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Author Topic: Shell of Kato Mikado 2-8-2  (Read 1512 times)

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carmelmodelrr

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Shell of Kato Mikado 2-8-2
« on: July 18, 2021, 07:02:20 PM »
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Although I like to think that I know something about N scale locos, N scale steamers are a decided weak point.  My Kato Mikado 2-8-2 (original) seems to have something stuck in its mechanism--maybe a part of the traction tire.  A local hobby shop recommended taking off the shell to see what, if anything, was stuck in there.  That leaves me with a major problem:  How do I remove the shell?

Thanks, guys.

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JMaurer1

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Re: Shell of Kato Mikado 2-8-2
« Reply #1 on: July 19, 2021, 12:58:40 PM »
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RBrodzinsky

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Re: Shell of Kato Mikado 2-8-2
« Reply #2 on: July 19, 2021, 01:02:51 PM »
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The best instructions I ever found for this were from Bob Ellis Chodroff, ( PowerSteamGuy1790)  Unfortunately, Bob is no longer with us, and the photos from his blog have disappeared.  Luckily, I had an offline copy, so let's see if I can summarize  (photos from PowerSteamGuy1790):

Step ZERO:  If the piping/handrail details are installed, make sure they have been detached from the smoke box before proceeding

First remove the draw bar from the loco. I loosened the gear plate (two screws) to free the draw bar. The rear truck will come loose as well. Replace the rear truck for the time being and re-tighten the two screws holding the gear plate in place.
Be careful not to bend the draw bar. If the draw bar is bent in any manner, the operation of this steam loco will be compromised, as the draw bar is the weak link in the Kato Mikado. It might be wise to have two or three extra draw bars on hand. They can be purchased directly form Kato USA (www.KatoUSA.com) or online.

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Now remove the cab and the piece directly below the cab. This piece slides out easily.

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Lift the boiler shell, starting from the rear.  Be VERY VERY careful when unhooking the shell at the front, as the snap in tabs are very fragile and easy to break off
Remove the smoke box. You have to slightly spread the pistons apart to remove the smoke box. Before you do this, lift the ladders and remove them from the boiler shell. If you spread the pistons too far apart, the entire valve gear will come loose and drop out. So be careful when doing this procedure.

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Remove the side boards and the weight on top of the loco frame. The side boards are each comprised of two pieces and snap off each side of the frame.

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Reassemble in opposite order.


HOWEVER, if you think something is "stuck in the mechanism", you may want to VERY CAREFULLY unscrew the plate that holds the drivers in place and check for debris around these.   Do not dislodge the drivers from the frame, since getting them all back in a quartered properly is a PITA. 

The other thing to check are the piston valves, if the plastic has become misaligned on either side, that can easily jam up the mechanism.
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woodone

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Re: Shell of Kato Mikado 2-8-2
« Reply #3 on: July 19, 2021, 01:04:41 PM »
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Rather than trying to remove the shell why not just remove the bottom gear cover. With this removed you can see all of the drivers and there gears. You should be able  to tell which one is bound up.
I am guessing the drivers will not turn at this point in time.
Removing the shell takes some skill to get it off .
I would look here first. There are only two screws holding the cover. When you remove the cover you will also remove the front pilot truck and the trailing truck plus the draw bar to the tender.
Do you have all the detail parts installed on the loco?
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jargonlet

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Re: Shell of Kato Mikado 2-8-2
« Reply #4 on: July 19, 2021, 01:08:10 PM »
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This is how I’ve taken them apart before.

https://tcsdcc.com/installation/n-scale/1661
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carmelmodelrr

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Re: Shell of Kato Mikado 2-8-2
« Reply #5 on: July 19, 2021, 06:57:48 PM »
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Thank you for all of your instructions.  All of the detail parts are installed on this loco.  I'm going to try removing the wheels first--I know from experience that it's difficult to get them all back properly but I can handle that a lot better than I can removing the shell (based on the above instructions.)  We'll see what happens when I get to this later this week.  Again, thank you for all of your help.

carmelmodelrr
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mmagliaro

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Re: Shell of Kato Mikado 2-8-2
« Reply #6 on: July 19, 2021, 07:33:57 PM »
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Before you even take the gear plate off, how about taking some CLOSE, SHARP photos of each side, and telling us which driver,
exactly, is jammed (will not wiggle at all with tweezers), or which ones if there is more than one. 
There may be something obvious to other viewers that you just don't see.

I agree with general idea that it is very unlikely that the problem is internal.  It's most likely something jammed in the gears, or
a piece of the valve gear that has popped out or stuck somewhere it doesn't belong.
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