Lionel L&N Heavy Mikado - Joy, Sorrow, Joy Returns

Let's see video and pictures of the new Mike!  You're the first to post anything about one and may well be the first to have one on here.

 

I didn't buy one, but would love to see more of the Mike.

Ditto, I have the NYC version on order. It was announced that this loco would have an "all new soundset".

 

 

Thanks for the heads up, this is not that uncommon of an issue. Prior posting of similar problems have prompted me to check brake shoe detail on all of my steamers.

 

Having said that, it seems the "old K Line tooled" stuff is more prone to brake clearance issues. I know I had to adjust those on my legacy A1 berk.

 

The ones on the "engineers side" of the loco are the biggest offenders as they turn toward the drivers when tightened. The ones on the firemans side do just the opposite rubbing the wheel behind.

 

I normally loosen the brake shoes and insert a flat blade screwdriver between the shoe and the wheel, the retighten.

I'll have to snap some...I'd like to see others, too.

A few quick and dirty shots:

 

The L&N-proper number on headlight glass:

 

 

 

 

Below: 

 The Champ decals leaning against the tender are the modern, L&N steam

numbers; the RR Roman on the Lionel is not wrong (it's in builder's photos), but it was changed soon after these locos were built to a "Block Gothic" style, and I may put

these on my loco as it is much more typical of modern L&N steam. The "L&N" lettering

on the coal bunker remained the same:

 

Wow, it looks really nice.  Can't wait to hear the sounds!

I'm sure it sounds and smokes great but what is the MSRP of that engine?

Not much in the way of add on detail I can see

Joe

Don't waste your time with MSRP.  Only people who pay that are Bay buyers  

 

No one pays much attention to MSRP anymore-Forum sponsor's 'street price' was well under $1K.

Joe,

The MSRP on the Mikados was $1,300, though the street price is significantly lower, at around less than $1,000. At least for the 2014 models.

Glad you found the problem quickly. Beautiful engine.

If you enlarge D500's photos and look closely, detail looks to be on par with Lionel berks and M1a's. Decent, but not earth shattering. Most of the seperately applied detail is below the running boards.

 

At least( for starters) this model has builders plates, rivet detail on the steamchest, correct valve guides, as well as a coupler pin and chain. All of which the $1400 VL hudson did not have.... along with whatever detail was lost with its "antique" tooling.

 

The prototype didn't have a huge amount of "stuff" going on either.

 

 

Lionels best effort in the detail department is any one of the  L2a Mohawks.

 

 I'd have to check my receipts. FWIW I believe my" early buy" price  was right about $900. I know prices for these went up substantially in the newest catalog.

 

 

I was thinking of purchasing, held off, forgot about it, Now drooling and add another "Forum influence". Thanks for reducing my piggy bank.

Bit odd that the problem continues, then, given that these heavy Mikes are new tooling, not K-Line descendants.

The boiler is new tooling, the chassis and tender are not.

I'd be very interested to see the Heavy Mike and the earlier Lionel Light Mike side by side for comparison. D500, how long is your Mike? My Great Northern Light version is 21 1/4 from the front tip of the front coupler to the rear tip of the rear coupler. The boiler on the Heavy version definitely appears chunkier.

It looks nice to me. I'll wait it out and see if I cave in over time. I have the New Haven light version so there are higher priorities right now. I'm with RickO and love the detail on the Mohawk L2a. That's one of my favorites of the ones I have so far.

Dag nabbit!  I am trying Very, very, VERY hard not to buy one of these I found at a great (but still substantial) price, and here you are going against my every effort!

 

They should be the same length. The prototypes differed only in boiler size and cylinder size. Not sure if the difference in cylinder size would have been obvious externally.

 

Pete

 

One positive thing I noticed from the photos is that the graphite color on the smokebox is much darker and more muted than the catalog art. I've been concerned about that for the Milwaukee Road version - Milwaukee Road smokeboxes were always black or nearly so. Looks like it won't be too glaring. The other issue was the $100 price increase - MSRP remains the same for the 2013 version but Lionel squeezed the dealer margin so street prices are up a hundred. I thought about getting a 2014 engine and repainting it, but finally opted for the new, factory decorated Milwaukee version.

 

Funny, I have a whole bunch of K-Line Mikados and Berkshires, plus one K-Line based Lionel Light Mikado, and I have never had to grind a brake shoe. One occasionally slips out of place, but it's just been a matter of adjusting it and tightening the screw - I've never had to take one off and grind it for clearance. Maybe the ones that have needed grinding had casting flash that was not properly removed?

 

Thanks for posting.

The Lionel catalog says the Heavy Mikes are 30" long. That might not be quite accurate, but I'd like to know their true length.

Thats a GROSS misprint by Lionel, 30" is scale northern with a centipede tender, i.e. a niagara.

 

21"-22" should be about right. These are just "fatter" mikados, same wheel arrangement, same 4 axle tender.

 

I would hazard a guess that the "heavy mike" shell would probably go right on the "light mike" chassis and vice versa.

I agree on the inexpensive way to make a new engine. I'm still waiting to hear the "all new soundset". Hopefully it takes a bit of the edge off of the steep price.

 

There were many different loco tender arrangements with the prototype. I would have preferred a 6 axle tender on the NYC to mix things up a bit.

 

 

There was also an ultra short 4 axle tender.

 

Interesting. Seems like with the same chassis and tender as the light version, it was a comparatively inexpensive way for Lionel to make a "new engine." But perhaps that also reduces the incentive for a light Mike owner to pony up a grand to also get a heavy version.  

 

I really like my light Mike; with it's size it works as a dual purpose engine, looking good pulling not only scale cars, but traditional-sized cars as well.

As coupled, my MTH USRA Light Mike and the new Lionel Heavy USRA Mike are both 20 1/2", coupler to coupler.

 

The Heavy looks just like that - bigger in the boiler and cylinders; much the same in

the drivers/frame - which is just like the real thing.

 

The detailing is very nice; the real ones had very few modern appliances (the USRA period and design came at the beginning of the modern steam era; FWH, superheaters, front-end throttles, etc., were just beginning to show up, and the USRA designs were meant to be basic, at any rate.)

 

====

Photos (once again, quick and dirty):

On the left, my GM&O Williams brass USRA Mike (I added some GM&O-specific details, paint - and a Cruise Commander), and on the right the new Lionel. This is what I mean by the

Samhongsa brass loco being a "USRA Chubby" - it has a smokebox more like a Light,

but a boiler and dome details like/similar to the Heavy. 

 

It's a pretty good stand-in, so with a little paint, care and a $185 CC/sound upgrade kit,

plus a nice brass loco that often goes for under $300, you can have an approximation

of the Lionel for 1/3 - 1/2 the price.

 

'Course, I have both, so I'm a real idiot.