Full Conversion: Mantua Collectables Baltimore and Ohio Royal Blue Pacific to DCC with TCS WOW Sound

[@tracynation2820]

Super. I still use a fifty year old Mantua/Tyco 4-6-2 Heavy Pacific with a long haul tender painted for the B&O to pull an eighteen car heavyweight express Royal Blue passenger train. One of the passenger cars even came painted for the Baltimore & Oiho, from the factory, instead of Baltimore & Ohio. I love it. Hello from the Tracy Mountain Railway in Colorado. 💙 T.E.N.

[@PRR5406]

Mantua kits were my first confidence builder as a young boy. They sure helped a lot of us get into model railroading. Thanks for the slow, step by step, tutorial. I think it is rather valuable.

[@DoctorHobby]

I'm so very glad you found value in it! They're a really important company, to be sure! I wish you all the best in your model railroading for 2023!

[@YukariAkiyamaTanks]

Dare I say it has a kind of toyish look to it but tbh I kind of like it that way. It is certainly different to normal locos both steam & diesel. Great video!

[@DoctorHobby]

Thanks for writing! And, yeah, I like different-than-normal and this certainly fits the bill!

[@jeffreyrule8143]

Great instructional video. Super nice locomotive and consist. Happy railroading.

[@DoctorHobby]

Thank you very much! I'm glad y'all got me motivated to get it out and get it upgraded!

[@Stanf954]

Great instructional vid. I'm going to try this technique with a Rivarossi J1a Hudson. How about a light sprayover ofDullcoat to reduce the shine on the engine and tender.

[@DoctorHobby]

Please let me know how it goes! As for the dullcoat, nah, it's made it this way this long, it deserves to SHINE!

[@casstelles]

Everything looks good with one critique. I see the keep alive capacitors look to be wired in series. They should be wired in parallel to increase the capacitance for storage. Unless the manufacture has a size limit on capacitance due to inrush current, these should be kept in parallel to maximize voltage/current storage.

[@DoctorHobby]

Oh.. You know what.. You're right! Thanks for pointing that out!

[@classicmodeltrains]

WOW!! That sound decoder sounds AMAZING!! I did a video where I put a digitrax sound in a Tyco/Mantua Pacific and it don't sound that good. Ive heard digitrax is the bottom end of sound decoders and now I'm a believer. Great video. Got another sub and a thumbs up :-)

[@DoctorHobby]

Thanks millions for the view and kind words! Yes, I have a review if a digitrax decoder and the sounds are pretty terrible. I’m not sure why we haven’t seen any new products from them that would improve upon their sound, but we haven’t seen anything from QSI for some time, either.

[@robintheslavewr1513]

I’d love to do this to my Franklin mint crescent limited it’s made by mantua it looks good enough

[@DoctorHobby]

Those are very nice, indeed! Hopefully this video helped you out!

[@GSMRFan]

That would look so pretty with a repaint into the accurate dark blue

[@DoctorHobby]

I think so too

[@GSMRFan]

@@DoctorHobby I have a modified cheaper one painted and detailed up but not as many parts but it's got bell and paint in the right stuff

[@DoctorHobby]

Oh, very interesting!

[@charleswalsh9895]

Brings back fond memories!

[@DoctorHobby]

I'm so very glad i was able to do this for you! Please keep tuning in and I'll see if i can do even more!

[@utahrailroadsofamerica1991]

Your 🚂 Baltimore and Ohio Royal Blue Pacific Is A Beaut 😉👍

[@DoctorHobby]

Thank you so much, sir!

[@utahrailroadsofamerica1991]

@@DoctorHobby Your Welcome 😌

[@charleswalsh9895]

BEV BEL. was a new jersey company which made special runs of engines and cars. A lot of them were north east railroads

[@pmsteamrailroading]

Walthers sold interior kits for the Athearn passenger cars. They show up on eBay regularly. Bev-bel bought undecorated Athearn cars and did paint and lettering for roads Athearn did not run. AHM/Rivarossi also produced B&O lettered cars. Interiors are also available for them.

[@andylallathin9827]

Its turn out that he make it slightly more complicated. Just remove the all wires off the motor, that leave you just two tabs for orange and gray wires to hook up to the motor! I use pick up power for red wire where the drawbar screw is, black is inside the tender itself! My 2-8-0 camelback have same motor as this pacific shown. Then follow the rest of directions, it will turn out great.

[@johnsmith-oh2xo]

Lol I have a few of these old mantua's and with a little bit of decorative kits the are far better than any of that new plastic junk you get, I don't know why people hate on these you can make them beautiful, And mine are 50 years old or so and they still run great a trick with the older open frame motors I'll let you in on a secret change the magnet's with some rare earth one's and they will creep on the track....

[@STho205]

With the consist the whole effect looks very good. I have a dozen of the blue and gray Atherns with silhouettes from Pullman interior photos and a couple P7(ish) Mantuas....including that grey one which I detailed, brakes, piping, markers, scale placard headlight, front bell and repainted the boiler jacket regal blue. For the "collectable" since they aren't expensive, since you did the DCC sound work, I'd just tame the loud tinplate paint. Paint over the gold nonsense. Spray a dark wash over the superman blue to try and match the consist which is an attractive color, hit it with matte dull.

