Uncataloged O Gauge RailKing 2-8-8-2 Y6b Steam Locomotive Announced

March 31, 2025 - M.T.H. Electric Trains has announced 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 will be available in extremely limited quantities beginning in June 2025.

30-1898-1 Norfolk & Western 2-8-8-2 Imperial Y6b Steam Engine w/Proto-Sound 3.0
Cab No. 2172
Early Order 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

Check out each of these offerings HERE.

These items are available to order from your local M.T.H. Authorized Retailer.

Check out each of these offerings HERE.

These items are available to order from your local M.T.H. Authorized Retailer.

March 25, 2025 - M.T.H. Electric Trains will be releasing RailKing O Gauge 60' Madison Passenger Cars in three different schemes this Fall to complement the 2025 K-4 Pacifics announced this past February. Like the locomotives, these cars will be available in extremely limited quantities and are expected to begin shipping to M.T.H. Authorized Retailers in October 2025.

Check out each of these offerings HERE.

These items are available to order from your local M.T.H. Authorized Retailer.