Made by International Hobby Corp., this model captures the overall proportions and major dimensions of the USRA (United States Railroad Administration) Light 2-8-2 Mikado locomotive. It has scale 63″ drivers with 30″ lead and 42″ trailing truck wheels. The length of the coupled engine and tender is 62 scale feet.
Model construction. This IHC 2-8-2 has a one-piece plastic boiler with a heavy metal weight concealed inside. The boiler is attached to the frame by a long screw passing up through the cylinder saddle, and one in the rear wall of the cab. The cab roof and rear wall are separate pieces. Many of the small details are individually applied.
A four-page, illustrated instruction sheet shows the model’s con-struction with two exploded iso-metric drawings and a parts list.
The can motor and flywheel are hidden within the cab and firebox. An open-sided gearbox is rigidly mounted over the third driving axle on a die-cast metal frame. Plastic top and bottom cover plates include spring details. The blackened metal side rods transfer the motion to the other drivers.
The model has non-sprung spoked drivers, Walschaerts valve gear, and a Hodges trailing truck. Phosphor-bronze pickups collect current from all eight drivers and two wheels on each tender truck. All the drivers have flanges. The second, third, and fourth driver sets can move laterally, helping the model negotiate 18″ radius curves.
The smooth-running chassis has plenty of weight that’s properly balanced over the third driver to deliver excellent traction.
An eight-pin DCC socket and jumper plug is mounted on a printed-circuit (PC) board concealed inside the plastic tender. A plug and eight wires connect the tender to the locomotive to provide directional lighting at both ends. There’s plenty of space to add a DCC decoder as well as a speaker, but the tender frame doesn’t have any sound holes.
The tender rides on rigid-frame Andrews trucks, but the sideframe detailing is rather shallow.
Finish. Our sample 2-8-2 was smoothly painted in the Southern Ry.’s Virginia Green and aluminum paint scheme. The road name, numbers, striping, and tender data are cleanly printed.
The metal valve gear, driver tires, and other wheelsets are chemically blackened.
An IHC Magic-Mate coupler is mounted at the proper height on the tender. However, there’s no provision to add a working coupler on the pilot.
Our sample has a drawbar pull equivalent to 45 HO freight cars on straight and level track.
A happy medium. Some modelers may find this USRA Mikado’s detailing is a bit Spartan, but its overall proportions are correct.
More than 50 railroads bought USRA Mikados (or copies), a fact that makes this model a great choice for further detailing to match your favorite prototype as John Pryke explained in the August 2008 Model Railroader.
This IHC 2-8-2 captures the appearance of its USRA prototype, and its smooth-running mechanism will certainly impress anyone who sees it in action.
Price: $139.98
Manufacturer
International Hobby Corp.
413 E. Allegheny Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19134
www.ihc-hobby.com
Description: Ready-to-run plastic and metal locomotive
Road names: Southern Ry.; Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Atlantic Coast Line; Baltimore & Ohio; Canadian National; Canadian Pacific; Chesapeake & Ohio; Chicago, Burlington & Quincy; Great Northern; Kansas City Southern; New York Central
Blackened metal RP-25 contour wheels (in gauge)
Can motor with flywheel
Coupled wheelbase: 80 feet, requires 11″ turntable
DCC socket with jumper plug
Directional lighting
Drawbar pull: 3.2 ounces
Engine and tender weight: 16.5 ounces (engine alone weighs 12.5 ounces)
IHC Magic-Mate coupler on tender (at correct height)
Minimum radius: 18″
Rigid-frame mechanism
