Text: Oliver Seibold Photographs: Kötzle, Robert Lyndall, LGB

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The United States is a dream for every model train enthusiast. LGB shows three new models that

couldn’t be more different from each other.

American wonders

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If you think about American railroads, legends like the 42-meter long “Big Boy” or powerful “F7” diesel locomotive come to mind. But early North American railroad history was shaped by other, no less impressive machines.

One of these is the Mikado – a steam loco-motive with the American Whyte notation 2-8-2 (1’D1’), or one leading axle, four driving axles and one trailing axle. The first engines were built in 1897 by Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia – not for the American market, but for various private railroads in Japan. The lo-

A successful concept: Over 9,500 Mikados traveled the American continent.

Mikado highlights

comotive’s name was likely coined during this period: The word “Mikado” was once used to refer to the Japanese emperor. The locomotives belonged to the class “Bt4/6“: “B” for “Baldwin”, “t” for “tender”, “4” for the number of driving axles, and “6” for the total number of axles.

The first known 2-8-2 in North America was used by Lehigh Valley Railroad in Pennsylva-nia. In 1883, the railroad converted a locomo-tive with a center cab – known in the U. S. as a “Camelback” or “Mother Hubbard” – from the 2-10-0 wheel arrangement to the 2-8-2 struc-

Realistic: The headlines change over automatically in the direction of travel.

Individual: The enclosed stickers make it possible to have the lettering from five different railroads.

Intricate details: The roof hatches on the cab as well as the fire door open.

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It was America’s most important freight engine.

ture to reduce wear and tear on the last driv-ing axle. Lehigh Valley Railroad was an early pioneer of the 2-8-2 system, purchasing no less than 47 center cab locomotives with Wootten fireboxes between 1902 and 1905. It was possi-ble to power these using low-quality anthracite coal (referred to as “culm” in the U. S.) – and an-thracite coal from the Appalachian Mountains was Lehigh Valley Railroad’s most important cargo. These 47 machines were the only Cam-elback-class Mikados – other anthracite coal trains as well as the Lehigh Valley Railroad eventually acquired “normal” Mikados that also featured Wootten fireboxes.

The 2-8-2 locomotives became the most im-portant American freight engines in the 1920s, but also pulled passenger and express trains in hilly and mountainous regions. Over 14,000 of these locomotives were built in the United States, 9,500 of these for North American rail-

roads alone. At its peak, the Mikado made up one-fifth of all running locomotives. The most massive Mikados were the Great Northern class O-8, with an axle load of 36,854 kilograms.

Nearly all North American railroads used the 2-8-2s. The only prominent exceptions were the Boston and Maine, Delaware and Hudson, Cotton Belt, and Norfolk and Western railroads. The most devoted buyer was New York Central, which ran 715 Mikados on its routes. Other ma-jor buyers of this extraordinarily successful de-sign were the Baltimore and Ohio, Pennsylva-nia Railroad, Illinois Central, Milwaukee Road and Southern railroads.

Flexible: The standard factory- equipped MTS decoder allows for analogue and digital operation.

Strong: A powerful Bühler motor drives four axles.

Mighty: At 7.4 kg and a length over the buffers of 93 cm, the Mikado is a true garden railway giant.

Authentic: The built-in smoke generator creates a more realistic running experience.

Melodious: Many volume-controlled sound functions, including the bell, whistle, brakes and steam locomotive sound synchronized with the motion of the wheels.

Versatile: The articulated drive system allows Mikado to handle very tight R1 curve sections.

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The Mikados came to Europe in 1914: The first machines were built as the 470 series for the Austrian k. k. Staatsbahnen (KkStB). Early ex-amples in Germany included the Prussian P 10 and the Saxon XX HV. The latter – an eight-cou-pled express train tender locomotive – was the largest express engine in Europe at the time of its introduction, and the only German express train locomotive with a wheel arrangement of 1’D1’. The Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR) 19, 39 and 41 series were also Mikados.

LGB is now bringing a USRA Light Mikado to the garden railway. The United States Rail-road Administration (USRA) was founded 1917 after the United States entered World War  I. The goal of this organization was to coordinate the various large, private railroads in order to ensure efficient operations during wartime. With 625 models, the USRA Light Mikado is the most frequently built USRA locomotive. The as-sociation was dissolved in 1920. This detailed and weatherproof LGB model has a number of great features. It includes a factory-installed standard MTS decoder for analogue and digi-tal operations. The roof hatches, cab door and fire door can all be opened. The flickering light in the firebox gives the model a more authentic look. An encapsulated gear drive with a power-ful Bühler motor and four driven axles ensure high performance on the track. The locomo-

tive is also equipped with two traction tires and 12 electrical pickups. The Mikado also has a four-position operating switch. Thanks to its articulated drive system, the locomotive can also handle tight “R1” curves on tracks.

