Details West MU-266 vs MU-294


malibu43

malibu43

Active Member
I'm detailing some Athearn Blue Box GP's and bought some MU-266 MU hoses. I've found they are a bit short for the locos with plows on front. MU-294 is described as 36" length. Not sure if that is supposed to be shorter or longer than MU-266. Anyone know?
 
Thanks. No specific year, but if 3-hose clusters is more accurate for later time periods I think that works. I use a fair amount of artistic license.

I'm putting hoses on a GP9, GP35, GP40, and 2x GP60's. They all have pretty large plows on the front, even though that may not be prototypical. I've only tried to install the 266 hoses on the GP35 and GP40 so far. My plow installation on the GP35 was done probably 25 years ago when I was a kid and it's pretty sloppy and doesn't sit flush with the pilot. So the 266 hoses end up not being long enough to get from their mounting point on the pilot and then hang down the right amount in front of the plow. I bought some 294 hoses to account for the distance to make it out through the plow. Hopefully they will work.

Were the 266 and 294 hose lengths prototypical for certain locomotives or railroads, or are there two different lengths available for modeler preference? I tried a google search but nothing came up.
 
I think it's a whatever works type thing. You will find the 36" lengths might hang below the plow some. Remember you can always cut them to the desired length take some smooth billed pliers and simply smash the very end of the hose to simulate the glad hand.
I am a second generation EMD guy and I find the 266 work for most of my locos.
 
Got it. Thanks.

Good advice on trimming and smashing the end if they need to be shortened. I thought about just trimming them if they end up being a little long, but was think I'd lose the handle on the end. Smashing with pliers is a great idea.
 
Back before many of these details were available, we would use very thin solder, bend the hoses and smash the ends and paint the hose black and the ends a metallic color. I still have a few engines in service with those type signal hoses. Be careful with those DW hoses as they will break off easily if you bend them more than a couple times.
You can even have some hoses behind the plow too. You havent lived till you try to get ice and snow out of the ends of those things in winter, they get packed, we used to fold them behind the plow when practical just to try and keep some ice out of them. Cause you sure dont want snow or ice crystals in you air system at all, could lead to a bad day or night.
 
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