Heavy vs. Light

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

What is the difference between a heavy mountain and a light mountain, or a heavy Mike and a light Mike? I am assuming the distinctions are based on locomotive weight. Can someone explain the distinction or point me in the direction of a good resource?

Thanks a bunch,
Jacob

2

Boiler size and type.

3

Jacob,

Broadway Limited (BLI), Athearn, and Trix are your choices. The BLI MIke gives you the most bang for the buck: Nicely detailed, strong puller, and comes with sound. I found my “Light” Mike for $160. (MSRP is $300.)

Tom

4

Try www.steamlocomotive.com is a very informative site on Mikados,Mountains and other locos.

5

Boiler size and wieght are the only differences in most cases but the Pacific also differed in driver size (heavy 80" light 73")

6

USRA steam engine designs are seperated for ‘Light’ rail(under 55,000 lbs axle loading) and 'Heavy(over 55,000 lbs axle loading). In 1918 there were still a lot of railroads with bridges that did not support over 50,000 axle loading. The USRA designs contained engines that could be used across many US main lines…

Jim

7

Jim

Thanks for posting. That’s the 1st good explanation I’ve seen of what the difference was between the light and heavy USRA types. Do you also have info on which designs shared boilers?

yours in steaming
Fred W

8

http://www.steamlocomotive.com/misc/usra.shtml
http://www.bowser-trains.com/holocos/usra_light_pacific/usra_light_pacific.htm
http://www.bowser-trains.com/holocos/usra_mountain/usra_mountain.htm
http://www.bowser-trains.com/holocos/usra_light_mikado/usra_light_mikado.htm
http://www.bowser-trains.com/holocos/n2s/n2s.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USRA_standard