LGB Mikado - # 20872, 21872 and 23872

The first Mikado to hit the markets was the LGB # 20872

LGB 20872 - Courtesy of Only Trains

It was the  A.T. & S.F Santa Fee 3110 in all black with sound. MSRP was Euro 1,499.00 or US$ 1,995.00. Delivery was sometime in 2002.

The archetype was the Mikado class O-1 locomotive. This prototype built between 1916 and 1918 by Baldwin for the Great Northern/ South Dakota RR for freight. It was scrapped in 1953. The Santa Fe RR never used a Mikado on their RR.

For LGB the troubles started right away. Being designed and under pressure and without the decades long experience of Gunter Ruhland (retired 2000) and your Famous Klaus (emigrated to USA in 2001) the design flaws of the first LGB Mikado (generation) were manifold. The cardanic joints consisted of  one star-like brass gear wheel and one plastic pick-up/coupler. This joint was used throughout all of the drive train. And as mentioned in the last blog this plastic pick-up or coupler  was pressed onto the (round) axle. Fine in a light loco. But with the weight of this LGB Mikado the plastic coupler started moving on the axle and any motor power would no longer result in moving the loco. Fans were 'thrilled' looking at a Mikado with a running motor but standing still.

Fun Fact: since Rolf Richter had already advertised that 3 different Mikados would be available for the LGB customer, namely the # 20872, the LGB # 21872 and 23872, all three Mikados were manufactured during the same first time period in late 2001. Thus all three did feature the same malfunction.

LGB 21872 - Courtesy of Only Trains

The archetype for the # 21872 was the L1 Light freight class type Mikado built under the auspices of the USRA, possibly by Baldwin, somewhere between 1917 and 1920. The number '2809' used by LGB might be taken from another Mikado class. PRR itself was supposed to receive 33 L1 Mikados but refused receival.

LGB 23872 - Courtesy of Only Trains

The archetype for the # 23872 was a heavy Mikado class MK9 built by Brooks in 1920 for Union Pacific and was in service from 1920 to 1959. Number 2310 was scrapped.

 LGB customers started sending the Mikado back, either to LGBoA or to LGB Nuernberg/Germany. No repairs would help. The design flaw wouldn't be tackled until the next year. So the market had to sit and endure this flaw. Of the # 20872 about 500 were made in the first run. The PRR Mikado had a run of 649 and the Union Pacific # 23872 roughly 600. That would have qualified  for a 'perfect' small-series-production, limited-edition seal at a decent price. And all three had sound. Perfect for collectors.......if only.

Changes had to be made and the design team had one of their best back on the team, Gerd Zykora. They went to work in early January of 2002 and started on the mismatched plastic coupler/ axle first.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++to be continued