By Angela Cotey | June 1, 2005
| Last updated on November 3, 2020
Reviewed in the June 2005 issue
Life-Like Proto 2000 HO scale 2-8-8-2
This massive 2-8-8-2 is a powerful articulated locomotive that operates on curves down to 18″ radius. It’s the newest addition to Life-Like’s Heritage line of steam locomotives, and it’s the first Proto 2000 model with a built-in QSI Quantum sound system and automatic Digital Command Control (DCC) decoder.
USRA prototype. The United States Railroad Administration (USRA) was the government agency that operated U.S. railroads during the First World War. During its tenure, the agency developed a dozen USRA standard steam locomotive designs for service nationwide.
This massive 2-8-8-2 Mallet articulated was the largest of these USRA locomotives. It was 105′-2″ long, stood 15′-9″ tall, and weighed 531,000 pounds. Mallet articulateds were compound engines that used their steam twice: first in the rear high-pressure cylinders and then in the front low-pressure cylinders.
American Locomotive Co. (Alco) and the Baldwin Locomotive Works built 80 USRA 2-8-8-2s in 1919 that were allocated to Appalachian coal-haulers. The USRA sent 50 to Norfolk & Western, 20 to the Virginian, and 10 to the Clinchfield. All three companies, plus the Denver & Rio Grande Western and the Northern Pacific purchased additional copies of these locomotives after the war. Many of these big 2-8-8-2s were used until the mid-1950s.
Both engines swivel beneath the boiler so this large locomotive can operate around 18″-radius curves.
The model. This excellent Proto 2000 locomotive matches the USRA prototype drawing in the 1922 Simmons-Boardman Locomotive Cyclopedia. A 12-page history booklet comes with each model along with an eight-page set of instructions and exploded isometric drawings.
Three different highly detailed plastic boiler shells, three cabs, and two sets of cylinders are employed to produce these specific prototype locomotives. Wire piping and more than 120 detail parts have been applied by hand. The cab interiors include a detailed backhead, crew seats, and sliding side windows.
All of the models have an N&W pilot, but it can easily be removed and replaced with other types.
Interlocking parts and a single screw, concealed under the removable steam dome, hold the boiler shell in place. It covers a massive cast-metal weight that fills most of the space within the boiler.
Most of the big 2-8-8-2’s boiler is filled with weight to provide maximum tractive effort.
Mechanism. The USRA 2-8-8-2 has a solid mechanism made of metal and acetal plastic with either Baker or Walschaerts valve gear, depending upon the prototype. All of the drivers are powered and pick up electrical current.
The chassis is similar to that on other recent model articulateds. A large can motor fitted with a pair of machined flywheels is enclosed in the middle of the boiler just ahead of the firebox. It drives both engines through concealed universal shafts.
Each eight-drivered engine has a cast-metal frame with a gearbox extending vertically into the boiler. Both engines swivel and rock slightly under the boiler so all of the drivers contact the rails for maximum tractive effort. This design allows the model to negotiate an 18″-radius curve, and it reduces the end overhang. (Prototype articulateds have the rear engine rigidly attached to the boiler; a hinged joint allows the front engine to swing from side to side on curves.)
The USRA 16-ton, 12,000-gallon tender rides on detailed Andrews trucks that also pick up electrical current. It has a plastic body and a die-cast metal floor.
Electronic system. A QSI Quantum sound and DCC control system is concealed within the tender. This decoder automatically senses and operates on conventional DC and on DCC systems. Its sounds are delivered by twin speakers facing downward on the tender floor.
A 20-page operations manual explains all of the sound and DCC system’s capabilities and how they may be adjusted. A built-in magnetic reed switch is provided to reset everything to the factory default settings. This switch is located behind the coal bunker where it can be activated with a magnetic wand without removing the tender shell.
The power requirements of the dual-mode QSI system give the model a fairly high starting voltage. This setting can be adjusted for more throttle control range, but the minimum is still nearly 5 volts.
Performance. Our USRA 2-8-8-2 started smoothly and operated steadily at only 1 scale mph! It ran well at realistic slow speeds, producing a drawbar pull equivalent to 47 free-rolling freight cars on straight and level track. The sound system certainly enhances the realism of its slow-speed operation.
The model will fit on a scale 100-foot (14″ diameter) turntable.
Our sample Virginian model came neatly painted in a smooth satin black with a realistic graphite color on the smokebox and firebox. All of the printed lettering was sharp and opaque.
Overall, this locomotive is a superb “big engine.”
HO scale USRA 2-8-8-2
Price: $525 with sound and DCC, $425 DC only
Manufacturer
Life-Like Products Inc.
1600 Union Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21211
www.lifelikeproducts.com
Description
Ready-to-run plastic-and-metal steam locomotive
Road names
(two engine numbers with sound
and DCC, one without)
Virginian (nos. 714, 716, and 719), Clinchfield (nos. 735, 742, and 744), Denver & Rio Grande Western (nos. 3502, 3506, and 3509), Norfolk & Western (nos. 2009, 2020, and 2028), Northern Pacific (nos. 4501, 4502, and 4503), and unlettered
Features
Automatic dual-mode DC or
DCC and sound control system
Constant directional lights
DC models have NMRA DCC plug
Drawbar pull: 3.4 ounces
Engine and tender weight: 26
ounces; engine alone is 20 ounces
Five-pole can motor with dual
turned-brass flywheels
Minimum radius: 18″
Proto 2000 magnetic knuckle
couplers mounted at the proper
height on both ends
RP-25 contour wheels (in gauge)
Prototype detailing with Baker or
Walschaerts valve gear
16-wheel drive and 22-wheel
electrical pick-up
