Wuhu trains

[benchmark]

I stumbled upon these Chinese locos on the internet, anyone know about them? they look well made ...at least in the pics.

http://bowande.en.ecplaza.net/steam-tra ... 66115.html


http://bowande.en.ecplaza.net/steam-eng ... 66219.html


other products
http://bowande.en.ecplaza.net/

[Spule 4]

I stumbled upon these Chinese locos on the internet, anyone know about them? they look well made ...at least in the pics.

http://bowande.en.ecplaza.net/steam-tra ... 66115.html


http://bowande.en.ecplaza.net/steam-eng ... 66219.html


other products
http://bowande.en.ecplaza.net/

There was speculation and more that they were built by a former contractor/contract employee for Accucraft. Also reportedly, they had some ties to Sanda-Kan (Bachmann, Branchline, Liliput, et al) as there were videos posted of the locos on a test track at Sanda-Kan.

I do like the little Porter, and they show up on US eBay from time to time.

[benchmark]

Interesting story there, thanks.

[Keith S]

I bought one of the Porters as a gift for my father. I wasn't aware at  the time of the "controversy" that was raging over the locomotives' appearing a little too "Accucraft-like", and considering that one or more engineers formerly from the Chinese Accucraft factory had a hand in its design.

The locomotive itself appears to be built to a high standard, my father really likes it. He's built a passenger car for it to pull and runs it on a circle of track. It will only run for ten minutes or so because the boiler is very small. It runs smoothly and is entertaining for my father, who hasn't had a live steam engine before.

One thing that WAS strange, however, was that it didn't steam very well at first. The burner was very touchy and wouldn't stay lit. Usually I could keep it going if I left the smokebox door slightly open. Through fiddling around with various bits of pipe, I discovered that the chimney was much too narrow, and a large drop of water was enough to stop exhaust gases from escaping properly. There is the usual drain hole at the bottom of the smokebox, but the narrow chimney was enough to restrict proper airflow. I removed the chimney along with the spark arrestor, and made a wider one out of copper pipe. I made a dummy "spark arrestor" at the top which is fairly unsightly, but my father and I think it looks fine. Now the engine steams fairly well, and is fun to run.

There are some impressive features on the engine: Most of the fasteners are hex-head, and there is a lot of brass detail, like wood grain in the buffer beams and working hinges on the dummy tank filler. The wheels are all sprung! It's actually quite an imressive-looking little model. It's heavy and well-made. The safety valve is hidden inside the sand dome.

I posted some pictures here about a year ago, but it didn't generate much in the way of interest or comment at the time.

Here she is with the new chimney:


The engine is exceedingly small, here she is compared to a small Roundhouse locomotive:



Anyway, it runs well enough with the new chimney, probably won't pull very many wagons with those wee little cylinders, but oddly I am very fond of the little engine, and my father of course is very happy with it. I haven't seen the wagon he made yet, but when I visit at Christmastime I will take a picture and post it.

[benchmark]

That is an nice picture to get an idea of its size. It is really small, i wont mind one of them in my collection.

[Spule 4]

The problems I saw with these (I like small locos) is the lack of aftermarket support and who/what will be around 10 years from now when you need repair bits?

[Busted Bricks]

The problems I saw with these (I like small locos) is the lack of aftermarket support and who/what will be around 10 years from now when you need repair bits?

There is nothing on a loco like that someone with a lathe/mill can't repair easily. I would not worry so much about whether they are around in 10 years time. I would however worry about warranty claims if it arrives defective out of the box.

[Keith S]

I'm afraid I didn't think too much about these issues. I bought it on impulse, when I was still fairly giddy with delight over my Roundhouse engine. I felt that my father, who is very interested in trains, was really missing out on some fun messing about with those little electric trains of his while meanwhile, people were running real steam engines that aren't even as expensive as some of his HO scale "steam" engines.

Happily, there was no need for warranty action. Also I bought it from a model train dealer in the USA, who would no doubt have accepted it for return if I didn't like it. Also, it came with a bunch of warranty paperwork, so maybe it's all OK, I don't know. Mr. Busted Bricks is correct: It's a very simple locomotive, and it would be simple to make or have made any replacement parts.

I bought it new for about $450, when the Canadian Dollar was at par with the American one, so to be frank I wasn't expecting miracles. Other than the chimney, it was much more value than I was expecting, and the engine is bringing some pleasure and live steam experience to my Dad, so I'm glad I bought it.

Benchmark, if you wish to see another discussion and more pictures, look here:

http://www.mylargescale.com/Community/F ... fault.aspx

THe only obstacle to getting one for your collection is that I don't think the make them anymore. However, if you found a used one, even i it had problems, I'm sure you would be able to sort it.

[Spule 4]

I remembered the thread over there at MLS (as one can see, I don't post there anymore), shows how little the loco is.

I would try the dealer in Texas if you wanted more, but as the thread points out, I think there were some legal issues between Wuhu and Accucraft.