Japanese D51 Mikado

Garth-H Jan 18, 2010

  1. Garth-H

    Garth-H TrainBoard Supporter

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    I don't think the flange is a problem unless it is not reaching into the bottom of the slot as the flanges are smaller than Marklin. I was told the note was because the lead truck or pony truck kept picking the switch on the layout they were using.

    I have had no trouble in either direction using Wright or Micro Trains switches.
     
  2. DPSTRIPE

    DPSTRIPE TrainBoard Supporter

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    Garth,
    Some comparrison photos are on this thread:

    New 2-8-2 steamer in Z - Page 7 - TrainBoard.com

    Post number 63 or 54, I think.
    Dan S.
     
  3. Z_thek

    Z_thek TrainBoard Member

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    It's obvious. Both switches have frog, no dependency on large wheel flanges, like the "frogless" Marklin design. After seeing Dan's comparison photos, I'm even more convinced, the substantially smaller flanges are the "guilty" party. Let me rephrase it. Actually the Marklin turnouts are guilty by not accepting any closer to scale wheel profiles. After almost 40 years of production, the Marklin switch design's retirement is well deserved.
     
  4. Alaska Railroader

    Alaska Railroader TrainBoard Supporter

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    photo

    Got mine just a little bit ago today so I decided to shoot photos for a quick comparison. Probably not enough in the photo collage to help you guys needing more detail. I wanted to see the difference myself and wanted to share. I love the looks of the mechanism on the new Tenshoto and am wondering if I could easily swap the Marklin shell with the Japanese shell. Looking forward to firing this puppy up!
     
  5. JoeS

    JoeS TrainBoard Member

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    great comparisan photo. I wonder who will be the first to "americanise" one of these...
     
  6. spyder62

    spyder62 TrainBoard Member

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    I just got mine today and all I can say in NICE. I already have Aspen models getting me info on their shells to see if they will fit. They will make a great Nn3 2-8-0 also if the shells will work. Might have to order some in my next order and do one for myself.
    just had two shells here 2 weeks ago but sent them out before these were back in stock.
    rich
    RSLaserKits Contact Us For High Quality Laser Cut Kits For Model Railroaders
     
  7. MANDONY

    MANDONY TrainBoard Member

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    Excuse my lack of knowledge on this matter, why is there so much difference in the prototypes called "Mikado"?
    Is there a historic reason for the naming?
     
  8. rray

    rray Staff Member

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    Mikado is just the name given to the 2-8-2 wheel arrangement, but the size of the loco's with the 2-8-2 arrangement can vary a lot.

    I vaguely remember reading the Mikado arrangement was named from an American locomotive order going to a Japanese customer, so the Japanese were the first to get 2-8-2 locos. I cannot remember if the customer's name was Mikado or what, just that it was named for that Japanese customer.

    Remember that purple/blue model railroading phamplet that circulated 30-40 years ago with all the wheel arrangements in the back? That's the one with the full story in it.

    I do know the 4-8-4 Northern arrangement was named for the first 4-8-4 customer, the Northern Pacific.
     
  9. Raildig

    Raildig TrainBoard Member

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    Here's a bit of interesting reading...

    2-8-2 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    The class name Mikado originates from a group of 2-8-2 locomotives that were built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1897 for the 42 inch (1067mm) gauge Nippon Railway of Japan. In 1885, the Gilbert and Sullivan opera The Mikado premiered, so the name was on the minds of many in America, where the opera achieved great popularity.

    John Cubbin
    Ztrains: Z Scale (1:220) Model Railroading Information
     
  10. TetsuUma

    TetsuUma TrainBoard Member

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    Mikado is an older term for the Japanese emperor. As John and Robert have correctly pointed out, there is a lot of history behind the use of the term for the 2-8-2 wheel arrangement. Keep in mind that there were local or propaganda nicknames for certain wheel arrangements. Example: you didn't call 4-8-4s "Northerns" on railroads in the South and during WWII, they took to calling 2-8-2s "MacArthurs."

