MTH 241-A Class (Era II) Steam Engine Set. This listing is for a new in box 241-A class steam engine locomotive set for the French ETAT rail line, painted in green/black with yellow stripes, made by MTH in O Scale! This set is an engine & tender combo, operating on 3-rail track, with hi-rail wheels. The engine is numbered 241-A-4. The 4-8-2 wheel arrangement – 241 in French parlance, which counts axles rather than wheels – represented the largest regular-production passenger locomotives ever to serve in France. The first of the type were 41 engines of class 241A, built starting in 1925 for the Chemins de Fer de l’Est (Eastern Railway), which ran due east from Paris to cities such as Nancy and Strasbourg. Like most French express engines, the 241A was a de Glehn compound, a design that would seem frighteningly complex to engineers or shop crews anywhere outside of France. To make more efficient use of steam, a compound engine uses steam twice. Boiler steam is fed to high-pressure cylinders and then exhausted into one or two larger, low-pressure cylinders to work again before going up the stack. Following in the footsteps of their countryman Anatole Mallet, one of the earliest advocates of compounding, Alfred de Glehn and Gaston du Bousquet at the end of the nineteenth century designed a four-cylinder compound system, with high-pressure cylinders outside the frames and low-pressure cylinders inside the frames. The chauffeur of a de Glehn compound had five working possibilities: normal compounding; four-cylinder simple operation for starting (high-pressure boiler steam to all cylinders); compounding with some additional high-pressure steam to the low-pressure cylinders, for extra power on hills; and high-pressure steam to only the low-pressure or only the high-pressure cylinders, to limp home in case of mechanical failure. All of this was controlled by two throttles (one for each pair of cylinders), two reverse levers, and an intercepting valve to manage the flow of steam from high-pressure to low-pressure cylinders. In the 241A, an additional task was controlling the six-jet blast-pipe in the smoke box, which varied the firebox draft. In most countries, shop crews would have declared the de Glehn system a maintenance nightmare and engineers would have found it horribly complicated. French shop crews appeared to thrive on its complexity, and French chauffeurs , trained as méchaniciens (engine mechanics) rather than firemen as in other countries, stepped up and prided themselves on the throttle artistry needed to achieve the wonderful performance that a de Glehn compound could deliver. The original 241As worked well enough that 49 more were ordered for the Chemins de Fer de l’État (State Railways). A series of trials in 1933, however, showed the 241A was inferior to the smaller, famous Pacific’s of the Paris-Orleans Railway, as rebuilt by André Chapelon, the genius of French steam. As a result, the 241A’s – like several other classes of French steamers – were rebuilt along Chapelon lines, resulting in a 40% increase in horsepower with a 15% decrease in coal consumption. The rebuilt engines served the Est, Etat, and later the nationalized French railways (SNCF) into the 1960s. At least two are preserved: the prototype, No. 241A1, in the Cité du Train in Mulhouse, France, and 241A65, the largest hand-fired, operating steam engine in Europe (which barnstormed across Switzerland, double heading with postwar French steamer 241P17). MTH proudly introduces this super detailed model of this premier French steamer – complete with French passenger station announcements and crew talk, and authentic French whistle – as it appeared in Era II after Chapelon had worked his magic. Engine provides realistic detail and the features listed. Die-Cast Metal Chassis. Authentic Paint Scheme. Metal Wheels and Axles. Constant Voltage Headlight. Die-Cast Truck Sides. Remote Controlled Proto-Couplerr. Engineer and Fireman Figures. Operating Firebox Glow. Metal Handrails and Decorative Bell. Decorative Metal Whistle. Operating Marker Lights. Lighted Cab Interior. Synchronized Puffing ProtoSmoke System. Operating Tender Back-up Light. Locomotive Speed Control In Scale MPH Increments. Die-Cast Boiler and Chassis. Die-Cast Tender Body. Precision Flywheel Equipped Motor. 