NEB&W Guide to Mantua Steam Locomotive Models

Last Update: 2008-07-16

Loco Models Table of Contents
Locos Table of Contents
Rolling Stock Table of Contents

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Mantua basically produced generic designed models. Many of their locos shared the same cab, which is a unique design to Mantua/Tyco. It is sort like the USRA switcher cab and seems a little short for road engines. (There is a period in the late '20's where such a cab was seen on road engines.) Wish they had invested a little more and did a few other cab versions. Mantua was based in New Jersey, so any prototype-based models come from prototypes local to them (CNJ, RDG, LV).

Also, at first, in order to have a working headlight, they put the bulb in the smokebox and had the headlight cast on, with no space between the headlight and smokebox front. In later years, they redid this, which also allowed them to move the headlight around.

For years and years, Mantua produced the same few types of locos, but in the 1980's, they got very creative, changing boilers around, modifying details, and producing new wheel arrangements.

Around 2004, they were acquired by Model Power, who have only released a few of these locos.

Tank Engines

• 0-4-0 "Busy Bee" Switcher - This model was produced in Mantua's early history, c. 1948, and was only produced for about four years, until the "Booster" was introduced c. 1952. The Busy Bee was fabricated of sheet metal (the Booster was cast metal) and was said to be based on Jersey Central's no. 840, a Baldwin 1907 product, which switched the car float terminal until the arrival of the very first and famous diesel, boxcar no. 1000 around 1924. Then it worked out its days as a shop switcher, surviving till the end of steam.
  • [Mantua ad, 1949.]

• 0-4-0/0-6-0 Booster - Originally, Mantua produced a tank engine with a pair of rectangular tanks, one on each side, which they put either an 0-4-0 or 0-6-0 mechanism under. Their latest version is a saddletank version somewhat akin to the Bachmann engine.
  • [0-4-0 Booster.]

• 361059 Leetonia & Cherry Valley 0-6-0 Switcher
  
• 393021 Reading 0-6-0 Switcher
  The second version. I think the mechanism is set back a little too far. I think the center of gravity is under the steam dome.
  • [L&CV version. Model photo, courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]
  • [RDG version. Model photo, courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]

Switchers

• 204 0-4-0 Goat - Sheet metal kit, based on a Reading prototype. Later re-introduced in plastic.
  • [Reading 1181, 1939 Mantua ad.]
  • [Model photo, 1939 ad.]
  • [Model photo, another angle.]
  • [Model photo, rear view, 1939 ad.]

• 0-4-0 "Mighty Mite" - Apparently a sheet metal kit based somewhat on the B&O's "Little Joe Docksider", as rebuilt in 1921 with separate tenders to work in Philadelphia (nos. 96 and 99). Kit introduced in 1949, but was replaced shortly afterwards by the die-cast "Shifter".
  • [Model photo, 1949 ad. (Note it was numbered 99.)]
  • [B&O 99, engineer's side, c. 1939. B&O photo.]
  The cab is clearly not deep enough on the model. In fact, this might be the origin of the hallmark Mantua cab.

• 0-4-0 Switcher - Originally, Mantua produced a switcher that sat on either an 0-4-0 mechanism or 0-6-0 one, which they called the "Shifter". The superstructure appears to be based on the PRR locos, but without the hallmark Pennsy Belpaire firebox.
  • [Mantua ad.]
  • [Front view. Mantua ad.]
  The PRR prototype 0-4-0 was lighter-looking than the model, while their B6 class of 0-6-0's were heavier, so the model isn't that exact for either type. (Bowser makes a more accurate model of a Pennsy A5 0-4-0.)
  • [PRR 136, class A5s, Pennsy photo.]
  
  In the mid-'60's, Mantua redesigned their superstructure for their small loco, and used a bunch of different wheel arrangements under it. The review in the August '67 Model Railroader said the model(s) followed no specific prototype, but felt the boiler was fairly large for an 0-4-0 arrangement.
  • [Comparison of the original (top) and revised boiler (bottom).]