    As for the D51 locomotive, it was the most numerous steam locomotive produced in Japan and is probably the most popular and familiar to Japanese non-railfans.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 13, 2010
  11. TechRepJapan

    TechRepJapan Permanently dispatched

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  12. Mark 4 Design

    Mark 4 Design TrainBoard Member

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    Someone who really wanted one.

    It's the market at work.
     
  13. rray

    rray Staff Member

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    And here's the guy, if anyone, who really could make a usable USRA 0-8-0 shell in short order for the Tenshodo Mike.

    We really don't need the extra weight of a cast metal shell, just a lightweight shell that uses the original boiler weight, and tender truck sideframes, made from a machine like Mark Gasson has, and some brass wire detailing.

    Then we cut the frame straight up from behind the rear driver, cut the universal cup and drive shaft back a little with a dremel. This could be a project that takes less than an hour to be ready for painting! ;)


    EDIT: I just looked over Mark's website, and see the equipment he has...

    He has a scanner! Input the Tenshodo Mike without shell, but with the shell weight attached and scan the mechanism to get the inside shell drawings.

    Scan an inexpensive but accurate HO or N Scale USRA 0-8-0 for the outside shell features.

    Scale the HO shell drawings, then weld to the Tenshodo inside, and send to the perfactory machine! I am sure it's not quite as simple as that, but the basic concept means we would not have to wait a year for it to get done, and I would definitely purchase several.
     
  14. Loren

    Loren TrainBoard Supporter

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    How unfortunate the buyer was either not aware of the real value of this loco or he was impatient and thus paid through the nose.
    Reminds me of when the pocket calculator first came out years ago. True of almost any new product nowadays. Another example I saw years ago was a package of MTL flex track sell on ebay for about #72.00 Made me cringe to see that guy throw his money away.
     
  15. rray

    rray Staff Member

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    For some people, it's not about the money, rather about winning! If it makes the other guy loose, and you win, and you are sitting on a few mil in your boring retirement, why not! It's chump change, yet the thrill of the other guy's defeat is more than compensation enough, even if the item is lost in the mail! :D

    For me, it's the total price paid. I had a great win yesterday... a new roll of 3m 467 peel and stick manufactured Sept '09, 24" x 60 yards for $53! I watched it all week at $12, knowing it is worth $350, and will last me 2 years. I lay in wait with $128 bid till the last 10 seconds an POW, I sprung the trap, and I could just see the horror as the sign shop bidder cringes for short changing his last 20 second snipe bid of $52. haha, I Win! :)
     
  16. DPSTRIPE

    DPSTRIPE TrainBoard Supporter

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    There are also a fair number of people (in the US) with an inexplicable fear of ordering from Japan (or Europe, for that matter). On a couple of occaisions, I have actually ordered things from Hobby World and Hobby Search for other people because they wanted a Japanese item, but were too uncomfortable ordering from another country. I have also ordered things from Zund Meer for others. I don't really get it, but, to each his own.

    Dan S.
     
  17. rray

    rray Staff Member

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    It's because of the risk of not getting your item. If you don't get it, big deal, it's just a bit of money, not your life. If you do get the item, then all the better, you start to feel more comfortable about purchasing abroad, and you get some unique items that were otherwise unobtainium.
     
  18. Chris333

    Chris333 TrainBoard Supporter

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    Hey I just got one, but for $106 including shipping.
     
  19. spyder62

    spyder62 TrainBoard Member

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    Rob, What a deal on that tape and I need to order more ggg.Guess best start shopping the Bay.
    rich
     
  20. Loren

    Loren TrainBoard Supporter

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    So Robert, are you a cheetah or a leopard? You crouch in the fork of the tree gazing intently at your unsuspecting pray as it strolls idly by, not realizing it is mere seconds from death.

    You tense every muscle, time your spring perfectly, and land squarely on the back of your pray. It lets out a pitiful cry as it realizes for a split second that your teeth have sunk into the back of its skull.

    Thus ends the life of a smug "I'm gonna capture this baby at the last second and come away smiling" amateur.

    The life and times of Grisly Ray. :eek:)
     

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