Mamod mk2 Loco Pros and Cons Please

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Mamod mk2 Loco Pros and Cons Please

Post by Lner fan Sam » Thu Jan 16, 2014 8:58 pm

What are the pro's and cons of the mk2 loco? I have heard mixed comments about these simple little Loco's and have been considering getting one perhaps next year or the Thomas Telford loco.

Any info would be greatly received.
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Post by ace » Thu Jan 16, 2014 10:18 pm

Hi Sam, Nice to see you may be in the market for one of these. I would definitely buy one if I had the disposable cash to hand in order to do so.

From what I can gather, there is a bit of a knack to running one well. But once that 'knack' is found and exercised they seem to be strong runners.

I hope someone fills in a little more than me, I have zero experience with either model. :)
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Post by mikewakefielduk@btinterne » Fri Jan 17, 2014 8:59 am

I've always liked the Mk11 as it's simple, easy to modify and reliable. I've never had any difficulty controlling it (mine never "ran away" although others have reported otherwise). For the money it comes pretty well equipped.

On the down side there are a number of things I didn't like:
• Horrible hook couplings. I removed them (together with the brass buffers) and installed a centre buffer.
• The in-line lubricator is not a very good design and tends to use all of the oil at the beginning of the run.
• They are Mamod scale (as you’d expect) which makes them too small to look “right” for normal garden railway layouts.

The Thomas Telford, when it finally arrives (this Spring?) is now going to have oscillating cylinders so will have many of pros and cons of the Mk11 but will be more correctly proportioned for garden railways and have a centre buffer fitted as standard. On the other hand its going to be a lot more expensive.
Personally I expect the Thomas Telford will eventually replace the Mk11.

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Post by pauly » Fri Jan 17, 2014 5:34 pm

Going off my second hand MK2 they seem an ok sort once you've tweaked the details and gotten used to the proportions.

I haven't had a chance to run mine on rails yet only blocks but it seems capable enough, only issue so far is that it seems to surge a fair bit.
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Post by mikewakefielduk@btinterne » Fri Jan 17, 2014 6:41 pm

The surging has been discussed before. As I recall the most likely cause was thought to be the steam oil flashing in the superheater (have I remembered this correctly?). I certainly did some experiments with my Mk11 using different grades of steam oil to see if it made any difference. Again just relying on memory rather than searching the previous postings the surging was reduced by using a thinner (ie ISO220 oil). However, as pauly is now the proud owner of my Mk11 I can't repeat the process.

There was also some discussion as to whether the surging was reduced by drilling out the venturi in the ceramic burner.

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Post by 90733 » Fri Jan 17, 2014 7:20 pm

I have to admit, I've been looking at one of these recently, for a bit of customisation! Still not sure though.
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Post by Lner fan Sam » Fri Jan 17, 2014 7:29 pm

I'm in the same boat jack, my main concerns are the burner (how reliable is it?), the lubricator and the pulling power of the loco...
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Post by steamie1 » Sun Aug 17, 2014 10:36 am

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=derfSki ... owfCFA[url]
It's a lovely simple loco that works as intended and can be modified. The irritation with MSS is that it barely works as intended and when you do upgrade it and fettle it, it still has a soft soldered boiler. The new Mk2 I would say is better than the Telford as the gas and reg are separate making running simple with load change etc. The guys who own them could advise us on their experience and I must point out I don't own a Telford. The Mk2 I think are the best Mamod off the shelf products bar far, say for Roy Woods Mamods. These are more expensive mind. Incidentally Roy wood coupling rods fit the MK2 and wheels can be made to fit with a shim(See Video)
The Mk2 is simple and value. The Mk2 works well straight off and it can be upgraded. Ask for your to be tested at the factory before sending as this eliminates any build error which are a lot lower these days.
I have Accucraft and Roundhouse locos  and MSS. I have had the awful William too and so I speak with perspective. Thumbs up for the simple MK2.  [/url]

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Post by mikewakefielduk@btinterne » Sun Aug 17, 2014 12:03 pm

I hope you don't mind if I correct you and say the gas and regulator are separate on the Telford as well. There was some talk of linking them as a way of controlling the loco's tendency to race but it was deemed too complicated.

The Mk11 is a great loco and usually runs well straight from the box. Its only downside is the design of the lubricator which means it uses all of its steam oil very quickly.

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Post by steamie1 » Sun Aug 17, 2014 1:50 pm

Thanks for the correction. I best say "I know nothing of the Telford as I don't have one." Thanks for the update on Telford (Under the 'Telford loco' topic in 'Mamods')

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Post by Chris Cairns » Tue Sep 02, 2014 10:13 pm

I was asked at the Llanfair Garden Railway show for some advice as a couple of young enthusiasts were keen to get their first live steam locomotive but had a limited budget.

They found a Mark I & II at a traders stall (the Mark II was the older stock [ nylon gas pipe & no 2nd boiler insert so presumably an unmodified gas burner venturi as well]), and the trader would not go below £200 for the Mark I. I advised that it would need to be fitted with a lubricator, the gas pipe replaced with a copper pipe, and the burner venturi drilled out to 6mm. They are currently commanding £150/£160 on eBay so £200 was too much.

So I advised it would be best either to wait for a cheaper Mark I to come along, or if their budget could be improved to get the latest spec Mark II from Mamod who were at the show.

I heard later that they got a good discount from David Terry on a new Mark II.

David managed to bring a replacement component for me at Llanfair so my Thomas Telford can proceed again. But you will just need to be patient!

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Post by dougrail » Wed Sep 03, 2014 11:22 pm

I too was drawn into this consultation and stated that as CCairns said, the MK2 was a better proposition out of the two. I did murmer that Mamod were in town and if they went over who knows. They did and fingers crossed, Llechfan will soon echo to the beat of a mk2 MKII Mamod loco...:)

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