• 0-6-0 Switcher - Originally, Mantua produced a switcher that sat on either an 0-4-0 mechanism or 0-6-0 one. Also see the discussion under the 0-4-0, above. The first PRR B6 class 0-6-0 switchers, I believe, were built in 1902, and built through 1924. Driver diameter was 56 inches, which is a little bigger than the typical 51 inch diameter of most switchers, and larger than on the model.
  • [PRR 491, class B6sa.]
  • [PRR 914, class B6sb, Pennsy photo.]
  • [PRR 4179, class B6sb, builder's photo.]
  The Belpaire firebox was used infrequently on a number of locos here and there, the Great Northern liked it, and the Pennsy loved it, so by leaving if off this model, it became useful as a generic type of switcher.
  However, squeezing another driver in there to make it an 0-6-0 out of the 0-4-0 doesn't really work. In general, the reason to adding extra drivers was to spread the weight out more. Which means either an extra-drivered loco is designed for lighter track (like the way the RS-2/3 loco could get six-wheel trucks for branchline service), or more likely, the entire loco is bigger and heavier. In other words, in theory the boiler on this model should have been lengthened to justify the extra driver.
  At about the same time Mantua produced their 0-4-0, Gilbert produced an 0-6-0 that was much closer based on the PRR locos, so the Mantua and Gilbert models look somewhat similar.

• 0-4-0 Camelback - According to the review in the Feb. '86 MR, this model is based on the Reading's A-5a class of engines, built by Baldwin between 1906 and 1913. Plans were published in the July '74 MR. These locos were intended for sharp curves in some urban industrial areas. One of these locos (actually a class 4-2b, but similar) survived and is on display at the Strasburg Museum in Strasburg, PA. (I've also read that the loco model sits about a foot too high.)
  • [Reading 1181, 1939 Mantua ad.]
  It appears their 0-6-0 camelback and this one share the same superstructure. I think that the prototypes, too, were fairly close in all matters other than the number of wheels, but if not, I'm not sure which prototype this model is closest to. (I'm pretty sure it is the 0-4-0 version.)
  Originally the model fabricated of sheet brass, then went out of production for decades, until re-introduced in plastic.

• 0-6-0 Camelback - I believe this is based on a Reading prototype, class B-8a, one of 36 such locos built by Baldwin between 1906 and '12. Mantua probably followed the plans that were in Model Railroader in the 1950's. (I've also read that this being the 0-4-0 superstructure on a different mechanism, it isn't that close to a B-8a, particularly as it is too short.)
  • [Model photo, courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]

• 368145 Wabash 0-8-0 Switcher - Mantua/Tyco took the USRA 0-8-0 switcher with its 51 inch drivers and stretched it to accommodate 63 inch drivers to produce a Consolidation. Then for a short time, they left off the pony truck in the front to make an 0-8-0. (I think they substituted 51 inch drivers in this version but this would still be too long for a real USRA switcher, but not too bad for a somewhat free-lanced design.) Have no idea how close this is to any Wabash switcher.

• 367086 0-10-0 Switcher - Mikado boiler on a new mechanism with the smaller coal tender. They retained the regular spoked pilot, so it isn't a footboard one found on most switchers. They also left off the air pumps on the pilot deck, but since the boiler casting doesn't have any on the fireman's side, the resulting model has no air pumps whatsoever. This would not be a problem in stopping as much as in starting as they need to pump up the air in the freight cars in order to get them to move.
  • [Model photo, as decorated for the Alton & Southern. Photo courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]
  In the April 18, 1933 Railway Age, there was an article about the single engine, no. 14, built by Baldwin for the A&S. The road was a subsidiary of Alcoa, and the engine was being shown because so many of its parts were made of aluminum (and left unpainted, including the boiler and cylinder jackets and the side rods. Obviously Mantua was following this prototype as they even used the same loco number. The prototype had 57 inch drivers and I suspect the model had 51 inch ones. There were numerous other inconsistencies, but on the other hand, the "silver" coloring would tend to be so distinctive, one might be able to overlook these problems.
  • [Builder's photo, '33 RA.]
  • [Photo, '36 RA.]
  • [Comparison of the model and prototype.]

