Lionel 2-8-2 Heavy Mikado Length

Has to be a misprint......I agree.

Peter

I had the same question. I had called Charles Ro and they did not know. They gave me the number for Lionel though so I called and posed the same question. They were very nice but did not know as they did not have any mocked up models as yet. I told them that the catalog stated 30" and to be used on a minimum of 054" track. They told me that if it said 054" minimum then it probably is 30"

I have the NH Mikado from a few years ago and I do not want to duplicate it with another road name if it is the same size. Just to be safe I am not ordering it. I believe the Heavy Mikado had a longer boiler then the regular Mikado but not to the extent of adding almost 10 inches to the model.

I was able to hold the engineering model at York. It was about a foot long. Assume 20 inches with tender. I believe the prototype was virtually the same length as the light Mikado and differed mainly in boiler diameter.

 

 

Pete

Hi guys,

 

While I was at York visiting the Lionel booth, I was speaking with Mike Reagan, and we were going over the Heavy Mikado proto type that was there. I didn't measure it, but it definitely wasn't 30 inches long. It was more like a total 21 to 22 inches.

 

Alex

The prototype USRA heavy and light Mikados had identical locomotive wheelbases.  The overall length (loco and tender) of the heavy was about 6 inches longer than the light.  Steamlocomotive.com lists the length of the heavy Mikado plus tender as just under 72 feet, which translates to 18 inches in O-scale.  Add some extra for 3-rail spacing between loco and tender and add the 3-rail coupler on the back and somewhere around 19 to 19.5 inches seems about right.  FWIW, Lionel lists the latest Legacy Mikado (USRA light) as 20 3/4" long.

The tender doesn't appear to be exceptionally long, which would be necessary to approach 30" in total length. 

 

I thought for sure, that even a large Mikado would be shorter than a Berkshire with its extra axle to support a larger furnace. With Berkshire being 26 1/2", I was thinking that 25" would be close to the maximum total length of the Heavy Mikado.

Thanks Bob. That makes sense.

I am interested in this loco as well, the catalog does not mention what type of speaker is being used.  The Berkshire, on page 20, has "Duel FatBoy speakers for the ultimate in sound reproduction".  I might prefer the Berk as a result.   

 

 

 

The prototype does raise another question for me. It looks like the prototype uses the light Mikado boiler front.

 

I'm pretty sure Lionel will modify the front for the final run, but I wonder - if the classification lights, bell, headlight, handrail, and or the front itself will be placed differently or use new tooling?

When they were first built they both shared the same locations. Over the years the RR's that received them modified them to suit. You question is really will Lionel model the engine as it appeared on each of roadnames it produces and at what point in time as they all evolved. We will have to wait and see.

 

Pete

Why do you think they would modify the boiler front? Looks like the prototype matches the catalog pics pretty closely now. I dont see many changes coming unless you know something I don't?

The heavy Mikado will, like the prototype, be built with the same chassis and tender as the light Mikado. The only significant difference between the prototype USRA light and heavy Mikados was the boiler, which was 10" larger in diameter on the heavy version. The smokebox was the same, as were most of the other details. 

 

The visual difference between the two is much more than you would think from the relatively small difference, because it alters the relationship between the boiler and the cab roof to make a much greater visual statement. The boiler pushing above the cab roofline on the heavy gives it a hulking, massive appearance. 

 

Lionel will use the original K-Line tooling as used on the light Mikado. The Lionel USRA light Mikado is the K-Line scale Mikado with a much improved motor drive system, a fan-driven smoke unit, Legacy, and some minor changes to the tender. I have both and you can hardly tell the difference. I doubt there will be any significant difference on the heavy version except the boiler casting. 

Smokebox diameters of the heavy and light Mikados were different. As measured at the first boiler course:

Light: 78"

Heavy: 86"