Mantua's first HO gauge engine the Reading Consolidation 1938

Not bad for an 83 year old.

Rusty

NICE, thanks for sharing!

Carey, interesting that this product was offered as both a 2 and 3 rail item. Anyone ever seen a 3 rail Mantua engine? 

Great model.  I really enjoy the pre-war HO that came out.  All my Mantua is 1947 or later.  Thanks for sharing!

windsplitter posted:

Carey, interesting that this product was offered as both a 2 and 3 rail item. Anyone ever seen a 3 rail Mantua engine? 

 

Never saw a 3-rail Mantua locomotive.  Even the early 2 rail stuff is pretty rare nowadays.

From what I can gather from the 1937 Mantua catalog posted on the HO Seeker website, back then 3-rail HO was outside third rail like O scale.

Rusty

I have both the Mantua Reading Atlantic and Pacific kits new. unbuilt in the box. I am torn between building them, or leaving them as kits.

Carey,

Thanks for sharing.  Back when I was sharing the world with the dinosaurs I read about these but have never seen one.  As far as I know, they were prewar and weren't produced after the war.  Interesting motor.

Jay

Hello all   thank you for your kind words ....  yes pre war only for the Consolidation ....post war Mantua designed a gear box unit for the Pacific /Atlantic .....it would not fit with the smaller wheels of the Consolidation ...  so it went the way of the Dodo bird ...

outside 3rd rail for HO does exist....  I only have the chassis from a trolley type thing ....  many photos from the 1935-40 + - era of layouts with  the out side 3rd rail ...so in time all will surface ..

Cheers Carey 

Looks like you are getting a little zinc pest on that boiler front.  I had some Dorfan tinplate which was the very definition of zinc pest if you looked it up in a dictionary.  What I did to keep my dorfan locos from crumbling was I painted the affected areas with CA, glue which is clear, and arrested further deterioration.

This was the engine, combined with the other companies that pushed HO away from OO in the prewar small scale model railroad wars.   The battle in making motors small enough to fit inside HO locomotive boilers was being won and solved by many companies with small and smaller motors.  Making HO a reality and overtaking OO followed by O in the postwar years.  O scale made its last good stand in both 2 rail and 3 rail right after the war ended thru the early 50's.  But HO won out for many years.  Although , atleast from a 3 rail/Hi-rail view, has made a come back as many of those HO modelers returned to that gauge as their eyesight aged and a return to childhood toy trains was seen.   Beautiful early Mantua locomotive!!  Rarely seen and even more rarely seen running.   Great post.   AD