2-6-0 Mogul

• 203 "Eight-Ball" Mogul - Sheet metal kit going way back to Mantua's earliest days.
  • [Model photo, 1941 ad.]
  • [Model photo, other side.]
• 313 2-6-0 Mogul - Same superstructure as the ten-wheeler, but with one less set of wheels. Actually, I think Mantua took their Pacific mechanism and put smaller drivers on it.
  • [Model photo.]

2-6-2 Prairie

• 2-6-2 Prairie - In the mid-'60's, Mantua redesigned their superstructure for their small loco, and used different mechanisms under it. The review in the August '67 Model Railroader said the model(s) followed no specific prototype, but felt the boiler was fairly large for an 0-4-0 arrangement. (And the 2-6-2 mechanism looks too cramped for that length of boiler.) I should point out the boiler has two sand boxes, which isn't that common and makes the boiler look cluttered.
  • [Comparison of the original (top) and revised boiler (bottom).]
  • [How many wheels can you squeeze in? Prairie version, no. 306.]

2-6-6-2 Logging Loco

• 2-6-6-2 Logging Loco - I believe this is based on a narrow gauge loco built c. 1928 for the Uintah, but made standard gauged by Mantua. Very unique and distinctive loco.
  • [Prototype.]
  • [Mantua model, no. 351600, as decorated for Weyerhaeuser.]

2-8-0 Consolidation

• Reading 2-8-0 Consolidation - Back in the late '30's, Mantua introduced this sheet metal model. This is apparently based on the same prototype as the Bachmann and Varney Consolidations. (Balwin built 25 of these in 1923 and at the time they represented the heaviest Consolidations.)
  • [Model photo, rear angle. Mantua ad, 1938.]
  • [Prototype builder's photo.]
  • [Plans.]
  • [Bigger.]

• 2-8-0 Consolidation - This appears to be a USRA 0-8-0 switcher stretched to accommodate larger 63 inch drivers (instead of the original 51 inch drivers) and give a lead truck. The boiler has the two sandboxes, one for putting sand down in front of the drivers no matter what direction, a switcher feature, not one typical of a road engine. They substituted the standard Mantua cab for the USRA one (which would have looked funny on a road engine). This same model has shown up under the Tyco and IHC name, too. I think originally this used the Mantua large tender with a diesel truck to power it and push the loco. (The power truck was a 6 wheel one, with the center wheel missing and covered by a fuel tank under the tender - really odd if you think about.) Later the model was revised to have the drivers powered conventionally.

2-8-2 Mikado

• 2-8-2 Mikado - Very odd looking beast. I've been told by several people it is close to a Lehigh Valley Mikado, or a CB&Q 0-3. Others had suggested it is close to the NYC H-10 Mikado, minus an overhanging feedwater heater. Drivers are 63 inches or so in diameter, a good common size.
  • [Model photo.]
  • [LV 468, built c. 1924. From Railway Age, 1932.]
  • [NYC 340, class H10b, built 1924. Alco builder's photo.]

• 386040 Southern 2-8-2 Mikado
• 348001 ATSF 2-8-2 Mikado
• 348020 PRR 2-8-2 Mikado
  Their Pacific boiler on their Mikado mechanism. Personally, I like the lines of this version. The Southern version is painted in the eye-catching Southern green Crescent scheme. The PRR version can't be correct, can it, as it wouldn't have the standard Belpaire firebox.
  • [Southern version. Model photo, courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]

• 2-8-2 Camelback Mikado - Based rather closely on a Lehigh Valley design. I'll admit I'm not that familiar with anthracite roads' motive power, but my sense is that there just weren't many camelbacks with trailing trucks. The whole idea in the first place was that the wide firebox so obscured the view, the cab had to be place mid-stream, straddling the boiler. But bituminous fireboxes also grew wider in the 20th century, out to the same clearance lines and they just gave up and lived with constricted view of a rear cab. (Mantua obviously just put a new superstructure on their Mikado mechanism.)
  • [Model photo.]
  Like the appearance, but the headlight is hideous, made oversize (lengthwise) to accommodate the light bulb.
  According to Steam Locomotives dot com, the LV was one of the first American roads to use the 2-8-2 arrangement for some 47 camelback Mikados built between 1902 and '05, nos. 220-266. Steam Locos dot Com said these were the ONLY center-cab Mikados! (According to Chuck Yungkurth's article, Jan. '82 Railroad Model Craftsman, there were three lots, built 1903-1907. He also said all had been scrapped by Dec. 1932, which is fairly early for locos built in the early part of the century.)
  • [LV 256. Baldwin builder's photo, 1906.]
  • [Prototype vs. model.]
  Dave Gould had an article in the Aug. '84 Model Railroader on modifying both the Mantua Mikado and Pacific versions to better match their respective prototypes. The Mikado was actually modeled by Bill Mischler (while Gould modified the Pacific and reported on both in his article). One big change was that Mischler substituted Cal-scale boiler front no. 243, which allowed him to center the headlight on the front.
  You could remove material in front and behind the cab to make the body suitable for a 2-8-0.
  • [Cyberkitbashed as a Consolidation and with fixed headlight.]

