Meaning of Mikado

Greenshirt Feb 7, 2003

  1. Greenshirt

    Greenshirt TrainBoard Member

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    Probably a dumb question but I'm new at this. What does the term Mikado mean in relation to steam locomotives? Thanks for your patience.

    Russ
     
  2. slimjim

    slimjim Passed away January 2006 In Memoriam

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    2-8-2
     
  3. Ironhorseman

    Ironhorseman April, 2018 Staff Member In Memoriam

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    The Mikado 2-8-2 wheel configuration was first used in Japan. The translated word "Mikado" means Emperor.

    Ever see the movie "Emporer of the North" starring Earnest Borgnine and Lee Marvin? The locomotive used in that movie was our 2-8-2. :D
     
  4. Maxwell Plant

    Maxwell Plant TrainBoard Member

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    When you say "our" do you mean YOURS! Great movie by the way! [​IMG]
     
  5. rray

    rray Staff Member

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    Mikes are one of my favorites too. I have 7 of these little workhorses for my railroad. :D
     
  6. John797

    John797 TrainBoard Member

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    So, Where can one get some of these little work horses for a fair fee? I have seen new ones go for as little as $200US. Honestly, that is a bit steep for me.

    Also, Are these the Locos, that if you put a pre-heater on, that look totaly aewsome?

    Curious mids want to know ;)
     
  7. Ironhorseman

    Ironhorseman April, 2018 Staff Member In Memoriam

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    Max .. when I referred to the locomotive as "our" .. I ment the railroad that I work for, and engineer that locomotive during the summer months [​IMG]

    John .. I can't answer your question about where you can get a Mike, or how they look with a preheater (never seen one with on).
    You might put a wanted ad in the Yellow pages though. Never know who has what in here to sell. [​IMG]

    Also, I'd like to welcome you to Trainboard. You have joind the finest bunch of people in the hobby and we are glad you decided to be a part of this growing family. [​IMG]
     
  8. John797

    John797 TrainBoard Member

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    Thank You very much Bill. I appreceiate the thought.
     
  9. John797

    John797 TrainBoard Member

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    About the PreHeater, I always thought it was the Mikado that had one on it. Sounds like I don't know for sure. I have seen pictures of what I thought was a Mike with PreHeaters on top of and in front of the boiler. Let me know, if you can, what I'm thinking of. That Engins just reaks of power. :cool: :cool:

    Thanks,
     
  10. rray

    rray Staff Member

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    Oh yeah, the Elesco feedwater heater.
    Here's Erie Lackawanna N1 Class #3040 Sporting one:
    [​IMG]
     
  11. John797

    John797 TrainBoard Member

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    Robert, THANKS. I thought I was lost for a minute. That Loco sure looks like it could get loco. :eek: :eek:

    Sure looks like a brute don't it? :D

    Thanks again,
     
  12. rray

    rray Staff Member

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    I like 'em a lot! [​IMG]
     
  13. John797

    John797 TrainBoard Member

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    BTW, Why would a Mike need a PreHeater? Is it for short runs or something else? I never did understand the need for it.

    ;) Tahnx for the Pic. ;)
     
  14. Ironhorseman

    Ironhorseman April, 2018 Staff Member In Memoriam

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    Out here on the west coast, we did not see many, if any (I have never seen one and I've lived in California all my life) a steam loco with that device on the front. May be something needed for colder locations ? [​IMG]

    Thanks for the pic Robert [​IMG]
     
  15. Johnny Trains

    Johnny Trains Passed away April 29, 2004 In Memoriam

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    The term "MIKES" became popular during WW2 when the railroad men refused to refer to them as "Mikados".

    - that was told to me by my Father-in-law who was not only a railroad buff from childhood, but he was also a Major in the Army Air Corp (ORDNANCE, WRIGHT PAT AFB, DAYTON, OH) during WW2.
     
  16. Catt

    Catt Permanently dispatched

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    If memory serves me right Mikado is not Japanese for emperor (SP) but the loco was actually named for emperor Mikado of Japan.
     
  17. Ironhorseman

    Ironhorseman April, 2018 Staff Member In Memoriam

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    You may be right Catt. But I asked some Japanese tourist last year about that and I was told as I indicated above. Who knows :D
     
  18. yankinoz

    yankinoz TrainBoard Member

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    Ummm, the 127 Million Japanese maybe? ;)

    My understanding is that the word "Mikado" used to be used to refer to the monarch of Japan. It's not a title like King or Emperor. The literal translation is "honorable gate." The modern term is "Tenno" (literally "heavenly sovereign") and the use of the title Emperor was adopted last century in order to clarify Tenno's position to Western nations.