1:43.5 Scale Proportions. On-Board DCC Receiver. Proto-Sound 3.0 With The Digital Command System Featuring: Quillable Whistle With Passenger Station Proto-Effects. Proto-Sound 3.0 equipped locomotives can be controlled in command mode with any DCC compliant command control system. While the user won’t have access to all of the incredible features of Proto-Sound 3.0, independent control over the locomotive is possible. This means you can continue to use your existing DCC controller to independently control your other DCC equipped locomotives in addition to your Proto-Sound 3.0 locomotive on the same track at the same time. When using a DCC controller, the following Proto-Sound 3.0 locomotive features are accessible. (F4) PFA initiate and advance. (F5) Cab Light on/off. (F6) Engine Sounds on/off. (F7) Volume low, med, high, off. (F9) Forward Signal Sound. (F10) Reverse Signal Sound. (F11) Coupler Slack Sound. (F13) One-Shot Doppler on/off. (F14) Extended Start Up. (F15) Extended Shut Down. (F18) Smoke Volume low, med, high. (F19) Single short whistle toot. (F22) Idle Sequence 1. (F23) Idle Sequence 2. (F24) Idle Sequence 3. (F25) Idle Sequence 4. (F27) Cab Chatter auto/off. Unit Measures:24 5/16″ x 2 9/16″ x 3 15/16. Operates On O-54 Curves. Compatible with all O Gauge 3-Rail track systems, including those made by Atlas, Gargraves, Lionel, and Ross Custom Switches. The box has never been opened (except for pictures and testing)! WE DO USE STOCK PHOTOS PROVIDED BY MTH/RAILKING, BUT IT IS VERY OBVIOUS WHICH ARE STOCK AND WHICH ARE OUR OWN. THE STOCK PHOTOS PROVIDED BY MTH ARE FOR THE MODEL NUMBER FOR THE TRAIN PROVIDED, BUT IN CERTAIN YEARS THEY MADE HAVE PRODUCED ONE OR MORE TRAINS WITH MINOR DIFFERENCES UNDER THAT MODEL NUMBER. TRAINS MARKED NIB/NEW IN BOX HAVE NEVER BEEN RUN ON RAIL AND WERE NOT USED FOR DISPLAY. THEY HAVE BEEN TESTED WITHIN THE LAST 6 MONTHS, AND ANY ISSUES WILL BE NOTED. IF THERE IS A MANUAL (SOME SEALED BOXES WE OPENED DID NOT CONTAIN THEM) YOU WILL SEE IT IN THE PHOTOS. ANY ADDITIONAL PIECES WILL ALSO BE IN THE PHOTOS OR WILL HAVE BEEN INSTALLED FOR THE TESTING PROCESS. BECAUSE OF THE AGE OF SOME OF THE TRAINS, THE PROTOSMOKE MAY HAVE BEEN TOSSED BECAUSE IT WAS NO LONGER ANY GOOD. ALL MTH/RAILKING TRAINS MANUALS ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE MTH SITE. If you have any questions or would like to see more pictures, feel free to send us a message. This model steam engine set would make a great addition to your current French Etat setup, or a stunning starting piece to that new unique French model line you’ve been wanting to start. This would also be a fantastic gift for someone that is in to model trains or collects vintage French/ETAT train line memorabilia (it travels through Paris)! A lot of them are new, some are used or were taken out of their box for display. We also have build kits, tracks, and all other accessories. Item comes from a smoke-free facility. The item “MTH O SCALE Premier Era II Class 241A Steam Engine ETAT LINE PS3.0 20-3404-1 NIB” is in sale since Friday, December 21, 2018. This item is in the category “Toys & Hobbies\Model Railroads & Trains\O Scale\Locomotives”. The seller is “nerdtots” and is located in Germantown, Maryland. This item can be shipped to United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Czech republic, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Estonia, Australia, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Slovenia, Japan, Sweden, South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, South africa, Thailand, Belgium, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Bahamas, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Saudi arabia, Ukraine, United arab emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Croatia, Malaysia, Brazil, Colombia, Panama, Jamaica, Viet nam.
- Brand: MTH
- Type: Steam Locomotive
- MPN: 20-3404-1
- Year: 2010
- Gauge: O gauge
- Grading: C-9 Factory New-Brand New
- Features: Light Function
- Power Supply: DC
- Control: Digital
- Material: Polycarbonate
- Gender: Boys & Girls
- State of Assembly: Ready to Go/Pre-built
- Color: Green
- Modified Item: No
- Vehicle Type: Locomotive
- Country/Region of Manufacture: China
- Train Operating Company: ETAT