2-8-4 Berkshire

• 385598 Erie 2-8-4 Berkshire - Mantua took their Mikado loco and squeezed in a four wheel trailing truck. For some reason, they added an air pump on the fireman's side, which is crazy since the loco has air pump shields on the pilot deck.
  • [Model photo, courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]

2-10-2 Santa Fe

• 367086 Chicago & Illinois Midland 2-10-2 Santa Fe - Pacific boiler on a new mechanism with the smaller coal tender. I think this loco and wheel arrangement was only available for a short time. Said to be a class H1 and numbered 701.
  • [Model photo, courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]
  • [C&IM 700. Lima builder's photo, 1932 Railway Mechanical Engineer. (The model vaguely resembles this. The cab, in my opionin, is the worse offender.)]

4-4-0 American

• 4-4-0 General - The General was a loco built in 1855 and used by raiders during the Civil War for the "Great Locomotive Chase". Sometime after the War, the loco was modernized. It is preserved as modernized at Kennesaw, GA. It is this 1870's or '80's version that Mantua copied.
  • [Prototype photo c. 1864, showing remnants of the original construction.]
  • [Prototype postcard.]
  • [Prototype on display at the 1945 "Railroads on Parade".]
  • [Color photo of the loco on display in 1948.]
  • [Prototype L&N photo.]
  • [Model photo.]
  This model is one of those annoying ones with the tender drive. Any time there is any bind in the mechanism, the tender twitches.
  Some modelers have sought to modernize it even further, for use later in the 19th century, typically by changing the balloon stack to a straight one, and extending the smokebox forward. (At some point, the netting that was in the balloon stack was moved down to the smokebox, but the smokebox was thus elongated. In other words, the two changes tend to go hand-in-hand.
  • [Prototype cybermodernized.]
  • [Prototype example (unknown road or date) of an updated 4-4-0. In this case, the headlight is on top of the extended smokebox, not in front.]
  At one point, Cary Locomotive offered a soft-metal boiler replacement which brought the loco up to c. 1900.

• 205 Belle Of The Eighties - Sheet metal kit. The "Eighties" refers to the 1880's.
  • [Model photo.]
  • [Three model photos.]

4-4-2 Atlantic

• Reading 4-4-2 Atlantic - Sheet metal model introduced in the late '30's. Model was numbered 345. It was reintroduced after WWII and this model was shown numbered 351.
  • [Model photo, 1938 ad.]
  • [Model photo, 1948 ad.]
  Brand new model of this prototype (Four single-cab locos, nos. 350-353, class P7-sb) is now available from Eddystone.

• 357520 PRR 4-4-2 Atlantic - In the January '88 Model Railroader, a review of this Pennsy looking engine said it is based on the E2 or E3 classes, not the E6 that the Bowser model is. The prototypes had the same 80 inch drivers as the E6 but I guess inside valve gear (both features of the Mantua model), along with an oil type headlight representing the earlier built date of these classes.
  • [Model photo, courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]

• 336561 GN 4-4-2 Atlantic - The Mantua PRR Atlantic with its Belpaire firebox (which the Great Northern also used), but with new domes and some other details.
  • [Model photo, courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]

• 364020 4-4-2 Camelback Atlantic - Their LV Mikado camelback superstructure on their PRR Atlantic mechanism. This really doesn't work as the boiler is too long for the wheels.
  • [Model photo, as decorated for the Philadelphia & Reading, courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]
  • [Model boiler cyber-shortened, both in front and behind the cab. (Original model below.)]

