In another thread, I made the comment about how the wheels in the pacific seem to be fatory blackend, and needed no weathering. From top to bottom, is a micro-trains mogul, a marklin mikado, and the bottom one is the pacific. Notice the shine on the wheels of the top two. You can paint the sod rods and the wheels, like I did on the first two but not the tread, otherwise, electical contact is lost. Now the first two don't look bad now, but remember, I already painted the wheels and side rods. Before they looked just as shiney and toy like as the treads. I haven't touched the pacific. Anyways, besides the looks of the pacific, this can also give people a view of different types of american steam available in Z. Enjoy.
The good news is that most of the new Marklin Steamers are coming out with blackened drivers and side rods. I have a 2-6-0 that is blackened, even though it has red wheels. I also have 4 of the BR89 0-6-0's that have blackened drivers. I like the blackened drivers best. I have 4 of the CB&Q Mikado's that I am going to use Neo Lube on the side rods, but will live with the drivers all silver and shiney. I won't be buying any more shiney ones though. -Robert
A few years ago, Marklin switch production over to all blacken wheels. This also includes their freight cars. It was a great move and one that was long overdue! I have purchased extra Marklin blacken wheels so I can replace them on some of my favorite cars. I wish they would blacken their catenary wire. I do it myself using a solution called BLACKEN-IT. Good stuff. What a difference it make for these overhead wires. After the shiny silver catenary goes away, you can really see the trains! Rob Kluz
Almost forgot to ask you Rob. Where can you purchase the blackened wheels to replace the other ones? Are they reasonably priced? And of course, how do you know when ordering that you are getting the blackened ones? Thanks in advance.
You can order them through any Marklin dealer. Some will tell you that they are not available because the don't want to deal with it, but trust me, they are easy to obtain. The part number is 215721. There are four pieces in each package. I specifically told my dealer I wanted the blackened ones. I was able to pick up about 15 packages in one order. I can't find the price I paid, but I think they were fairly inexpensive. Rob Kluz
Thanks for the part number. After payday, I think I will have to check it out. It really makes a huge difference in the looks, that is for sure.
