Trainline mallet

[beachdonkey]

Having purchased a green 5902 Trainline mallet last week as an impulse buy from Glendale (quite brave I thought considering wife was with me) I would just like to say what a nice loco it is. I am impressed with the sound functions especially and find that it is quite an accurate model of the prototype. I was a bit apprehensive when I first ran it on the railway as all my other loco's are LGB and perform great but the Mallet runs just as well,a very smooth runner indeed.Sitting side by side with my 6001 and the new Zillertal U class it compares better regarding finer detailing in my humble opinion. The only small gripe I have is with the volume control which seems to be a bit sensitive,when turning it down from maximum it sometimes goes to very quiet with only the slightest turn.
So the next dilemma is what to get next. Do I go for the Pfiffi or the LGB green Rugen?

 

[Zerogee]

Well, the Pfiffi and the Rugen 0-8-0 are both very nice locos, but I have to say that my vote would be for the Pfiffi - I've had one for a couple of months and it's a really nice loco, I've posted several threads about it recently on here, with the Zimo decoder is sounds wonderful. No teething troubles with them as far as I'm aware, unlike the first black 5901 Mallets (those problems were all fixed by the time the green 5902 came out, so your one will be fine). Like the Mallet, the volume control is a little bit sensitive, it's controlled by rotating the top of the big hemispherical steam dome and it's a fine adjustment to get it "just right" - but at least it HAS a manual control so you're not having to fiddle with CVs on the fly. Mine has now got a Preiser crew and a realistic-looking coal load in the bunker, all described in earlier posts:

https://www.gscalecentral.net/threads/trainline45s-new-pfiffi-hsb-99-6101.307464/

https://www.gscalecentral.net/threads/pfiffi-gets-her-crew.307482/

https://www.gscalecentral.net/threads/coaling-up.307485/

Here's a pic of my Pfiffi's first outing on open rails, round at a friend's layout - she happily tackled his gradients (around 4% at the worst) with all four of the Harz Traditionszug coaches set:



The sharp-eyed may notice that none of the coaches have their end steps installed - because they are terribly prone to falling off, I took them all off before running so I didn't lose one or more in the greenery! They will all get put back on permanently with a drop of glue later....

Jon.

 

[beachdonkey]

Nice picture of your one Jon,I think I am leaning towards the Pfiffi as I like the look of it and also the Zimo sounds are great.
I just used the supplied coal...Tapped it lightly with hammer and then picked it up off the floor!

 

[Zerogee]

Nice picture of your one Jon,I think I am leaning towards the Pfiffi as I like the look of it and also the Zimo sounds are great.
I just used the supplied coal...Tapped it lightly with hammer and then picked it up off the floor!

I don't think you'll be disappointed if you go for one! Has Brian at Glendale actually had any in yet?

Jon.

 

[shropshire lad]

The volume control is the only flaw with this loco in my view ( apart from the cab side steps falling off!)
It's easy to allocate 2 functions buttons on your controller to volume control which makes the loco a lot easier to live with given how loud full volume is.

 

[beachdonkey]

I don't think you'll be disappointed if you go for one! Has Brian at Glendale actually had any in yet?

Jon.

Don't think so, all variants are listed on his website but none in stock, I may give him a ring sometime soon when the purchasing of the Mallet has evaporated from swmbo's memory a bit more

 

[stockers]

Pfiffi?, Green Rugen?. Both, but maybe not all at once!

 

[dunnyrail]

Another thing to think about is that the Rugen is based on a 750mm Gauge Prototype, as indeed is your Austrian 0-6-2 pretty close at 760mm Gauge Prototype. However your Mallet is based on a Metre Gauge Prototype as is Pfiffi. So perhaps before deciding you might like to consider your prototype Gauge Preference. I am mostly Harz Metre Gauge but do have a Rugen Steam and an Austrian Wiggly Cranks 2095 Diesel. They do look fine next to each other due to The flexible Ruler thing. So it is up to the owner really "Rule 1".
JonD

 

[beachdonkey]

Another thing to think about is that the Rugen is based on a 750mm Gauge Prototype, as indeed is your Austrian 0-6-2 pretty close at 760mm Gauge Prototype. However your Mallet is based on a Metre Gauge Prototype as is Pfiffi. So perhaps before deciding you might like to consider your prototype Gauge Preference. I am mostly Harz Metre Gauge but do have a Rugen Steam and an Austrian Wiggly Cranks 2095 Diesel. They do look fine next to each other due to The flexible Ruler thing. So it is up to the owner really "Rule 1".
JonD

Thanks, the Harz metre gauge loco's are my favourite but I also like the flexible ruler thing too.