Aristo Mikado joins the fleet

[DGE-Railroad]

I picked up my first generation live steam White Pass Mikado No73 today.

It hasn't been steamed in two years, so I'm looking forward to firing it up on the rollers soon.
Previous owner has gutted the regulator. Everything else is original. It came with all of the original manuals, tools and accessories, which was nice.

Not sure how much I like the White Pass look but I'm going to leave it as is for the time being to see if it growns on me.

Plans so far are to upgrade the R/C along with an MP3 steam whistle unit and perhaps add a steam line for the water bath.

 

[Greg Elmassian]

There's lots of information on tips for this loco on MyLargeScale.com and LargeScaleCentral.com .... worth reading. Gutting the regulator is one of the standard improvements, it never works well.

Greg

 

[Paul M]

Gutting the regulator is one of the standard improvements, it never works well.

Before the mod, or after?

 

[DGE-Railroad]

Thats how I read it too Paul

Gutting the regulator permenantly solves the fuel blockages that otherwise seem to occur all too easily from what I'd researched.

It seems for most cases it was diagnosed as impurities in the gas. I expect regular maintenance and not skimping on cheap fuel may also help.

I may look at fitting a new tank and reinstall a Roundhouse/Accucraft/other regulator. I can't help thinking an unregulated supply isn't ideal - the regulator is clearly fitted for a reason. I have always turned my Roundhouse supply down nice and low once the burner has warmed, so that its not roaring wasting gas and risking smokebox fires

 

[DGE-Railroad]

Terrible OEM whistle sound improved... Tick!
Whistle test

 

[Paul M]

Thats how I read it too Paul

Gutting the regulator permenantly solves the fuel blockages that otherwise seem to occur all too easily from what I'd researched.

It seems for most cases it was diagnosed as impurities in the gas. I expect regular maintenance and not skimping on cheap fuel may also help.

I may look at fitting a new tank and reinstall a Roundhouse/Accucraft/other regulator. I can't help thinking an unregulated supply isn't ideal - the regulator is clearly fitted for a reason. I have always turned my Roundhouse supply down nice and low once the burner has warmed, so that its not roaring wasting gas and risking smokebox fires

You're probably right about the cheap gas, or at least the varying qualities of Butane. My burner either struggles to light or shoots the flame out of the firebox, depending on the make I use

 

[Greg Elmassian]

Actually, another reason is the tank is not real clean after manufacture, and the first thing that seems to happen is it clogs the regulator. Also even after cleaning the regulator does not work well, so it's almost a universal first modification.

Greg

 

[DGE-Railroad]

Boiler band opinions sought. Yes or no?

I'm also wondering about an oxide red roof?

 

[PhilP]

I would say both, or neither..

 

[DGE-Railroad]

Brilliant...

 

[tac foley]

PD

 

[tac foley]

I love the White Pass look. My not very humble opinion and comment, back when Accucraft produced the East Broad Top Mike for a short while, was that they would have made a better choice making #73. However popular the EBT might be, it can't compete with the vast numbers that arrive in Skagway on every Alaskan cruise ship, who want to ride the WP, making it probably THE world's #1 tourist line of all time. Even painting up the Jackson Sharpe passenger cars in suitable colours would have been an easy switch.

It has always seemed odd to me that although LGB produced the squished-up Alco diesel and a fake Plymouth 25-ton switcher and a three-axled something or other that never ran there, and Bachmann renumbered/re-lettered the Annie and even the Connie as WP, there has never been only one model of a REAL WP loco that even began to look like the real thing - LGB/Aster's limited edition all-metal version from 2002/3, and even THAT was in 1/22.5 scale.

I guess that now is just too late for any manufacturer to get his butt into gear...

And BTW, #73 doesn't have an oxide red cab roof.


