the 2-6-0 will run with DC power. Märklin provides a plug you can install for DC operation. CTT spoke to Märklin Sales Manager Jeff Stimson who explained that while the locomotive will move on DC power, operation without the DC plug is not recommended.

We tested the engine with both an LGB Jumbo DC transformer as well as a Märklin starter set AC transformer. The engine averaged 13.8 scale mph on the slow end and 61 scale mph on the high side, which may have been fast for a real-life, small-drivered Mogul like this. Fear not, though, the weight of this engine kept it safely on the rails.

The plow-wielding Märklin 2-6-0 is a rugged toy that evokes the Golden Spike era of railroading, and calls out to anyone wanting a heavy, durable steel steam engine for a large scale layout.