4-6-0 Ten-Wheeler

• 308 4-6-0 Ten-Wheeler - Based on the Sierra's No. 3, a loco used by Hollywood in many films. It was also featured in the TV show, Petticoat Junction. The loco was originally built by Rogers in 1891. In 1929, it was seen in Gary Cooper's The Virginian, but then put into storage until after WWII. In the '50's, when mainline steam was gone, it was brought back out for the camera for High Noon, The Great Race, Lassie, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Wild Wild West, and Little House on the Prairie. Currently (2006), the prototype is in pieces and needs funding to be restored.
  Unfortunately, the model was made to OO scale (1/76) rather than true HO (1/87). Biggest problem with this is that the cab is little oversized.
  • [No. 3 c. 1952. Photo from the Charles Winters collection. (Note the oil headlamp, but at this point, the loco is being used in railfan service.)]
  • [Model photo.]
  The last driver is spaced quite far back from the other two, which on the prototype was a common practice for ten-wheelers in order to fit the firebox in between. On this prototype, it was spaced much further apart than other examples.

4-6-2 Pacific

• Reading 4-6-2 Pacific - A sheet metal kit developed early in Mantua's history and reintroduced after WWII. A few years later, it was replaced by their cast metal loco (below). The loco had 80 inch drivers. The wide firebox allowed them to use a big clunky early primitive motor.
  • [RDG 130. Prototype photo from a 1946 Mantua ad.]
  • [Model photo. From a 1938 Mantua ad.]
  • [Model photo. From a 1947 Mantua ad.]
  The Reading got Pacifics from 1916 until 1948, the last Pacifics built in the US. The size of the boiler gradually increased. They built themselves 30 class G1as's between 1916 and '22. Five more came from Baldwin in 1924. There was a G2sa class, built by Baldwin in 1926, nos. 175-179. Nos. 210-219 were G3 were also home-built, in 1948. I understand the Mantua model is based on the G2sa class. (Models of the G2sa locos, both as built and with the running board skirting, are now available from Eddystone.)
  The CNJ had similar engines and I understand the LV and the DL&W did, also. The CNJ locos in fact were based on the Reading's G1s, with more differences introduced over time. All had 79 inch drivers except the last class. The CNJ had 21 Pacifics, all built by Baldwin, divided among four classes.
  • The G1s, 6 locos, were built in 1918, nos. 820-825.
  • The G2s, five locos, were built in '23, nos. 826-830.
  • The G3s, five locos, were built in '28, nos. 831-835. These came with feedwater heaters. Nos. 831-833 were painted in the Blue Comet colors, as the train iself was introduced in 1928. This only lasted into the mid-'30's. (Loco on. 834 was painted a dark green for a short time to pull the Bullet.)
    • [CNJ 831, at the head of the Blue Comet. Railway Age, 1930.]
    • [CNJ 834, front view. On the Bullet. RA, 1930.]
  • The G4s class was built in 1930, nos. 810-814. These had 74 inch drivers.
    • [CNJ 814, builder's photo. Looks similar to the RDG/Mantua engine with the wide firebox and notched cab but note the feedwater heater. The drivers would be smaller on the CNJ loco than the Mantua model.]

