Product Features and Details
Prototype: This remarkable locomotive deserves a website to itself. Its features included six cylinders and reheat. It was a rebuild of a Class-6000 2-10-0 by the great André Chapelon, for the Paris-Orleans Railway. Steam from the boiler passed through a 39 element Houlet superheater, and then to the two HP cylinders inside the frames which drove the fourth coupled axle. Steam leaving these passed through the reheater, which was essentially a Schmidt superheater with 68 elements. Two of the LP cylinders were also inside and drove the second coupled axle; the outside LP cylinders drove the third coupled axle. All cylinders had steam jackets. The various cranks were aligned to give six beats per revolution, smoothing the driving torque. Lentz oscillating-cam poppet valves were fitted. The 160 had a weight of 135.5 tons making it the largest and heaviest French Locomotive,
The 160-A-1 was completed at the Tours works in 1940, but was not tested until 1948 due to WW2. It was extremely successful, according to M. Chapelon in his great book "La Locomotive A Vapeur", though it is just possible he was not completely impartial. It was however the last European 2-12-0 locomotive. The 160-A-1 remain in service until the late 1950's.
Model: The model of the 160-A-1 is handmade in brass and is painted in the two toned grey black livery with black pin stripping; it features full cab interior, functional boiler hatch with full boiler details and a brushless, ironless bell motor. Model is equipped with a large 2'2T38 tender, copper boiler bands and functional replicated six-cylinder drive system, just like the prototype. This model is a masterpiece and it features too many technical and optical details to list.
Please keep in mind that quantities are extremely limited, so order quickly. Micro Metakit will produce four versions; a total of only 300 will be made. We expect to take delivery sometime in April 2009.
