# My first LGB Mogul gets a well deserved Restoration



## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Many years ago I really wanted a LGB Mogul but I knew that I could not afford one. Then I went to the NGRC in Chicago and found the impossible - a LGB 2018d Mogul for $200.

It was a kind of sad little loco in that it was a used wood burner with a yellow (2119d) coal tender and someone had painted the cab red - but it was a LGB MOGUL so I bought it.

As the convention ended for the day I telephoned home from the public phone booths in the hotel lobby - and left the LGB Mogul sitting in the phone booth!!!

The next morning I looked for my "new" Mogul only to realize what I had done so I rushed to the phone booth expecting to see it empty but there was my Mogul waiting for me. 

After I got it home and after some time passed I eventually repainted the yellow tender in black and I replaced the coal load with a wood load but while it looked OK it just was not right and there was something wrong with the circuits because it kept burning out the smoke units.










Last week I found a brand new 2018d tender plus a new 2018d cab complete with circuit board on eBay.

Today I finished installing the new cab on my old loco and replaced the old tender top with the new 2018d tender top and the Mogul finally looks just like a 2018d should.

The only difference is that I left a new style cow catcher on it with a Kadee coupler so I can double head this loco if and when I want to.

The picture below is not my 2018d but it is how my 2018d now looks. 










Actually the restoration had a side benefit in that in the overhaul I discovered that one of the carbon brushes was worn out so I replaced that and now the loco runs as good as it looks.

There is something about our first really nice locomotive that makes it sort of special and we want to keep it and make it better and better.

At least with LGB Moguls there is very little that goes wrong in the first place and they are fairly easy to keep in first class condition. They are like the Eveready Bunny - they just keep running and running and running.

LGB Moguls - I just LOVE them.

Jerry


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

Agreed! The LGB Mogul is probably _the_ most reliable LS locomotive bar none! It handles R1 curves, it pulls far better than the prototype ever did, it's robust construction makes it much harder to break than it's competitors and it's lines are very pleasing! Pricing is all over the place but reasonable ones can still be found on ebay and certain retailer's sites. If I had started with an LGB Mogul I'm not sure that I ever would have purchased a Bachmann Big Hauler!


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Steve Stockham on 25 Nov 2009 07:47 PM 
If I had started with an LGB Mogul I'm not sure that I ever would have purchased a Bachmann Big Hauler!


As things turned out my "bargain" LGB Mogul turned out to be very expensive.

This was my garage yard when I bought the red 2018d:










Below shows all the Bachmann 10 Wheelers, Annies and other non-LGB locos that ended up being replaced by LGB Moguls because they could not handle the sharp curves of this yard and the sharp "S" curve from the yard through the window and the hump and dip of the 10% grade of the ramp to get to the outside layout.

I ended up making a clean sweep and sold not only the non-LGB locos but also the non-LGB passenger cars (and freight cars that did not accept LGB hook & loop couplers).










There was NOTHING WRONG with the Bachmann and other non-LGB locos and their new owners have been very happy with them on their less challenging layouts.

All in all I think the LGB Mogul is the 2nd most dependable steam locomotive ever built - second only to the LGB Stainz.

Jerry


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## stanman (Jan 4, 2008)

Restoration job looks great, Jerry!


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Hi Stan,

Thanks for your comments.

I have run into a different sort of problem in that while I had saved some LGB green Denver and Rio Grande stickers to go over the DSP&PRR the stickers had been separating from the backing so I thought it would be a good idea to put them on wax paper instead. I thought they would separate from the wax paper but i was wrong.

Now the green stickers are really stuck to the wax paper so I will have to cut them with the wax paper attached and use double sided tape to attach them to the tender.

If anyone happens to have a set of LGB green Denver & Rio Grande stickers for the 2018d and have no need for them I would like to hear from them (perhaps Silvergate may have some but I have not checked yet).

Regards,

Jerry


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry,
Y'know Stan is always available to help out!


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Steve Stockham on 26 Nov 2009 09:02 AM 
Jerry,
Y'know Stan is always available to help out!


Hi Steve,

While Stan does excellent work (he just repainted a LGB caboose for me) in this case I need labels that are on a green background that would cover the DSP&PRR on the tender PLUS it must be removable to restore the tender back to DSP&PRR when the layout is eventually taken down and sold (hopefully in the far future).

