Doug,

Thanks for doing all the stuff I say everyone should do but I didn’t.

Like changing the subject and cropping the posts. What I laughingly refer to as my mind seems to get more laughable every day.

I do have an official diagnosis of CRS (Can’t Remember Sh… Stuff) and it shows.

Also for pointing out the NYC Modeler site. I know it exists and have downloaded all of the 2017 issues but you provided the issues that involved kit-bashing die cast models. I am downloading several more issues.

I don’t do so much of that anymore (who said retirement slows more time for trains) but I still WANT to do more. And I’m a big fan of Mantua steam probably because my first locomotive was a Mantua Mike given to as a Christmas present in 1949, first year of production.

Plus, they are plentiful, rugged and were cheap. Nowadays they have crept up in cost but still are okay for those wanting to kit bash, especially with the cost of new models going out of sight.

Just a couple of items regards finding Mantua mikes. They all will work for these projects. But, for the best drives you either have to go for very early or very late production.

The first two versions, covering production from 1949 to 1953 uses a DC70 (or DS71, as I said memory..) motor with a driveshaft to an enclosed worm with self aligning bearings. Then came the Tyco when they switched to a smaller motor with the worm mounted of the motor shaft.

Still decent runners and there is thousands out there. In late production, under the Mantua name again, they came out with their “Power Drive” models that returned to the worm design.

John Hagen

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