K-LINE Mikados

Bob,

I have one sample of the semi scale and it never ran to well.  But just a sample of one.  It seems pretty nicely proportioned down.

The Kline scale mikados have been my "go to" engines for a long time. They are pretty much some of the best runners even without Cruise Control.  They look great too.

I have both a scale, NYC Mike and a Semi Scale WP one. Both came with TMCC and both run very smooth. The scale one has K-Line cruise added. Scale has two chuffs, synchronized, the semi scale has one chuff. Both are nicely detailed. Lionel recent legacy Mikes are based on the K-Line scale one.

Pete

Bill, thanks for your input.  I am skeptical of the semi-scale, but some come with oil tenders, which gives a different variety, and all of the O scale seem to come with coal tenders, which are acceptable because scale trumps semi-scale.

I've had my semi-scale K-Line Mikado for many years, and it is also my go-to locomotive.  It has TMCC and RS but always performs super, smokes well and the detail on the locomotive is great.  I wish they still made them.

Steve, Lady and Tex

I have three of the scale ones and one semi-scale. The scale version is basically the same as the new Lionel Legacy USRA Light Mikado. Lionel bought the tooling after K-Line went out of business. 

The reason the semi-scale Mikado is almost the same length as the scale one is that the scale Mikado has a rather short USRA tender with four-wheel trucks, while the semi-scale has a long-distance tender with six-wheel trucks. I can't tell you anything about the running characteristics of the semi-scale one. I bought it several years ago, test ran it, and put it away. I'm going to redecorate it to match a Milwaukee Road USRA Mikado that received a twelve-wheel passenger tender from a wrecked Hudson, but I haven't got around to it yet.

The detailing on the scale Mikado is exquisite, including fully detailed valve gear. K-Line varied several details to be correct for the railroad each engine is lettered for. Smokebox colors vary, and each one has the correct builder's plates. The PRR and B&O models have raised headlights, the UP and C&O have number boards on top of the smokebox, and some versions have footboards instead of road pilots. The K-Line engines have "puffer" style smoke units rather than the fan-driven units of the Legacy versions, and the motors can overheat if you try to pull very heavy loads. As long as you keep it down to 15-20 cars or so and don't run for hours on end they are fine. I've never had a problem with mine, but people have reported problems pulling 50-car trains. I've run two of my scale ones quite a bit and they run very well as long as you don't overload them. They didn't come with cruise, but upgrade kits are still around on the secondary market. Versions 3 and 4 of the cruise are OK; forget about 1 and 2. 

One of my K-Line scale Mikados is for sale. It's the C&O version and has been test run only. I bought it intending to repaint it Milwaukee Road, but then I got a deal on one with Legacy and never got around to repainting the K-Line one. I also have a couple of cruise kits, version 3.0. E-mail is in my profile if you're interested; I can send you some photos. 

In addition to K-Line cruise you have the option of ERR cruise M for even better performance and easier install. I installed K-line cruise because I had a kit purchased before K-Line's demise.

Also Lionel used the same RS385 Mabuchi motor in their Legacy engine as K-Line did.

Pete

K-Line never had Legacy. Legacy is strictly Lionel and they do not license it to other manufacturers. TMCC only is licensed, plus K-line was gone before Lionel came out with Legacy.

I've really enjoyed reading all of these Mikado threads recently.  A wealth of information in each one. 

I need to add one of these to my collection someday.  A classic locomotive needs to be in every collection 

Bob said many came with Legacy if you read his post.

Is there a way to tell the difference between semi and scale K-Line Mikes? When looking on ebay or other place that sells O gauge trains, most of the time this information is missing. IS there a way to tell buy the box or model numbers which are which?

RAY

My K-Line scale TMCC equipped Union Pacific Mike that I bought during the K-Line bankruptcy. Can't remember the name of the company but they ended up with a bunch of the Mikes and Berks due to K-line's insolvency. They were selling the Mikes and Berks for $300 each so I grabbed a bunch.

Ray, you might start out with Legacy K-Line Trains Catalog Browser.

Any experiences installing cruise on one of the SEMI-scale Mikados -'which apparently didn't come with factory cruise?  What about upgrading the sounds/smoke?

The WP semi scale Mike I have uses the same modular electronics that the scale engines use. You should be able to fit an ERR Cruise M in there though I have not tried that in mine yet. Sounds are also RS4. You could get a new Railsounds 5 board from ERR but that would only add intelligible crew talk. Fan driven smoke has been added to smaller engines but I have not checked my engine to see if it would fit. 

Pete

I have a NYC one that I bought off the forum here and I just love the detail!  It runs smooth as silk, again, even without cruise (although I do want to add it).

My only gripe is that they don't come with jewels in the class lights, and you can see the bare LED.  Not a huge issue, but something that my eyes immediately go for.