[@DoctorHobby]

Thanks tons! I'll keep these ideas in mind!

[@jeffreygainsborg318]

How much is the blue worth like if I want to buy it on eBay. There's one listed for $1,000. I think that's crazy. So what do you think? How much should I be able to find one for? Thanks, Jeff

[@DoctorHobby]

I've seen some without paperwork, box, etc. go for as low as $50-ish dollars. Ones with paperwork, box, etc. have gone from about $69 to $199 depending on their condition and how desperate someone is to have one of these things. Definitely not $1000! Someone is either being a dreamer or putting theirs artificially high to find a collector that's desperate or ignorant.

[@officialpennsyjoe]

Nice install!

[@DoctorHobby]

Thanks tons! There will be an update soon on this!

[@samhannigan8545]

The other model engine is what I have, even with a royal blue model. I would like to see the transition using that motor also. Thanks

[@MarkInLA]

Only concern is that the loco is waddling a bit, making me think the drivers might need better quartering.. Also, maybe somehow shorten the drawbar. Otherwise, thanks for the demo on how to turn her into DCC/Sound...

[@Conductor1995]

Does anyone know how to change the ring rate for the bell on TCS WOWSOUND? I’ve reviewed the sound wiki page diesels of time and can’t find any information on how to make the bell sound ring faster.

[@Railroadfan5383]

How did you keep the camera so steady for the pacing shots towards the end of the video?

[@DoctorHobby]

I've actually developed a "slide along" technique for shots like that... It took over a year

[@cruegger123]

Can you post the brand of connectors 6 pin connectors you used? I'm trying to find similar on e-bay. Thanks

[@DoctorHobby]

I think they’re just some 1mm or .5 pitch connectors i had lying around.

[@elleryparsons2433]

Can That Engine Be Modified To A 2-6-2?

[@DoctorHobby]

Yes, but it would really really be some work. I think someone did something just like it here in KZbin and.. No thanks..

[@raymondleggs5508]

also sold as Franklin mint locomotive

[@davidleone2180]

I've done a bunch of Mantua steam engines with DCC and sound. I need my own channel!

[@DoctorHobby]

Those are a lot of fun! Best wishes on getting it up and running!

[@joebliss3609]

Another thing you can do to improve continuity on a Mantua, is if those tender trucks have Brass wheels, replace them with InterMountain Nickel silver wheels/axles. Including the center axle! Just make sure you have the wheel that's picking up electricity, all on the left (Fireman's side).

[@Alex-tk2ru]

man that thing is sick

[@w.rustylane5650]

I don't usually watch a video on converting to DCC, 'cause I hate DCC, but the engine is so pretty I had to see it. I don't like the sound of HO sound as it sounds so tinny. I've got several old Mantua Pacific's (4-6-2) that I repainted and decaled for the Central of Georgia which is the road I model. I changed out all the magnets on all my open face (Pittman) motors to rare earth magnets (neodymium) and it made a HUGE difference in current draw and now they will "creep" around the tracks. I just have to say that the period that I model, there was NO graffiti on rolling stock. That's another thing I hate about the modern railroads, unnecessary and ugly graffiti. I use Walters Proto 2000 metal wheel sets. All incandescent lighting gets changed to LED lighting. I've got an old REA (Railway Express Agency) combine coach that I wanted to light up so I made my own wheel pickups out of some thin copper strips I salvaged from an old computer. I used LED strip lighting (approx.12 LED's per coach) with keep alive circuits, but I ordered bright white LED's, so I painted each LED with some yellow acrylic paint and now it looks like lighting from the period. A friend of mine gave me a silver bullet given out by the REA back in the 50's and on the base it says "REA Away" kinda like the Lone Ranger. I had thought about reloading the .45 Colt bullet but I might get it mixed up and end up shooting it. As is, it's worth a small fortune. You don't see those every day. I've got a consist of Southern Crescent Rivarossi coaches that I plan to illuminate with LED strip lighting. I've found a new product to aid in accomplishing this task. It's called ESU current collectors, part #50707, I got from Litchfield Station. You get enough to do 8 axles for $8.95 + $4.00 shipping, which isn't much. You have to cut them apart and glue to the bottom of the trucks, one for drawing the current and the other to return it to the track. Just have to remember to use an insulated wheel and make sure they are reversed from each other. Cheers from eastern TN

[@joebliss3609]

Good choice as far as the Decoder! Mantua steam locomotives were always a good starting point for building certain prototypes, and less costly than Brass. However I never hesitated to replace those open frame motors, with a Sagami or other can motor. Except for a 4-6-2 Pacific I detailed like a B&O P7C class, I usually replace the boilers with either a Cary USRA Light, or Heavy boiler, depending on the prototype I'm modeling. Unlike Mantuas so called "Collectables", all the piping & appliances are painted, Not left Brass.