Description
The New Haven R3a Mountain was a bold engineering experiment: a 4-8-2 with a three-cylinder arrangement instead of the usual two, giving greater pulling power, quicker acceleration and smoother running at speed — and making the R3a the largest and heaviest steam locomotives the New York, New Haven & Hartford ever rostered. Other roads that tried three cylinders later simplified their designs; the cash-strapped New Haven never did, so the R3a stayed a rare, uncompromising expression of steam-era ambition until the end of New Haven steam. Broadway Limited's all-new Brass-Hybrid R3a pairs a hand-crafted brass boiler and tender with a heavy diecast chassis, capturing the distinctive front-end appliances and proportions that set the class apart from every other Mountain, with era-appropriate, road-specific detailing for each road number.
This version depicts New Haven No. 3555 in its late 1945–1950 appearance, as the R3as looked in their final years before the end of New Haven steam.
The Paragon4 version carries BLI's Paragon4 Sound & Control system: synchronized puffing smoke with chuff sound, variable smoke intensity and timing, an integral dual-mode DCC decoder with Back EMF for the best slow-speed running in DC and DCC, and accurate New Haven R3a sounds.
Model features: Brass-Hybrid construction — hand-crafted brass boiler, cab and tender on a heavy diecast chassis for serious pulling power · Precision drive with 5-pole skew-wound can motor and rubber traction tires · Premium paint with authentic prototype schemes · Extensive separately applied detail parts, era-appropriate for each road number · Separately controllable headlight, cab light and rear emergency light · Factory-installed engineer and fireman · Recommended minimum radius 18".
📦 Preorder details:
Expected arrival: Fall 2027 (see the BLI Official Delivery Schedule for the latest dates).
25% deposit required at checkout, balance charged when the product arrives.
Preorder cancellation: 7 days from order date; deposit non-refundable after that.
Browse more from Broadway Limited Imports, see the full BLI HO New Haven R3a run and our HO scale collection, or see all preorders. Ships from Oakville, Ontario. Contact us for special orders.