Kato Heavy Mikado. Your thoughts please.

[nickelplate759]

It's P&E (Peoria and Eastern), not P&LE.  P&E 47 was a 4-8-2.

George

[Bobster]

Thank you once again,

As I said in the beginning of this thread this is my first venture into steam.   I failed to notice the driver on the 2nd axle instead of the 3rd.  I didn't see the extra small wheels up front either.   Peoria and Eastern (P&E) is where the family history is as my wife's great grandfather worked for them.  Your patience with me as I learn is appreciated.   

Thank you,
Bobster

[peteski]

The tender also has 3-axle (not 2-axle) trucks. 

[Cajonpassfan]

Hey Bobster, anyone interested in steam engines is all right in my book. We all started somewhere
Otto K.

[loyalton]

At the risk of sending Bobster and anyone else screaming from the room , were any of the NYCS Mikes (USRA or not) painted green body/black smokebox and if so, about when? 4-8-2 #47 up there sure looks to be in that scheme, as do some other type engines. It doesn't seem to be done consistently, but that's just me going by the B&W photos I've come across.

[Chris333]

Since everyone is looking for a reason. Why not make your own NYC subsidiary and make up your own rules. 

[brokemoto]

I'm no NYC expert, but that doesn't look like a light mike, not even a mike

Peoria and Eastern had seventeen 2-8-2s, some of which were converted from 2-8-0s.  Engine #37 was a 2-8-2.   Number 47 was, in fact, a 4-8-2.  I suspect that it used the 4-8-2s for freight, as its passenger service was not much.  It did have some pacifics, which would be more likely candidates for passenger work (although NYCS class K-11 often worked freights).

Peoria and Eastern's steam locomotive numbering system did not conform to that of the rest of the NYCS.   B&A and P&LE's did.  P&LE power tended to 8XXX and 9XXX.   P&E's diesels, however, did conform to NYCS numbering system.

In the 1950s, there was only one passenger train, a daily between Peoria and Indianapolis.   NYCS had two passenger equipped GP-7s to run it.  In fact, if you can find a P&E herald, you can take the B-mann "NYC" GP-7 and make a P&E locomotive out of it.  What you do is erase the road number on the cab.  You put the P&E herald onto the cab.  The road number on P&E GP-7s went on the short hood.  The numbers were in Central Gothic font, but they were larger than your standard NYCS numbers.  I have not checked out this, but, the smallest numbers from an HO sheet might work.  The hard part is the P&E herald.  All of P&E's GP-7s, both freight and passenger, were black with lightning stripes.

[strummer]

I'm no NYC expert, but that doesn't look like a light mike, not even a mike
Main driver/second axle...  Think there's a second set of pony wheels hiding under there?
Otto K.

That's what I think too, although it doesn't look like any NYC Mountain I've seen...

Mark in Oregon

[brokemoto]

it doesn't look like any NYC Mountain I've seen...

A 4-8-2 on the NYCS is a "Mohawk".

Before the 1920s, some of the NYCS subsidiaries had some independence in motive power acquisition.  P&LE lost theirs with the H-8 debacle just before the First World War.  P&E retained its.  Some of its power was rebuilt older power, some of which was its own, some of which came from NYCS.   Technically, P&E was a subsidiary of the Big Four, which was a NYC subsidiary.  Funny, Big Four did not have all that much independence in power acquisition.   

By the 1950s, Boston and Albany, Big Four, Michigan Central, LS&MS existed pretty much only on paper.  P&E and P&LE still had equipment sublettered for it.  P&LE freight power even had its own special color: Pacemaker Green (A-2a and all freight and switcher diesels).   There was one P&LE passenger GP-7 that had its own special paint scheme.

There was considerable shuffling of steam power on the NYCS.   Big Four wound up with many of the LS&MS and MCRR pacifics as well as P&LE's K-5s.  The B&A K-5s went to the P&LE when the J-1 and J-2 showed up there.   The A-2as worked out their last miles on the Big Four, although they did not perform well due to their sitting unused at McKee's Rocks for several years.

[Bobster]

Good evening,

Got four individual .7 ounce weights cut today.  About 19 grams each.  I put 2 in the tender which brings it up to 55 grams(1.9 oz.) total weight including draw bar.  My main concern is that I couldn't come up with any stainless steel.  Thus my weights may be affected by a future layout's uncoupling magnets.   Time will tell but they are re-moveable. 

