Erie Vision Triplex w/Legacy #5015
Product SKU: 2431030
Erie Vision Triplex w/Legacy #5015
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Sales price $2,249.99
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Description
Erie's Triplex locomotives - machines so big they inspire, intrigue, and move the mind as much as they could move freight. Built in an era when the compound Mallet design was just coming onto the scene, the Triplex took the concept a step further in attempt to use not only the locomotive's weight but also that of the tender for traction. On paper at least, the locomotives could put 89% of their loaded weight to use and pull a train 5 miles long. They were so powerful that you couldn't put enough weight behind them to truly test it without breaking couplers and by some accounts remain the most powerful locomotives ever built. The first Triplex entered service in 1914 as number 2603 and named after a prominent and recently retired engineer on the Erie, Matt H. Shay. The locomotive was as much of a marketing statement for the Erie as it was motive power. The locomotive performed well enough that two more were delivered in 1916 with only a few minor modifications from the original. The three were assigned as helper engines on the Susquehanna Division - best known as the line over Starrucca Viaduct. The Triplex was a compound Mallet, with high pressure steam going to the center pair of pistons first. The left piston exhausted steam to the front pair of pistons and the right to the rear which powered the wheels under the tender. The locomotives were also unique in that both the high- and low-pressure pistons were the same size, using different valve sizes to accommodate the changes in pressure. Predictably, the problem with these large beasts was not power, but appetite. The boiler would struggle to keep up pressure against the consumption of six cylinders - even if it was only directly feeding two. And although there were elements in the design to compensate for variable traction under the tender as fuel was consumed, as it ran light wheel slipping could be an issue. The locomotives stayed in service until as late as 1933. Only the Virginian made another attempt at a Triplex with a single locomotive. It was rebuilt as a smaller 2-8-8-2 soon after, however. While not a major success, they were certainly not a failure as far as experimental steam designs are concerned. More accurately, they were truly too big for their time. It would have been interesting to see the concept revisited a few decades later when technology had improved and train weights increased, but alas it never came to be. To bring this locomotive back to the O Scale market as anything less than a VISION LINE model would be a crime! We have packed every inch of this massive machine with amazing features including the all-new wheel slip simulation. If your labor rate gets too high or the fuel is running low, watch out! Those rear wheels might just start to slip. Not just a sound effect this time, the tender drive wheels have independent motor control and will actually slip under the right conditions. And when the wheels slip, of course the sounds and smoke will follow along. Other notable features include whistle steam effects, a swinging bell, road-number specific crew talk and 4-digit addressing. We've also made several tooling changes to model both the "production" models of 5015 and 5016 and the prototype Matt H. Shay. Few locomotives will make a bigger impression than the Triplex.
PREMIUM FEATURES:
NEW Wheel Slip! - Tender wheels slip on user command
4-Digit Addressing when using the Base3/Cab3 control system
Multi-speaker stereophonic sounds
Smokebox and tender steam
Whistle Steam
Swinging Bell
LEGACY® RailSounds including Separate boiler and tender chuffs and road number specific crew talk
Rear ElectroCoupler
Optional non-scale front dummy coupler and conversion to scale working couplers
Road number specific detailing
ADDITIONAL LEGACY FEATURES:
LEGACY® Control System equipped – able to run in LEGACY® Control mode, in TrainMaster Command Control mode, or in Conventional mode with a standard transformer
Bluetooth® Control - Operate with Universal Remote or LionChief® App
Lionel Voice Control (LVC) - run your locomotive by speaking commands into your phone via LionChief® App
Odyssey® II Speed Control
IR Transmitter that works with LCS SensorTrack™
Powerful maintenance-free motors with momentum flywheel
Directional lighting including operating headlight and back-up light on rear of tender, where applicable
Bi-color illuminated classification lights on the front of locomotive where applicable. Using a Legacy controller, change the color of the classification lights between white or green
Traction tires
Interior illumination in cab
Die-cast metal locomotive body, pilot, and trucks
Die-cast metal tender body and trucks
High level of separately applied metal details
Separately applied builder's plate
Synchronized fan-driven smoke units
Adjustable smoke output
Authentically detailed cab interior
Cab "glass" windows
New engineer and fireman figures
LEGACY® RailSounds® sound system featuring:
CrewTalk™ dialog with different scenarios depending on whether the locomotive is in motion or stopped
TrainSounds that mimic operating dialog when the locomotive is in motion or stopped
Six official railroad speeds with CrewTalk dialog
DynaChuff™ synchronized with 32 levels of intensity as the locomotive gains speed
LEGACY® "Real-Time Quilling Whistle" control with instant response for realistic signature "quilling" and correctly timed warning signals
5 Different whistles to choose from for a more customized experience.
Single hit or continuous mechanical bell sounds - 5 levels of bell pitching for customized sounds
Sequence Control: plays the sound effects of an entire trip, including warning sounds and announcements, based on the movement and speed of the locomotive
Current speed and fuel dialog, coal or oil loading sound effects
PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS
Rail Line: Erie
Road Number: 5015
Gauge: O Gauge
Power: Electric
Engine Type: Steam
Min Curve: O72
Dimensions: Length: 27 ¼