This 2-8-8-2’s prototype is the largest locomotive built for the United States Railroad Administration during and immediately after World War I (which ended in November 1918). The USRA had 80 of these locomotives built in 1919 and allocated 50 to the Norfolk & Western, 20 to the Virginian, and 10 to the Clinchfield. Their reliable and outstanding wartime performance led all three railroads to purchase copies of these locomotives after USRA control of the railroads ended. Life-Like’s model is detailed to match N&W’s class Y3 USRA 2-8-8-2s after they were upgraded in the late 1920s with the feedwater heater and larger tender.
During World War II, eight of these N&W locomotives were sold to the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe for use as pushers on the steep helper grade at Raton, N. M. Seven of these locomotives returned to the eastern coalfields after the war, when they were sold to the Virginian Ry. in February 1948.
The remaining N&W locomotives continued to operate until the late 1950s when they were all scrapped. A small ten-page booklet provides historical details while a single sheet of exploded isometric drawings shows how the model is assembled. Life-Like’s model closely follows the dimensions of the USRA 2-8-8-2 published in the Simmons-Boardman 1923 Locomotive Cyclopedia. The locomotive’s wheelbase is right on, with properly spaced drivers and lead and trailing trucks – excellent! The boiler and cab are modeled in a sharply detailed plastic casting with more than 50 added detail parts, including metal handrails and a brass bell. The specific details vary to match each of the two different N&W prototypes.
Mechanically, the locomotive is similar in construction to Life-Like’s HO USRA 2-8-8-2 (reviewed in the March 2000 MR). Interestingly, the motor is mounted in the middle of the boiler with a worm on each end to power both sets of drivers. In a concession to tight model curves, both sets of drivers pivot under the boiler (prototype articulateds have rigid, rear drivers, and only the front set moves sideways). There are no traction tires.
Executive editor Andy Sperandeo spotted a detail error: the eccentric cranks on the right side are angled the wrong way – with the rods down they should lean forward.
The directional headlight components are mounted on a small printed circuit board attached to the front of the main boiler weight. While there’s no provision for Digital Command Control, the motor is isolated from the frame, and there’s sufficient space to fit an N scale decoder in the firebox. All of the electrical pickup is through the engine wheels, so the only DCC wire between the locomotive and tender will be the one controlling the backup light.
The tender is also made of well detailed plastic parts and has electrical pickup through all 12 wheels. However, this current is used only for a reversible backup light controlled by another small PC board in the tender.
A Rapido-style coupler is mounted on the rear of the tender, but there’s plenty of space to replace it with a body-mounted Micro-Trains no. 1025 magnetic knuckle coupler and coupler box. A dummy knuckle coupler is provided on the locomotive pilot, but it will take some ingenuity to fit a working coupler in that location. Our sample seemed a bit tight when we first tested it, but about five minutes of running loosened everything up. The starting speed was fine, and it ran smoothly in the usual slow drag freight speed range under three volts. Unfortunately, the speed curve climbs quickly once you pass three volts, to nearly three times the prototype’s top speed! The drawbar pull is a bit low as it’s only equivalent to about 20 free-rolling cars on straight and level track.
Of course there’s nothing that says it has to run at full throttle, and watching this chunky 2-8-8-2 plodding along with a coal drag remains an impressive sight most N scale steam fans will enjoy.
Price: $275.00
Manufacturer:
Life-Like Products
1600 Union Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21211-1998
Description:
Plastic-and-metal
ready-to-run locomotive
Road names:
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (numbers 1790 and 1791); Norfolk & Western (numbers 2011 and 2019); and painted but unlettered
Features:
Baker valve gear
Blackened nickel-silver RP25 wheels
that match the NMRA gauge
Directional constant headlights
Drawbar pull: .8 ounce
Engine weight: 4 ounces
Five-pole, skew-wound, balanced motor
Minimum radius: 9-3/4″
Metal handrails and uncoupling levers
Operates on code 55 track
Rapido rear coupler
16-wheel drive and electrical pickup
Three-color paint scheme
White LED headlights
