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Union Pacific O Scale Premier 2-8-2 USRA Light Mikado Steam Engine w/Proto-Sound 2.0
20-3053-1
List Price:
$699.95
Roadname:
Union Pacific
Scale:
O Scale
Product Type:
Steam Locomotive
Product Line:
Premier
Delivery Status:
Delivered MAR. 2001
Overview
One of the most successful steam engines of all time, the 2-8-2 was produced in the U.S. for 14 years before it was ordered by a U.S. railroad. It earned its nickname "Mikado" (after the popular Gilbert & Sullivan opera set in Japan) in 1897 when Baldwin produced an order for Nippon Railway of Japan, and the name stuck even after American railroads began to use it in 1901. When the United States Railroad Administration (USRA) temporarily centralized the railroads and standardized locomotive design during World War I, the Mikado, or "Mike" as it was often called, made up the bulk of the fleet. The USRA had the American, Baldwin, and Lima plants build 1,856 locomotives representing eight different wheel arrangements to help with heavy wartime traffic; 858 of those were Mikes. These standardized Mikados (625 of a light version and 233 heavy ones) were so successful that the railroads themselves ordered many duplicates of the USRA design after control was returned to the roads. M.T.H. recognizes the importance and success of the USRA's wartime efforts by introducing its most numerous engine to our Premier line. The USRA-designed light Mikado appears in the New York Central, Nickel Plate, and Union Pacific markings.