Mobilman, what Andy told you is dead on, I'm in the process of kithbashing a Blueline Heavy Mike into an ATSF version right now. I've already done this on a Bachmann heavy 4-8-2. It's not exact but it's close enough for my railroad. The only problem I'm finding is that both of these engines came originally from Santa Fe with 2 sand domes, whereas the models only have 1 sand dome. I can't locate any sand domes to match the ones like ATSF had. Any suggestions Andy ? After I've finished with the Mike, I would like to modify an Erie built Berkshire into one of the 7 that ATSF bought during the war. (Or was it 8)? Anyway, "HAPPY NEW YEARS" everyone.
Dick
Texas Chief
Mobilman:
Just read your latest post, and I don't know if this is any help or not, but several years ago I purchased a Spectrum USRA Heavy 4-8-2 because I fell in love with the Southern Pacific tender that came with it. Then I realized that most of the SP MT class were not based on USRA's, but built in their own Sacramento shops. What I did was get a whole bunch of SP castings from PSC, start work on the Spectrum boiler, remove the USRA domes, slap on some SP details and kit-bash a kinda/sorta MT-2. It isn't perfect, but I don't feel embarrassed about running it next to my brass MT's at all. It turned out pretty well, if I do say so. So don't get discouraged if your USRA Mike was never owned by the Santa Fe, with some 'cosmetic surgery' you can probably approximate a 'close enough' locomotive. What you might want to do is check with Andy and find out just what will work to approximate an ATSF Mike you'd need to do. I think he'd be the kind of guy that would take the time to help.
No sense saying "Oh, the heck with it" if you've got a good loco that will lend itself to some cosmetics. Beleive me, when I started model railroading back in the Dark Ages, that's what a lot of us had to do to with 'generic' steam loco kits in order to get something relatively authentic.
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
Hi again,
I've reread and made notes on Tom and Andy's comments and recommendations - and I am very thankful for them. I may pick up the detail parts and do minor surgery on the loco - OR - I may just put it up on Ebay next year at Christmas time.
Frankly, I am appalled that BLI would put out a loco that just never existed! This is something that was common many years ago with lower priced items from the bulk producers of MR stuff, but I just would not expect that from a company producing upper mid-level priced locos today!
When I bought the BLI Paragon USRA ATSF Mikado, I "assumed" that the ATSF had several. I should have checked my copy of Worley's "Iron Horses of the Santa Fe" - but of course I did not. Ha, I can guarantee that this will not happen to me again!!!
Mobilman44
ENJOY !
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Thank you Tom and Andy!
I was going to write the SFM&HS (I've been a member for 20 years plus), but I suspected I would get instant expert commentary on this Forum. I also thought about writing Andy direct at Kalmbach, but did not want to interrupt anything.
Andy, I hope you read this reply, for I have wanted to thank you for years for your "Detailing Santa Fe steel cabooses" in 9/91 MR. Inspired by your article, I put together a string of 7 ATSF Cabeese, and have gotten many nice comments about them over the years.
Oh, one more thing...... I and several thousand others (I would bet my RR on this) would love to see a series in MR about the building of your ATSF RR.
Again, thank you both!!!!
Another thing that would make that USRA "Never Was" Santa Fe light Mike look more like an actual Santa Fe locomotive would be to acquire an Elesco 'Bundle'-type feedwater heater. Santa Fe used them fairly extensively on their freight locomotives--especially their Mikes and 2-10-2's, but mounted them below the boiler front on the pilot deck. Cal-Scale offers the Elesco system along with instructions on how to mount the bundle and the pump. That, the numberboards and as Andy suggested, a boiler-tube pilot, should make your Light Mike far less 'generic' and more like a Santa Fe engine (even if Santa Fe never had one). And it would make a neat 'kit-bashing' project.
Andy Sperandeo MODEL RAILROADER Magazine
Mobilman--
I think what you got was a 'generic' USRA light Mike without the details that were added later by specific railroads. Those particular and distinctive Santa Fe numberboards would probably have been added by the railroad after delivery.
Check the Cal-Scale catalogue through Bowser. I think they have brass castings for those numberboards. Also check Precision Scale in Montana, they have a huge number of castings for locomotives, and they'd probably have them in their old Kemtron line. They'll be solid brass castings, so getting them lit would probably be a major undertaking, but at least they'd give your Mike a more Santa Fe appearance.
Hope this helps.
Hi!
Awhile back I bought an HO BLI Paragon light Mikado in ATSF markings (road number 3101). It has wonderful sound, and most of the detail is pretty nice. As I also have the Paragon ATSF 2-10-2, 2-10-4, and 4-8-4, I have similar engines allowing me to make comparisons.
The first thing that hit me was the lack of ATSF style, angled, two side number boards (on top/front) on the loco. BLI put nice ones on the other locos, but not this one. I queried them and got no reply. To me, one of the distinctive identifiers of ATSF steam are these number boards.
So, I figured I would attach my own, but the number boards in my parts bin do not "work". Does anyone know if true ATSF style boards are available???
Also, while on the subject, I have yet to see any more of these ATSF light Mikes in ads or Ebay or written about in this forum. Ha, did I get the only one made???
Thank you all for your input,