I had to replace some missing / broken details (engineer's side air line & damaged pilot), but in the end not only did the Lionel parts fit exactly, but it was easier than trying to find the non-existent K-Line parts.  Hence, another reason to go with the scale Mikado (inter-changeable parts; thank you Eli Whitney!).

Thanks,

Mario

Actually, Brasseur has a lot of K-Line parts. A couple of years ago I got a dirt-cheap deal on a K-Line scale Mikado with most of the valve gear missing. I got a complete drop-in valve gear assembly from Brasseur at very reasonable cost. Nothing wrong with ordering from Lionel; as Mario points out, they fit perfectly, but Brasseur still has many K-Line parts.

I weathered and modified my Scale Kline UP Mike with a Lionel Vanderbilt tender and upgraded it with TAS EOB. Smoother runner with 4 chuffs.  I'll be listing it for sale later this year

.

Here is a pic comparing the semi scale Mikado (bottom) to the scale version.

The semi scale from the side. It has full lighting including firebox glow.

All electronics are in the tender. I checked and there should be room (barely) for a Cruise M but the heat sink would have to be remade or modified. I use this to pull my collection of 6464 size WP feather cars.

Pete

Looks like you changed the tender from coal to oil.  NEAT.  I like the oil tender better.

wbg pete, i really liked what you did with the tender, im considering doing the same thing with a kline mikado that is for sale at my local hobby shop... is there a place you can go to get new number boards? Also i was gonna make a Southern Pacific engine out of it, any good sources for decals? Great job i especially like the weathering! 

Microscale still has white letters and numbers in 0 scale but they aren't making any new ones. Don

Professor, I can confirm that an ERR cruise M will fit in the tender without modifications. I did discover that the smoke unit causes a lot of resistance to the motor and interferes with smooth running even with cruise. It initially took 5 or 6 steps to get the engine moving. Oiling the piston got it moving with 1 step but still not as smooth as with the piston disconnected.

I plan to replace the smoke unit with a fan driven unit though likely one different than the one pictured when Lionel reopens its parts department. I was going to remove the gear that drives the piston but since it revolves as the same RPM as the drivers I will keep it and install magnets or cams to give 4 synchronized chuffs.

Pete

Is there a cab interior on the K-Line model?

Bob, they both have a simple backhead with figures and firebox glow. You can see the reflection of the firebox glow off the tender of the semi scale Mike.

Pete

Pete, thanks a lot for the info!  I just ordered a WP that Nicholas Smith had lying around, and will get a cruise M for it.

Please do post when you install a fan-driven smoke unit - I'll be interested in following what you do.

PS. Nice track work!  Is that Gargraves?

John, you mentioning a brass tube made me realize I don't have to locate the smoke unit directly under the stack but could use a bent tube or funnel arrangement like many of the diesels use. Not obvious in the photo but there is little depth directly below the stack and it would be easier if I could offset the smoke unit or give me more options.

Professor, that is Gargraves. That is one of my portable modules and Gargraves is one of our club's sponsors. I'll post pics when  get the smoke unit installed but not likely for a couple of months.

Pete

For smaller locomotives, don't discount the MTH HO fan driven smoke unit, it's a nice little unit that produces a surprising amount of smoke for it's size.  It'll also fit almost anywhere.

Hello everyone-just happened to come across this thread.

For CentralFan1976,  I have the exact K-line scale Mikado as you, K3670-1838CC.  It's NYC with railsounds and command control.  Brand new, just purchased at a local auction several months ago.  I also didn't like the exposed led lights in the marker housings.  The good news is that as you have discovered,  many of the Lionel scale Mikado parts are a bolt on.  I just got done swapping out both the boiler front and tender marker light housings with replacements from Lionel.  The boiler markers have green jewel lenses and the tender markers have red jewel lenses.  Here are the Lionel part numbers;

610-1255-315  class lamp with lens(boiler marker housing)  $6.50 ea

691-1255-t12   marker lamp(tender marker housing)  $4.00 ea

Obviously you need two of each.  A note of caution- the housings are attached with VERY SMALL phillips head screws-a screwdriver about the size of a jewelers or eyeglass screwdriver is needed for removal and installation.

For Bob Young-If you are still converting your K-Line Mikado to T&P livery,  you can purchase from Lionel just the headlight housing with the illuminated side numberboards and the red and silver painted numberboard.  If you open the boilerfront,  the headlight housing can be taken off by removing one phillips head screw.  A Lionel T&P headlight housing with the road number 552 is available with the following Lionel part number;

610-1288-048  headlight housing T&P #552  $8.50 ea

Hope this helps,

Nick

I don't have a K-Line scale Mike any more, but have a Lionel Legacy Gt. Northern version. It's a favorite. These Light Mikados are wonderful all-around steam engines; their size is such that they look great with both traditional-sized rolling stock and, of course, scale cars as well. The new, larger Heavy Mikes coming out aren't of much interest to me for that reason.