The picture I've seen generally show P&E steam with 2 digit numbers.   I have seen what I believe are Pacifics on the passenger trains.   I did see one very streamlined steamer with a round front.  The normal P&E GP7 passenger power was 5625.  5624 was the other.  I have seen pictures of NYC F3 or F7 units at Peoria Union Station.  I have a nice side P&E logo than I hope will eventually go on a GP7.

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I'm not worried about not knowing much about steam power.  All the sub variants do tend to add some confusion.  I got this steamer for the fun of it.  Having attended plastic model contests several times and judging them has helped me develop  thicker skin. So I'm not to likely to leave the room screaming.  I could probably tell you more about the various features and variants of the Tiger tank than you would ever want to know. 

I'm doing my best to consider everyone's advice to make this engine a good runner and to learn the why's behind the advice so I can properly apply it.  My exposure to steam has been limited to Rock Island 886/887, a 1 to 1 scale Pacific in Peoria, Il, and running a few laps with a UP Bachmann Prarie.   I really hadn't paid as much attention to the steam power at Spencer on my trips there as I was interested primarily in the E and F units.

All for now,
Bob

[brokemoto]

^^^^^^^^^^That is the herald.  It goes on cab of the GP-7.   Never have I seen one in N scale.

[mmagliaro]

I assume your weights are steel, then?   Well, they probably won't cause trouble.  But why not just use some lead fishing weights?
They are pretty cheap, easy to shape, and non-magnetic.    It's been about 10 years since I actually bought any.  I'm still living off
my stash from when I bought a few bags of them back then.  Do the sporting goods stores no longer sell real lead weights anymore?
(that wouldn't surprise me).
Yes, lead is toxic, but we are talking a very tiny amount of handling here.  Still, if you are the least bit nervous, just
wear latex gloves or wash your hands after you glue them in (I always do after I handle the sheet lead and fishing weights I use).

[Bobster]

Good evening,

The only reason for not using the lead I have is that I can get a few scrap steel pieces sheared to the precise size of the tender interior walls so that they do not move around in the tender.  The reason I ended up with carbon steel is that there were no stainless scraps to be had.....yet.   The carbon steel weighted tender seemed unaffected in a free rolling (detached from the locomotive) test over track with a short magnet under it.  You can see below what the weights look like.  They are 1.930 by .615 by .125 inches.

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Duties around the house the last few days have set my loco wheel cleaning back.   Maybe tomorrow evening for cleaning and test running.

All for now,
Bobster

[mmagliaro]

Ah, I see.  The steel plate is very neat and tidy.
I usually crush those lead sinker weights flat in a vise, and then use an Xacto to cut a neat rectangular piece of lead
out to put in the tender (as opposed to just plunking the awkward egg-shaped thing in there).
Although... I have been known to just put the egg-shaped thing in there too, glued to the center of the floor with a drop of
Walthers Goo.  That is very reliable and never gets brittle, so I've never had one of those weights break loose and start
rolling around in there.

I like your plate.  It is very elegant.

[Bobster]

@mmagliaro,

Thank you for the kind words.   I have some of those "robin's egg" large lead weights too.   I wanted even weight distribution with minimal mess inside the tender just in case I need the space for electronics.   Once I saw the lip around the inside of the tender I knew it had similar dimensions to some scraps.  I grabbed my 6" calipers and wrote down the numbers.   I gave the sketch to a guy at work who trimmed up the scrap metal into 4 useful weights.

Going back to the P&E it seems they liked to run the GP7 units long end forward.  Whoever would like to make a P&E decal in N scale.  There's the pattern so you can be the first to make decals.  P&E freight lasted into the PennCentral era so some PC's might be needed too.  I'll let someone else google that for a decal project.

Got home kind of late tonight.  Got the 30" x 48" layout dug out.  It seems some of the wiring that comes through the pink foam and hooks to the back of the transformer has fallen victim to some terrorist activity.  A Jack Russell terrorist to be specific.   The layout was standing on end with the wires near the floor.  It could have been worse as all the buildings and the transformer had been removed for new track.   Always remember keep the door closed until done.

All for tonight,
Bobster