• 4-6-2 Pacific - This cast metal model was introduced around 1952.
  • [Model photo. Original version.]
  A freelanced version of the USRA Pacific - I think the heavy version. Also a loco c. 1930's, not the 1919 version of a true USRA. The Mantua cab is clearly mid-'20's, the straight running boards, late '20's, but the model also has Boxpok drivers, developed around 1934. At some point, later, Mantua also developed a spoked driver set. The drivers are 80 inches in diameter, which is the upper limit of Pacifics - the USRA engines, for instance. had 72 inch drivers, if memory serves me correct. The C&EI, B&O, and Rutland had similar looking locos (the Rutland would have to have 72 inch spoked drivers to look closer).
  • [Rutland 84 builder's photo, one of three locos built in 1929.]
  Davy Cormack feels this model is actually based largely on the B&O P7 class Pacific of 1927, the so-called "President class" since they were named after the first presidents. Cormack said the 20 locos of P7 class was very similar, but not identical to the USRA heavy. The cab and tender of the model don't match, as well as a couple of details on the boiler but the boiler is 90% correct. He said the model appears to be based on P7 no. 5314 as she was after initial rebuilding in the 1940's, including the use of 80 inch Boxpok drivers. Other P7 locos had a mix of driver types in later years. Nos. 5314 and 5316, for example, had Boxpok, while others such as nos. 5309, 5315, and 5312 had standard spoked drivers.
  • [B&O George Washington, 1927 builder's photo.]
  • [B&O 5314, as rebuilt in later years. Photo courtesy Cormack.]
  • [B&O 5314, with 12 wheel tender. Photo courtesy Cormack.]
  The Pacific model was introduced shortly after the 0-4-0 shifter and it appears they simply used the shifter's cab.
  The loco also has the air pumps supposedly mounted on the pilot deck (at least the air pump shields are there, but the casting is a solid block). (The B&O P7 class originally had the air pumps on the sides and only in later years got them moved to the pilot deck.)
  • [Model no. 349036, as decorated for the WM, with spoked drivers. Model photo courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]
  By the way, Precision Craft Models has announced they will be making a model specific to the P7 class, although whether the as built version or the later modified ones, I don't know.

• 323005 CNJ 4-6-2 Camelback Pacific
• 323521 Reading 4-6-2 Camelback Pacific
  Their LV camelback superstructure on their Pacific mechanism. Very very rare beast (in terms of prototypes) as by the time the bigger firebox with trailing truck was developed, they did away with the camelback design. In fact, I think I was totally skeptical about any camelback Pacific, but then I found out there was a LV prototype, 8 locos built by Baldwin in 1905-'06.
  • [LV 2006. Baldwin builder's photo.]
  • [RDG version. Model photo, courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]
  • [CNJ version. Model photo, courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]
  On the Mikado version of the camelback, the front of the firebox straddles part of the rear driver. Not sure if this is prototype, but it isn't radically objectionable. With the Pacific version, the firebox has to sit that much higher because the drivers are bigger (80 inches vs. 63 or so for the Mikado) and the whole boiler sits up too tall. The pilot is ridiculously high. (The LV prototype had 77 inch drivers, a few inches lower.)
  The model originally had way way too modern Boxpok drivers, but Mantua later replaced them with a spoked driver.
  Dave Gould had an article in the Aug. '84 Model Railroader on modifying both the Mantua Mikado and Pacific versions to better match their respective prototypes. For one thing, he substituted the MDC 74 inch spoked drivers.

• 370022 NYC 4-6-2 Heavy Pacific - Mantua took their Mikado boiler and plopped it on their Pacific mechanism.

4-6-4 Hudson

• 372089 C&O 4-6-4 Heavy Hudson - Mantua took their Mikado boiler and plopped it on their Pacific mechanism, then changed the trailing truck to a four wheel one. It is really cramped as the firebox is just right for a two wheel trailing truck. (PS - never heard the term "heavy Hudson" before. Any road that had Hudsons had a single class and never used the terms "heavy" and "light" to distinguish them.)

• 398022 NYC 4-6-4 Hudson - Their Pacific, with a four wheel trailing truck. They also substituted spoked drivers for the original Boxpok ones, which for a Hudson, might have been better. There are so so many versions of the NYC Hudson and this is so so far off the mark. The boiler is so much heavier, along with so much more. (So, so, so.) Mantua painted the cab roof red, which is not a feature of Central steam, as far as I know.
  • [Model photo, courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]
  • [NYC 5200, the first Central Hudson. Alco builder's photo.]

4-8-0 Twelve Wheeler

• 310 4-8-0 Twelve Wheeler - Same superstructure as the ten-wheeler, but with an extra driver squeezed in. Twelve-wheelers (known as a Mastodon) were not common prototypes. I believe the first was on the B&O in 1856 and another few were built for the LV and Central Pacific in 1882. This model is passable to represent a fleet of these built for the Central RR of PA (I think a PRR subsidiary and not the CNJ version of late steam days).
  • [Model photo.]
  • [Similar Central RR prototype.]

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