Uncataloged O Gauge RailKing 2-8-8-2 Y6b Steam Locomotive Just Released

January 7, 2026 - M.T.H. Electric Trains has released an exclusive and uncataloged RailKing O Gauge Imperial Y6b Steam Locomotive in unique Norfolk & Western livery for exclusive distribution by M.T.H. Authorized Retailer The Train Loft. The locomotive is now available in extremely limited quantities.

30-1898-1 Norfolk & Western 2-8-8-2 Imperial Y6b Steam Engine w/Proto-Sound 3.0
Cab No. 2172
Sale Price: $899.95 (plus freight)
Download The Order Form: HERE to purchase from Train Loft.

ABOUT THE RAILKING O GAUGE IMPERIAL Y6B STEAM LOCOMOTIVE

A visit to the Norfolk & Western in the early 1950s was like a scene from Jurassic Park: prehistoric beasts romping in their natural mountain habitat. At a time when other roads were letting their remaining steam engines rot away and giving them minimal service in dirty, dingy, soon-to-close facilities, the N&W was still running a first-class steam operation and even building new power. With its main line through some of the nation’s richest coalfields, it was still betting on the future of steam; as late as 1955, the N&W didn’t roster a single diesel. The majority of traffic was handled by what N&W fans call the "holy trinity of steam": the streamlined Class J Northern; the articulated greyhound Class A; and the massive Y6b 2-8-8-2, "the workhorse of the N&W."

Built in the N&W’s own Roanoke shops from 1948–52, the Y6b was the final evolution of the USRA Heavy Mallet, designed at the N&W’s request in 1918. Unlike most modern articulated locomotives, which were "simple expansion" engines that used high-pressure boiler steam in all four cylinders, the Y6b followed Anatole Mallet’s original idea. Like all true Mallets, the Y6b was a compound articulated that used steam twice: first in the smaller, high-pressure cylinders of its rear engine, and then again in the larger, low-pressure cylinders of its front engine before exhausting up the stack.

EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE THRU

The Train Loft
4007-B Country Club Road
Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27104
336-760-9817
www.trainloft.com
JKonc52032@aol.com

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