American wonders TOP MODELS 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. Text: Oliver Seibold Photographs: Kötzle, Robert Lyndall, LGB 16 TOP MODELS Big Autumn 2014 A successful concept: Over 9,500 Mikados traveled the American continent. If you think about American railroads, legends comotive’s name was likely coined during this like the 42-meter long “Big Boy” or powerful period: The word “Mikado” was once used to “F7” diesel locomotive come to mind. But early refer to the Japanese emperor. The locomotives North American railroad history was shaped by belonged to the class “Bt4/6“: “B” for “Baldwin”, other, no less impressive machines. “t” for “tender”, “4” for the number of driving One of these is the Mikado – a steam loco- axles, and “6” for the total number of axles. motive with the American Whyte notation 2-8-2 The first known 2-8-2 in North America was (1’D1’), or one leading axle, four driving axles used by Lehigh Valley Railroad in Pennsylva- and one trailing axle. The first engines were nia. In 1883, the railroad converted a locomo- built in 1897 by Baldwin Locomotive Works in tive with a center cab – known in the U. S. as a Philadelphia – not for the American market, but “Camelback” or “Mother Hubbard” – from the for various private railroads in Japan. The lo- 2-10-0 wheel arrangement to the 2-8-2 struc- Mikado highlights Intricate details: The roof hatches on the cab as well as the fire door open. 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. Big Autumn 2014 TOP MODELS 17 ture to reduce wear and tear on the last driv- It was America’s ing axle. Lehigh Valley Railroad was an early pioneer of the 2-8-2 system, purchasing no less most important than 47 center cab locomotives with Wootten fireboxes between 1902 and 1905. It was possi- freight engine. ble to power these using low-quality anthracite coal (referred to as “culm” in the U. S.) – and an- roads alone. At its peak, the Mikado made up thracite coal from the Appalachian Mountains one-fifth of all running locomotives. The most was Lehigh Valley Railroad’s most important massive Mikados were the Great Northern class cargo. These 47 machines were the only Cam- O-8, with an axle load of 36,854 kilograms. elback-class Mikados – other anthracite coal Nearly all North American railroads used trains as well as the Lehigh Valley Railroad the 2-8-2s. The only prominent exceptions were eventually acquired “normal” Mikados that also the Boston and Maine, Delaware and Hudson, featured Wootten fireboxes. Cotton Belt, and Norfolk and Western railroads. The 2-8-2 locomotives became the most im- The most devoted buyer was New York Central, portant American freight engines in the 1920s, which ran 715 Mikados on its routes. Other ma- but also pulled passenger and express trains jor buyers of this extraordinarily successful de- in hilly and mountainous regions. Over 14,000 sign were the Baltimore and Ohio, Pennsylva- of these locomotives were built in the United nia Railroad, Illinois Central, Milwaukee Road States, 9,500 of these for North American rail- and Southern railroads. Mighty: At 7.4 kg and a length over Authentic: The built-in smoke the buffers of 93 cm, the Mikado is generator creates a more realistic a true garden railway giant. running experience. Strong: A powerful Bühler motor Versatile: The articulated drive system drives four axles. allows Mikado to handle very tight R1 curve sections. Flexible: The standard factory- Melodious: Many volume-controlled sound equipped MTS decoder allows for functions, including the bell, whistle, brakes analogue and digital operation. and steam locomotive sound synchronized with the motion of the wheels. 18 TOP MODELS Big Autumn 2014 The Mikados came to Europe in 1914: The first tive is also equipped with two traction tires Pulls loads up the moun- machines were built as the 470 series for the and 12 electrical pickups. The Mikado also has tain with ease: The Mikado, greeted here by Austrian k. k. Staatsbahnen (KkStB). Early ex- a four-position operating switch. Thanks to its a lone cowboy. amples in Germany included the Prussian P 10 articulated drive system, the locomotive can and the Saxon XX HV. The latter – an eight-cou- also handle tight “R1” curves on tracks. pled express train tender locomotive – was the The model also includes a number of sound largest express engine in Europe at the time of functions, such as digital, electronic steam lo- its introduction, and the only German express comotive sounds synchronized with the mo- 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- Big Autumn 2014 TOP MODELS 19 The Union Pacific Rail - road network extends The LGB Mikado from the Pacific Coast to Chicago and New Orleans model has a number and the complete west of the USA. of great features. 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. 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- New York Central was timeter long model. founded through the The Mikado worked for a number of dif- merger of 10 railroads ferent railroads. This is why LGB included la- in 1853, and remained in business until 1968. bels for five different railroads: Union Pacific, Main destinations includ- New York Central, Pennsylvania, Santa Fe and ed Chicago and Boston. 20 TOP MODELS Big Autumn 2014 Industrious worker bees for all types of purposes. 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 Originally traveled Southern Pacific, allowing garden railway en- ran 14 locomotives, 13 passenger trains, three through the northeastern thusiasts to design the train in line with their luggage and mail cars, 24 service vehicles and United States: the first sample of the Forney preferences. Those who choose Union Pacific 233 freight cars. The number 10 locomotive was from Sandy River & can also enjoy the matching set of three live- built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1916 for Rangeley Lakes Railroad. stock cars (48681). use on the main Farmington – Rangeley line. But the charming Mikado is not the only U. S. It was the heaviest locomotive ever used by steam locomotive model that LGB is introduc- SR & RL. The company did not last long: The ing this year. The Forney locomotive from San- rail network and most of the fleet was sold to dy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad (SR & RL) is a scrap dealer in June 1935, and the tracks were another very special model available for garden disassembled. railways this year (27253). The Forneys were The LGB model is equipped with a powerful named after their inventor, Matthias Nace For- motor and an all-purpose electrical socket. The ney. Born in 1835, the American patented a lo- headlights change over in the direction of trav- comotive with a wheel arrangement of 0-4-4T el. Digital fans will be pleased to know that the during his time at Illinois Central Railroad model includes a digital interface connector, (1861 – 1864). This design positioned the bogie making it easy to install a digital decoder. Like below the coal container. Later versions of the many American steam locomotives, this charm- locomotive included a leading axle (2-4-4 or ing 2-4-4 has a cowcatcher on the front. The lo- 1’B2’) for a smoother run – and this is the inspi- comotive doesn’t take up much space – it is 45 ration for the new LGB model. The SR & RL was centimeters long over the buffers. Big Autumn 2014 TOP MODELS 21 The third locomotive in the bunch is a museum Olomana at the Smithsonian Museum in Wash- steam locomotive that is very popular in the ington, D.