Image from David Cannings-Bushell, 2000

I guess that if you took a micro-saw to the Bachmann Connie, changed a few details and ignored its incorrect valve gear and cylinders, you might be happy to convert it to look like this Connie, seen in action back in 2000 - this loco was leased from the Georgetown Loop RR to tide them over while #73 had some work done.


Image by Benoit Poulin, to whom thanks.


Archive image of mine.

 

[Fred2179G]

#73 doesn't have an oxide red cab roof.

Speaking of cabs, the Aristo Mike is 1/29th, It looks really good as a 3' gauge WP #73 - did someone modify the cab? Did Aristo ever produce one as a WP loco? I don't think so.

BTW. There are still a couple of these in Peter K's estate for $599.

 

[DGE-Railroad]

Given Tac's comments (lovely loco by the way Tac!) I don't think you guys are going to like the change I've made..

Fred2179G , Steve Benko has remade the cab and smokebox for his, he's giving it a heavier Canadian look. I have to say, his brasswork is beautiful.

 

[DGE-Railroad]

As for me.. I've been busy changing things

Testing the Oxide roof look (I don't think I like it)
Added some decorative Trackside Details pop valves to replace the black plastic ones, dulled down the plastic
Builders plate, pop valves and oxide roof by Darren Elmslie, on Flickr

I've also tried highlighting and weathering the steam chests and rods a little, painting the bottom of the firebox to add some contrast, and adding a builders plate

Weathering the rods by Darren Elmslie, on Flickr

 

[DGE-Railroad]

A huge thanks to PhilP for incredibly quick service in getting a DC-DC step down voltage regulator to drop the Aristocraft 7.2v battery down for the RX.

Here it is soldered into the Operation switch so that the receiver is switched on along with the main circuitry

DC-DC convertor for RX by Darren Elmslie, on Flickr

General layout shot of the RC conversion in the tender. I'm using the Aristocraft motors rather than replacing them with servos in the loco. To drive them I'm using servo decoder boards which can be seen here at the top of the photo either side of the battery. I have removed the motors and gearboxes, taking the motor output which goes via the two red JST connectors into the black loom wires of the tender/loco connector. (I've used connectors to make removal/testing easier). The RX isn't installed in thie picture

Mp3 sound unit beneath one of the servo boards by Darren Elmslie, on Flickr

Here is a picture of the MP3 module with a custom Mikado whistle sound from Mike at Model Radio Workshop. This plugs into channel 3 of the RX and outputs through the Aristocraft speaker which has been disconnected from the Aristocraft loom.

Mp3 sound unit beneath one of the servo boards by Darren Elmslie, on Flickr

 

[tac foley]

Speaking of cabs, the Aristo Mike is 1/29th, It looks really good as a 3' gauge WP #73 - did someone modify the cab? Did Aristo ever produce one as a WP loco? I don't think so.

BTW. There are still a couple of these in Peter K's estate for $599.

I gave it my fulsome praise - it looks great, IMO.

Somebody modified a LOT of things, including the stack and cab...

No, Aristocraft never produced it as a narrow-gauge loco, only as a standard gauge model in 1/29th scale.

 

[DGE-Railroad]

Video of the regulator test using this setup

Regulator Test

 

[DGE-Railroad]

Thanks Fred2179G , I did try emailing Sam about the Vanderbilt tender Lori still has in fact and which I'd love to acquire, but sadly they aren't interested in selling to the UK or in any form of offer

 

[DGE-Railroad]

Next up, some testing for an electronic water bath for the butane tank. I'm shying away from the more traditional steam line as I'm not confident to do any modifications to the steam fittings.

Instead, I'm trialling an electronic approach which I know another owner has had multiple successes with.

The plan is pretty much this:

A dedicated heating battery powers a 10w wire wound resistor inside the bath.
A normally-closed thermocouple keeps the bath at 25C
A 3A polyfuse (this may need to be 2A?) shuts down the circuit if the current draw gets too high, ie the water bath is empty. Perhaps a better alternative would be a water level detector??