Normally I just print my own labels on a Brother labeling machine. The Brother labels are removable and are good enough for my purposes. The LGB stickers are a nice solution but if I had a removable green label I could make the Mogul into Cotton Belt or MoPac rather than D&RGW.

I just found that Brother does make a green tape in 3/4" but it does not seem to be very attractive with black letters.

http://www.imagesupply.com/productc...roduct=233

Thanks,

Jerry


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## stevedenver (Jan 6, 2008)

great story jerry 
i too finnagled a 2018 for 250 from my local hobby shop -they were about to cannabalize it for parts-they had screwed it up good-two motors and a chopped board and other "improvements' 

 -almost like yours but with the first version gold boiler grab irons-i too have fixed it up-new board, stirrups, etc runs really well and ...sadly has no box or coffin-i love the loco-had thought of painting the ghastly red and green but like most of my LGB ...ive grown accustomed to her face..one swap i did was to remove the red pilot and gold posts and save them.  mine sports a black lgb plow which seems to tone it down  

 i think it was my second mogul -after the 2019 i treated myself to after i won a trial early in my career 



its amazing thinking about this.... they are far less costly now than back then 






so jerry i know these are your favs


how many do you have






i run 6 and ..........


i finally got the green DRG with red drivers and silver congdon -the 21181 i think it is ( i know you like this version too_


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By stevedenver on 26 Nov 2009 01:31 PM 


its amazing thinking about this.... they are far less costly now than back then 






so jerry i know these are your favs


how many do you have






i run 6 and ..........


i finally got the green DRG with red drivers and silver congdon -the 21181 i think it is ( i know you like this version too_

Hi Steve,

The 21191 is my absolute favorite locomotive. I also ended up with a 2nd 2018d that I believe has Phoenix sound that I bought as part of an estate sale.

Most of my LGB Moguls were bought used and based on price rather than the railroads and models I would have preferred but toward the end the prices dropped so much I switched to buying brand new LGB Moguls with LGB factory digital sound for the same or less than I had been paying for older Moguls with LGB analog sound. Part of the difficulty was finding the coaches to match the Moguls.

Sometimes I bought LGB Moguls without tenders and sometimes I bought tenders without the loco but eventually I ended up with around 30. Most came without sound or with analog sound and there are a lot of duplicates (mainly C&S #6's) that I converted to other railroads. I also have an Aristo switcher that I put a LGB Mogul drive unit into.

I may drift off with Mikados or F7s or E8s but I keep coming back to the tried and true LGB Moguls. The one thing I do not have is a LGB Mogul (or anything else) that is still NIB. Everything becomes used shortly after arrival here.

Jerry


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## Spule 4 (Jan 2, 2008)

Nice story Jerry, thanks. 

Even tho the prototype guys complain that these locos are a real "dog's dinner" of different prototype locos, I have always liked them and thought they were a sharp looking large scale loco.


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## ZachsPappaw (Jan 3, 2008)

*Nice Job, *Jerry









Jeff


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## stevedenver (Jan 6, 2008)

30..............OMG! 

as for a dogs dinner 
imho the 2028 and 2019 were mightily close to the protoypes imho 

the rest of the 'paint ups'-youre right-


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

I still have my 2018D in primo condition. All the original boxes and everything. This was my first venture into large scale. Paid $599 for it in January 1986. Bought three LGB D&RGW passenger cars for it at the same time. By the time I got out of the store that day with track and a MRC power pack, I was a thousand bucks lighter. It is a great little engine and runs like a fine watch. I think they were bullet-proof.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

My thanks to Everyone for your comments.

Regarding the "dogs dinner" I have run across many photos of various moguls and I think that LGB captured the image and concept very well.



















I have also read about many moguls and how they all went through a great number of modifications during their lifetimes.

Surprisingly Arkansas had a lot of railroads that used MANY moguls and many of them looked a lot like the LGB Moguls.

As for the colors the ones I tend to like the most tend to be perhaps the least prototypical in coloring such as the 2018d and the 21181. Strangely the Coca Cola would have been my last choice but I am starting to like its bright colors better than the plain Jane black C&:S moguls.

Actually the moguls were the backbone of many railroads because they were bullet proof and just kept running and running for decade after decade. Many outlived much newer, bigger and better steam locomotives.

