By Jon D. Miller LSOL.com Reviews Editor

Author  Bio The Industrial Mogul has all but been forgotten.  Yet this little engine is nicely done, looks good, runs smoothly, and sells for a very reasonable price.

Bachmann introduced their diminutive 2-6-0 Mogul in mid December 2002. Since that time, introduction of the MTH Hudson and Aristo's Mikado have captured the interest of large-scale operators.

The Industrial Mogul has all but been forgotten. Yet this little engine is nicely done, looks good, runs smoothly, and sells for a very reasonable price. Following is a report on what I've found after running the Indy on the CD&StL RY since it's arrival in December.

Dimensions: The engine/tender combination measures 23 1/2" from coupler to coupler. Width, at its widest point, the front pilot beam, is 4 5/32 inches. Height from railhead at stack is 5 3/8 inches. Tallest point is from railhead to top of turbo generator exhaust stack measuring 5 13/16 inches. The cab measures 2 1/2" long x 3 7/16" wide x 3 9/16" high. The boiler is 6 3/4" long from cab front to front of smoke box door. The boiler is 1 3/4" in diameter. Dimensions of the Mogul are the same as the Bachmann 2-4-2 Columbia. Rivet detail, and boiler detail has been improved from that found on the 2-4-2.

The above picture will give some idea of the Indy's size when compared to a 1:20.3 Bachmann Climax. Bachmann claims the Indy is 1:20.3. It is no doubt a very small industrial engine. I'll leave the scale of the engine to the "experts." I will say that the engine does not look out of place when pulling a cut of small 2-axle gondolas or 20' skeleton long cars built to 1:20.3. The Indy would make a nice engine for use on a branch line, field railroad, a mining operation, or logging as a yarding engine.At first glance, the Mogul appears to be a remake of the 2-4-2 with one extra set of drivers with metal replacing the plastic detail that was on the Columbia. In fact, Bachmann has made significant upgrades to the Mogul's drive train, drivers, and electrical pickup. The chassis is now die-cast. Drive axles are one piece. Side rods, connecting rods, crossheads and crosshead guides are now metal. The only plastic detail piece that I've found on the engine is the whistle. Bachmann has adopted the same type axles and method of driver attachment that is found on the Anniversary 10-Wheeler and Spectrum series rod engines. Drivers are now one-piece. No longer do they have the spoke hubcaps that are still in use on the Annie. The small "hub caps" that cover the center of the drivers are similar in design to those used on Spectrum rod engines. Headlight and backup light are LED equipped.

  

Note that in the above pictures the drivers are now attached to the one-piece axle with a Phillips head screw. A small hubcap snaps in place to cover the mounting screw and insulating bushing.

The interior of the die-cast motor case is shown in the above picture. The one-piece axles are evident when looking at the rear driver. Electrical pickup flows through the drivers, to the brass strips along each side of the case and then to the motor, lights, and smoke unit. All drivers have electrical pickup. The one-piece axles run in shouldered bushings that fit into the motor case and bottom case cover. The wheels on this engine seem to be of better quality than on previous Big Hauler series engines. Connecting and side rods have metal bushings. The case cover bottom is attached with 3 screws. Remove the 3 screws, lift off the cover and the motor case interior is open for inspection and lubrication. The redesigned drive system appears to be more robust than that found on the 2-4-2 or the 0-4-0 Porter. Bachmann did their homework on the Indy. No longer will this series of small engines be plagued with broken axles due to the center insulating piece breaking.

  

The tender is now equipped with electrical pickup on all axles. The pickup system is very similar in design to that of the Spectrum rod engines. A 4-conductor wire, with plug, attaches to the engine at the rear just under the cab floor.

There is also a 2-conductor wire, with plug, that connects the engine sound drum to the chuff card in the tender. A 9-volt battery mounted under the tender water hatch powers the sound system.

Power on/off and volume switch is hidden under a silver water butte that sits on the tender next to the water hatch.

The silver water butte to the left of the backup light is the control for sound

Located behind the smoke box door are the smoke generator on/off switch and the switch for changing from large scale to NMRA polarity. These same 2 switches are found on the Annie and Spectrum rod engines starting with the 2-6-0.

So, how does it run? The engine has no added weight as built. It is extremely light. When first put into service it would pull one J&S passenger coach. After adding just 12 oz. of weight the engine will now easily pull a dozen 2-axle short gondolas or 4 to 5 twenty-foot skeleton log cars (1:20.3) with no wheel slip. The drive train is of sufficient robustness that it could easily support additional weight without damage. Electrical pickup is good. With three drive axles and four tender axles picking up power dirty track is not a factor in smooth operation. The wheels have yet to be cleaned on this engine since it was put into operation in December. Bachmann has produced a very well engineered, affordable locomotive that should prove itself a reliable runner in addition to enhancing operations on any layout. Plus the Indy just begs to be bashed.

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