The Puzzle

[Tjack757]

My wife enjoys jigsaw puzzles and wanted to add her touch to my train room, which I proudly put the on the wall to display.  As I looked at puzzle on the wall, it made me curious, which lead me down a rabbit hole. After a bit of a interweb search I found the artist got their inspiration from the Oregon Coast Historical Railway. I decided to attempt to duplicate the scene in N scale. It appears I will need to modify a Kato USRA 2-8-2 Mikado Heavy to look like a Baldwin Mikado 2-8-2. The fun part is being clueless on steam locomotives, I have learned about steam domes and sand domes forward/reverse.
[ Guests cannot view attachments ] [ Guests cannot view attachments ] [ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[Rossford Yard]

Very nice.

When I started reading the post, I thought you were going to convince her that model railroading is just as fun, as switching is a puzzle of sorts.  I have tried the same reasoning with kids who were familiar with Tetris.  Same thing, right?

[johnb]

oh this is going to be a fun one...you might want to look at some Japanese locos to get smaller drivers, the Kato 2-8-2 has 63" drivers and that is a logging loco, probably using a 44" driver

[Tjack757]

oh this is going to be a fun one...you might want to look at some Japanese locos to get smaller drivers, the Kato 2-8-2 has 63" drivers and that is a logging loco, probably using a 44" driver

Thanks! I did not even look at the drivers.  I was concentrating on the 2-8-2

[wazzou]

Yeah, for a West Coast logging locomotive, built by Baldwin, the #104 is a small one weighing only 73T and it does indeed have 44" Drivers.
It's way, way smaller than a USRA Mike.

[Tjack757]

Yeah, for a West Coast logging locomotive, built by Baldwin, the #104 is a small one weighing only 73T and it does indeed have 44" Drivers.
It's way, way smaller than a USRA Mike.

A Japanese loco as johnb suggested would be a better starting point. Something like a JNR D51 which weighs around 76T.

[nkalanaga]

44 inch drivers?  Same size as the Rio Grande's narrow gauge K28/36/37 2-8-2s.

[Lemosteam]

Might not be too hard to lengthen a Bachmann Connie (2-8-0) boiler and add a trailing truck, mess with domes and headlights, etc.  Not sure what diameter the Connie's drivers are, but proportionally it might look good.



Bachmann trailing truck part:  https://estore.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=70_723&products_id=11179

[Tjack757]

Might not be too hard to lengthen a Bachmann Connie (2-8-0) boiler and add a trailing truck, mess with domes and headlights, etc.  Not sure what diameter the Connie's drivers are, but proportionally it might look good.

That definitely looks like a solution!

[johnb]

the Botchman Connie has 63" drivers, the Athearn Connie has 50"

[Lemosteam]

the Botchman Connie has 63" drivers, the Athearn Connie has 50"

OK still too big, but the Athearn would be nearly impossible to convert to a Mikado due to the rear engine.  Maybe some Japanese prototype model would work.

[Tjack757]

The Rio Grande's narrow gauge K28/36/37 2-8-2 would be the best option, but there are no N scale versions.
So I am going to punt........
I am going to use a Kato D51 chassis which has 50" drivers and attempt to mount a Bachmann Connie boiler and cab on it. I will also use the tender from the Connie.
All I can say is "Hold my beer and watch this...."