An article in the August 1986 Model Railroader triggered this kit-bash. It showed how to make a Northern Pacific W-3 Mikado from a Rivarossi Heavy Mike. This N.P. class mike is my favorite Mikado steam locomotive. While it certainly is not an exact copy, it is close enough to capture the look of N.P.'s big W-3 mike.
(Image changed from original to show caboose, which is discussed on a different thread).
To start the engine kit bash, I disassembled the locomotive. I cut off the sand dome and filled and smoothed the place where it had been. I made a new dome from wood with a dowel for a mandrill. I chucked this in my drill motor and turned it to the correct shape and size. When satisfied with it’s shape I applied a coat of Squadron’s green putty and sanded this smooth. Finally, I glued the new dome in position and used green putty to make a fillet around the base of dome. A turret dome was added just ahead of the cab, as well as two deflectors in front of the cab.
I sliced off some of the boiler walks, where these needed to be moved and re-located them. I removed most of the boiler piping and other unusable details. The head light was removed and replaced with a brass N.P. style headlight, MV lens and L.E.D. headlight. Number boards were made up and added. Brass details such as; power reverse, injectors, cocks, blow offs, cylinder cocks and other equipment added. Air tanks of plastic tubing and brass wire piping was added in the locations the W-3 had them in. The running gear, motor and mechanism are stock. The trailing truck is the original, however modified to look like the W-3’s. The stock Rivarossi pilot was cut off and a commonwealth cast iron pilot installed in it’s stead.
The tender was modified, also. 3 feet were cut out of the water tank to shorten the tender’ length. The coal bunker was raised with Evergreen plastic and a Brakeman’s dog house bu
W meant Mikado in N.P. speak. 3 meant the third design in the series of Mikados used by Northern Pacific. It was the nominclature of Northern Pacific’s locomotive class system. Union Pacific called it’s Northern type locomotives FEF. NYC called it’s Hudson types J, etc…
All Northern Pacific 2-8-2’s were class W something or other starting with the original class W of the early 1900’s. IIRC, the most modern of the NP 2-8-2’s were class W-5 : http://www.catskillarchive.com/rrextra/npr1844.Html.
Notice the difference between the W-3 and W-5. The W-3 has its dual compressors on the fireman’s side and is equipped with a Hodges type trailing truck, while the W-5 has the compressors mounted on the smokebox front, is equipped with a Delta trailing truck and also sports an Elesco bundle type feedwater heater. Additionally, the feedwater pump for the heater is an early version. Later versions of the feedwater pump bore a vague resemblance to a compressor.
Andre - Pedant extraordinaire
P.S. When I was younger, it was my career goal to be the wold’s greatest living authority. Now that I’m retired, I’m content merely to be an annoying know-it-all. I already am a total embarrassment to my kids and am looking forward to embarrassing the bejeezus out of my grandkids. [:D]
WOW! You are embarrassing! You know so much about my loco, you embarrassed me. We’re kidding! Good to see someone who knows more useless stuff than me. Are you an N.P. modeler, or do you just know this much about everything?
I see I am knocking’um off their feet with this thread, too. Three months of spare time building the loco, two hours of writing the post and figuring out how to post a dumb photo and only two people even care to comment! Five hours later, it’s at the bottom of the second page! This is not a rewarding endeavor! Do you think I’ll it try again? You bet!!
Actually, I’m an SP fan. However, I am a veritable cornucopia of useless information.
I really like what you did with the engine. I’m in the middle of "SP"ifying a Spectrum 2-8-0. So far, it’s involved changing out the headlight and bracket, adding SP style number boards by the stack, blowdown mufflers just aft of the firebox, replacing the factory tender with a Vanderbilt (also Spectrum) and adding some other detail. I noticed that the Spectrum doesn’t have pop valves, the generator’s in the wrong place for an SP 2-8-0 and the whistle’s also in the wrong place. The more I do, the more I find to do. Probably time to to draw the line somewhere.
Spectrum’s medium Vanderbilt (oil version) has its topside handrails all wrong, so those have been removed and replaced. When I get all the new parts attached and before painting, maybe I should take a picture and post it.
Mark-- Nice work. I do not have the metaphorical balls to re-work a steamer to match a specific class. Thats why my Spectrum SP 4-8-2 still retains its out of the box details.
DeSchane–VERY nice work–always thought NP sported some very handsome locos, and your kitbash certainly looks like the genuine article. In fact, you’ve given me the impetus to get busy on my BLI CB&Q Heavy Mike to get it looking a little more ‘Burlington’ and a little less USRA. Thanks for the photo, that’s a really fine job!
Tom [bow][bow]
Very nice! I like the NP as an excellent Northwest Railroad and am impressed
by much of their equipment. You’ve captured well the look of the W-3.
Being a GN modeler myself, I am forced to purchase brass in order to
get accurate steam locomotives. There’s really no good starting point in
plastic (except for BLI’s USRA heavy Mike, as an O-3-unfortunately a Lines
East exclusive) due to GN’s predilection for the Belpaire firebox. Thank
Heaven for swap meets!. I digress. Very good work.
I see you got the photo posting figured out! Have much of a problem with it?
Thanks for the pic of the NP Mike and the history lesson. The NYC Mike (in the pic below) was/is my first HO locomotive, so I’m sorta’ partial to 'em. (Actually, my FIRST was a 0-8-0 Rivarossi Yard goat but I ended up returning it to the LHS after 3 days because it stopped running. Exchanged it for the 2-8-2 and have no regrets for doing so.)
Excellent job!! Your are the second person that I know of that has done this kitbash. Are you going to have this beauty at the RPM (railroad prototype modelers) meet in Rosemount, MN on the 26th of Feb? If so I would like to see it up close.