Like the originals the LGB Moguls (in my opinion) are without question the most versatile US styled steam locomotives whether they are pushing their way through wrong way turnouts, over outrageous humps and dips in ramps, through infamous "S" curves, through the tightest curves and even sharp turnouts in the middle of a curve. They do not short out on turnouts and they have sufficient track contacts to keep running even on pretty dirty track. The floating drivers and pivoting trucks maintain track contact where other rigid frame locos would lose contact and stop dead. The polished wheels make exceptional contact with track when compared to some rough cast wheels on some other locomotives.

Strangely I never particularly liked the mogul wheel arrangement. I would have much preferred that LGB had a ten wheeler (I really wanted a passenger locomotive instead of a freight locomotive) but I find myself continually coming back to the LGB Moguls and I have even started running more freight trains and fewer passenger trains. Some day I may get to the point that I can live with running mixed trains but I am not there yet.

I think that the colorful wood burners have more "class" (appeal) than the more realistic dull coal burners but that too reflects railroad practices. 

If someone made an easy to install oil conversion kit I would probably convert several coal burners to oil burners to go with steel sided rolling stock.

They are like a fluffy puppy dog that you find when You absolutely do not want another dog yet you know he is going to be going home with you.

Jerry


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## stevedenver (Jan 6, 2008)

i agree about the mogul configuration-im partial to consolidations as a lover of US narrow guage 






but






i understand that by being compact the loco was sort of a brilliant choice-suitable for R1, short sidings and early era railroading


i too have come ful circle-still love black locos-but the garish 21181 appeals to me (and it didnt when i first saw it on release-that silver congdon really struck me as unrealisitic-turns out that silver was actually used in after market stacks for locos-stacks actually wore out) 






the red drivers and trim are like a V and T type scheme-what i find most appealing is my ability to either 'rationalize' the liberties-or see a basis in reality for many of the schemes and designs that LGB produced-not accurate but a characature that somewhere had a real life inspriation-like the Columbus-its actually dead-on for the real one at Disneyland - as are the chloe and grizzly flats






those the the pics i had in mind-what a coinkydink


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By stevedenver on 27 Nov 2009 10:45 AM 


im partial to consolidations as a lover of US narrow guage


The 21181 - Just beautiful IMO










I guess it is the toy train lover in me but it has always been the colorful Moguls that draw my attention. 

If there was a better loco than the mogul for similar applications it would have to be a Consolidation. Unfortunately when it comes to large scale it seems that the extra driver keeps it from being functionally equal to the Mogul. I doubt that anyone will ever come up with a Consolidation that can handle the sharp curves that a Mogul can. 

I once owned a custom made Consolidation that was expertly made from a LGB 2119s Mogul but while it was great in every other way I ended up giving up and selling it because it could not handle the sharp curves and turnouts of my layouts. Regretfully it seems that I never took any photos of it.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I recently started running my LGB 2219S PRR Moguls for the first time in a year or so - mainly to recharge the sound system capacitors. Two of the Tuscan Red locos pull matching coaches and another pulls a consist of boxcars while the fourth pulls coal hoppers. I had all four trains running at the same time and although they have the old analog sound they sounded great to me.

Three of the four ran perfectly but the sound on the 4th quit as soon as track power was turned off so I will have to see if there is a way to fix that.

I recently bought a PRR F7B that had the same problem (sound shutting off) and I discovered (and resoldered) a bad solder connection which fixed that problem so I wonder if there is a similar fix possible for the 2219S.

Additionally I found that the other three 2219S's tended to run a bit faster than this one so I looked carefully at it and found the headlight flickering as it ran around curves.

When I turned the loco over and checked the carbon brushes I found that all 4 of the loco brushes were 1/2 way worn through and they did not maintain contact with the wheels due to their short length. 

This was an easy fix as I just removed the 4 screws, dropped the plate from the bottom of the motor block, moved the wheels far enough to remove the old brushes and install new ones and return everything where they belonged including the screws in the right holes (the screws are not the same length).

The reason I am mentioning this is that these 2219S's had been discontinued long before I was in the hobby so I bought them all used. The worn brushes are to be expected on any loco (any brand) which has had a lot of use. With the new brushes the loco runs much better now.

Anyone else with a loco that has a flickering headlight or irregular movements may wish to check their contact brushes to verify that they are in full contact with the drivers (same thing with tenders, coaches, cabooses etc. that use contact brushes.)

Jerry


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