    If you want to know more - there is a good article here:

    http://www.heraldica.org/topics/royalty/japan.htm

    [ 08. February 2003, 04:33: Message edited by: yankinoz ]
     
  19. Ironhorseman

    Ironhorseman April, 2018 Staff Member In Memoriam

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    Thanks for the info Rob. I guess we were all partially right, eh? :D
     
  20. pjb

    pjb E-Mail Bounces

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    The device in question is a feedwater heater of a variety made by the Locomotive Superheater Company (trade name=Elesco). Closed system feadwater heaters , principally made in North America by the Worthington Corporation, were more efiicient and more widely used as we left 1920s. Coffin type was also popular in North America. They use steam to preheat boiler feedwater thus accomplishing : 1) Reduction in energy required to raise boiling point of boiler water; 2) reduce stresses secondary to dumping cold water in hot boiler, and turbulent action associated with water coming directly (cold) from injectors; 3) increase overall efficiency in the boiler cycle. Preheaters are not this type of apparatus , in normal N.A. parlance. They are a low efficiency form of loco energy reclaiming device that antedate superheaters.

    In the somewhat exotic Santa Fe articulated locomotives having a bellows exterior joints linking a firebox half to what appears to be a smokebox front end boiler half, the boiler firetube section is all contained in the sector attached to the firebox. The forward section is a large tubed tank (a/k/a preheater) designed to take energy from the steam generated in the rear section as it passes through to be exhausted by the cylinders. In otherwords it does not contain boiler firetubes carrying hot gasses to directly raise steam to be used in the engines. The engine(s) in a steam locomotive are the apparatus related to and including the wheels which take the steam from the boiler and do the actual work of locomoting.

    Locomotive superheaters, and feedwater heaters (regardless of type) were standard equipment on all mainline locos built for use in N.A. from 1910 or so onward. Many earlier locos were retrofitted with these devices as they were rebuilt. This occurred to virtually all saturated steam locomotives that made it into 1930s. The Elesco type FWH shown on the Erie mike were also hung off front ends and fitted into smoke by cutting out steel cradle atop smokebox area . In the latter case only extreme ends of tube/ bath bundle show on outside.
    Worthington FW Heaters do not have the same shape and are usually, when visible, on fireman's side of boiler. They resemble a series of flattened oval tanks shrouded with sheet metal and having plumbing fittings and a pump device .
    Coffin FWHs were made in shape of 'C' shaped tank and were ocassionally hung on front end (e.g. B&M and CV ) but were commonly fitted to contour of boiler and dropped below top of boiler when fitted to smokebox. They also were mounted immediately in front of cab on hundreds of locomotives. When hung on the outside of smokeboxes frontend these are the most noticeable and distinctive in appearance, and certainly the least aerodynamic of any locomotive front end ever presented .

    By the way , Mikado types were referred to as Mikes , long before WW 2. As Decapods were Decs, etc. It was part of standard parlance. Railroaders generally descriminated between locos using Numbers even when management assigned Classes using letter and number combinations. In the case of an operation like the Santa Fe they had no choice , because their were no letter classes.

    In the case of the Pennsy, they had to refer to the letter/number classes because that company did not consecutively group like classes of steamers in a batch of numbers. In other words they assigned the next vacant number to any loco in a batch of say 350 decapods being built. Thus some numbers would be sequential , and many scattered.

    On the Erie they would have all a given class within a consecutive number block, initially. On a large owner of locomotives that used this , there would be inevitable dislocations caused by gradual scrapping, rebuilding into new classes, accidents, etc. So you could wind up with (especially old) classes of locos having gaps in the numbers. This didn't occur with the Pennsylvania's system of enumerating locos.

    In WW 2 the B&O, and a couple of others decided to rename Mikados as McArthurs in a ill advised burst of patriotism that was not employed by rank and file railroaders -who went on calling them mikes , thinking the whole thing was damn silly. It was, because no one but a brass hat , sitting around with nothing to do , would have been paying attention to the association between the Japs and the loco name. Most people , if they made any association at all would have made it with Gilbert and Sullivan operettas.
    Good-Luck, PJB
     

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