Northern Pacific (NP) W-5 Mikado Project

[Chris333]

You should send Gregg a link to this and your othe projects just to show him that people still kitbash steam.

[wazzou]

You should send Gregg a link to this and your othe projects just to show him that people still kitbash steam.

If memory serves, Gregg doesn't use the internet.  I know he doesn't use e-mail.

[delamaize]

Max you can let Gregg know their is at least one more NP Nut out there that would love an A-5! 

[mmagliaro]

All:
I don't know if Gregg reads this forum directly, but he is aware of what goes on here.
That's why he contacted me, because he found out I was going to make a W-5.

I don't know what he needs to hear in order to decide to make the kits available.
All I can tell you is, if you think you might want a set of parts, be aware that you will need
the W-3 kit PLUS these added W-5 parts that he has.  They include a new boiler and tender shell,
and some other odds and ends.  And the cost would be at least as much as one of the W-3 kits.
That's all I know.

A quick mention in here that you want one would be sufficient.  At least there would be a running head count
and I'm sure that will get back to Gregg.  He may eventually call me to ask how it's going.

I agreed to make this information public for him, but I really don't want to get involved in
the marketing strategy of Gregg or his business.  That is strictly up to him.

So again, a mention that you would like a kit would be fine, but please, let's not otherwise derail this
thread from the focus of the engine building project.

[mmagliaro]

Max you can let Gregg know their is at least one more NP Nut out there that would love an A-5! 

You mean W-5.   Some NP nut YOU are!   

[wazzou]

All:
I don't know if Gregg reads this forum directly, but he is aware of what goes on here.

I think Andrew Hegstad is his conduit.

[delamaize]

You mean W-5.   Some NP nut YOU are!   

oops, fat finger......although I would take an A-5 kit also

[hegstad1]

I think Andrew Hegstad is his conduit.

Gregg follows the forum but he doesn't contribute.  Why is that Gregg?

[victor miranda]

I suspect he'd get buried in requests

[mmagliaro]

We now move on to the W-5 cab.

There are two sets of cab sides in the W-3 kit. Use the ones with the small rectangular recessions in the panel just ahead of the cab window.
Gregg also sent me a pair of sides, but I cannot see any difference between those and the ones in the W-3 kits I have on hand.

As with the boiler adjustment and placement in the preceding step, getting the cab assembled straight and plumb, and getting it mounted on the boiler straight so the cab rides at the correct height, are the key elements here.   After this installement,
I will get the tender body set and then the whole basic engine will be in place with the correct height and proportions.

I had made a custom-shaped Mikado weight that weighed 20g (vs the stock 10-12g).  Because the GHQ boiler is thicker,
I did have to give up some of my weight and use the Dremel on the inside of the GHQ boiler to get it to fit over what weight
I left in there.  But in the end, I gained a net 10 grams by keeping my weight (as opposed to just discarding it and relying on
the boiler's heft).  So it was worth the work to make the weight fit under there.

As always, I hope the picture captions tell the story.


















After you have checked and checked again, reenforce your cab/boiler joint with 2-part epoxy such as JB Weld, and then let it get thoroughly hard.

I must say, I felt a twinge of excitement when this assembly was together and sitting properly on the frame.
It is starting to look like the NP W-5. 

[timwatson]

Great job as always Max. I love the height tips. Thanks.

[jpwisc]

I have been shopping for a Mikado so use for this conversion. 12 diesels to get off the workbench and then I'm going to follow your tutorial on this one. Thank you!

[mmagliaro]

Thanks, guys! 
And remember, the more vocal interest there is in the W-5 as an offered kit, the more likely it is that Gregg Scott will decide to make the parts available for sale.

At some point through this project, I will ask for a head count (PLEASE do not start chiming in now saying, "I'll take one!").
I want to do it in one organized moment so we can get a count.

[mmagliaro]

We now move to the tender floor/mechanical stoker support, lower firebox sides, trailing truck, and tender shell.

After fiddling with the tender floor casting, and looking at how it fits into the underside of the cab, I started looking at how the side of the casting (with the mechanical stoker) hangs down in relation to the cab, firebox, and rear of the engine.  In the end, I decided to spot the stoker where I think it goes in relation to the rear of the engine and the cab window, rather than butt it up against the rear edge of the firebox casting, the way the GHQ W-3 instructions show.

The reasons for this are that I could easily fill the gap with a small bit of black styrene, and I believe that when the engine is painted, the visual location of the stoker and rear plate that hang down below the cab (relative to the cab window) will be more important than the little gap.










Now, I soldered the firebox sides in place.  (Again, use epoxy if you are nervous about heating and melting the pewter).







The trailing truck:
In my other thread about needing a 45" wheel, I have since discovered that I was in error.  While some NP 2-8-2's had a 45" wheel,
the W-5 has a 42".  The Kato wheel is 38.6".  It is a little small, but I think it will be okay, especially since most of it is hidden.




















Dimensional Sanity Check:

At this point, I checked some key dimensions from the real erecting drawing.  I have a few different drawings, but the best one I have is the one included in a CD produced by Robert Hundman and sold by the NPRHS entitled, "NP Steam Locomotive Erecting Drawings".
I'm showing it here for illustrative purposes, but it is low-resolution and blurred because it is copyrighted.




Tender Shell:

[strummer]

...sure am enjoying this, Max.

You make it easy to see what you've done, and yours are far and away the best step-by-step I've seen yet! Or certainly as good as any...

Mark (also) in Oregon