The model also includes a number of sound functions, such as digital, electronic steam lo-comotive sounds synchronized with the mo-

Pulls loads up the moun-tain with ease: The Mikado, greeted here by a lone cowboy.

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tion of the wheels as well as the bell, whistle, brakes, air pump and feed water pump. Other highlights: built-in volume control, remote con-trolled sound functions (with multi-train con-trol system), voltage limiting system and built-in smoke generator. The headlines also change over automatically in the direction of travel. An all-purpose electrical socket with fuse com-pletes the great features included in the 93-cen-timeter long model.

The Mikado worked for a number of dif-ferent railroads. This is why LGB included la-bels for five different railroads: Union Pacific, New York Central, Pennsylvania, Santa Fe and

The LGB Mikado model has a number

of great features.

The Union Pacific Rail - road network extends from the Pacific Coast to Chicago and New Orleans and the complete west of the USA.

The heart of the Santa Fe network was the mainline from Topka to Albuquer-que to San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles and San Diego.

Pennsylvania Railroad referred to itself for many years as the “Standard Railroad of the World”.

Until 1884, Southern Pacific Railroad and Central Pacific Railroad were two independent railroads, but controlled by the same person.

New York Central was founded through the merger of 10 railroads in 1853, and remained in business until 1968. Main destinations includ-ed Chicago and Boston.

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Southern Pacific, allowing garden railway en-thusiasts to design the train in line with their preferences. Those who choose Union Pacific can also enjoy the matching set of three live-stock cars (48681).

But the charming Mikado is not the only U. S. steam locomotive model that LGB is introduc-ing this year. The Forney locomotive from San-dy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad (SR & RL) is another very special model available for garden railways this year (27253). The Forneys were named after their inventor, Matthias Nace For-ney. Born in 1835, the American patented a lo-comotive with a wheel arrangement of 0-4-4T during his time at Illinois Central Railroad (1861 – 1864). This design positioned the bogie below the coal container. Later versions of the locomotive included a leading axle (2-4-4 or 1’B2’) for a smoother run – and this is the inspi-ration for the new LGB model. The SR & RL was

founded in the northeastern state of Maine in 1908. It took over a series of smaller companies, gaining an interconnected network of narrow gauge rails with a track width of two feet (610 millimeters). In 1909/1910, the SR & RL railroad ran 14 locomotives, 13 passenger trains, three luggage and mail cars, 24 service vehicles and 233 freight cars. The number 10 locomotive was built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1916 for use on the main Farmington – Rangeley line. It was the heaviest locomotive ever used by SR & RL. The company did not last long: The rail network and most of the fleet was sold to a scrap dealer in June 1935, and the tracks were disassembled.

The LGB model is equipped with a powerful motor and an all-purpose electrical socket. The headlights change over in the direction of trav-el. Digital fans will be pleased to know that the model includes a digital interface connector, making it easy to install a digital decoder. Like many American steam locomotives, this charm-ing 2-4-4 has a cowcatcher on the front. The lo-comotive doesn’t take up much space – it is 45 centimeters long over the buffers.

Industrious worker bees for all types of

purposes.

Originally traveled through the northeastern United States: the first sample of the Forney from Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad.

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The third locomotive in the bunch is a museum steam locomotive that is very popular in the United States: the Olomana. Built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia in 1883, the small narrow gauge locomotive was first used to pull narrow gauge trains on sugar cane plan-tations in Hawaii. It originally ran on coal, but was converted to oil in 1928 – the coal prices in Hawaii were simply too high. Gerald M. Best worked for Warner Brothers Studios in Holly-wood and discovered the discarded, rusty en-gine in Hawaii in 1948 and made a childhood dream come true: He bought his own steam lo-comotive, brought it to California and restored it down to the last detail. In 1977, Best showed his

Olomana at the Smithsonian Museum in Wash-ington, D. C. It is now on display at the Railroad Museum von Pennsylvania.

LGB fans are to thank for the rerelease of the Olomana (23130), originally issued in 2002. They have always asked specifically for this model. This new Olomana has a very refined look  – an absolutely authentic model with intricate paintwork and lettering. A strong motor powers two axles on the weatherproof steam locomo-tive. The space between the boiler and frame is true to the original, as is the engineer’s cab. The model also has headlights, traction tires and six electrical pickups. This little worker bee mea-sures just 28 centimeters over the buffers.   

A favorite for many, not just garden railway enthu-siasts: The museum steam locomotive Olomana.