MTH 20-3837-1 - 2-8-2 USRA Light Mikado Steam Engine "Maine Central" w/ PS3 #626

• Road Name: Maine Central
• Road Number: 626
• Product Line: Premier
• Scale: O Scale

Features:

• Intricately Detailed, Die-Cast Boiler and Chassis
• Intricately Detailed, Die-Cast Tender Body
• Authentic Paint Scheme
• Real Tender Coal Load
• Die-Cast Locomotive Trucks
• Handpainted Engineer and Fireman Figures
• Metal Handrails, Whiste and Bell
• Metal Wheels and Axles
• Remote Controlled Proto-Coupler
• O Scale Kadee-Compatible Coupler Mounting Pads
• Prototypical Rule 17 Lighting
• Constant Voltage LED Headlight
• Operating LED Firebox Glow
• Operating LED Marker Lights
• Lighted LED Cab Interior
• Operating Tender LED Back-up Light
• Powerful Precision Flywheel-Equipped Motor
• Synchronized Puffing ProtoSmoke System
• Steaming Quillable Whistle
• Locomotive Speed Control In Scale MPH Increments
• Wireless Drawbar
• 1:48 Scale Dimensions
• Onboard DCC/DCS Decoder
• Proto-Scale 3-2 3-Rail/2-Rail Conversion Capable
• Proto-Sound 3.0 With The Digital Command System Featuring Quillable Whistle With Freight Yard Proto-Effects
• Unit Measures: 21” x 2 5/8” x 3 11/16”
• Operates On O-42 Curves Steam DCC Features
• F0 Head/Tail light
• F1 Bell
• F2 Horn
• F3 Start-up/Shut-down
• F4 PFA
• F5 Lights (except head/tail)
• F6 Master Volume
• F7 Front Coupler
• F8 Rear Coupler
• F9 Forward Signal
• F10 Reverse Signal
• F11 Grade Crossing
• F12 Smoke On/Off
• F13 Smoke Volume
• F14 Idle Sequence 3
• F15 Idle Sequence 2
• F16 Idle Sequence 1
• F17 Extended Start-up
• F18 Extended Shut-down
• F19 Labor Chuff
• F20 Drift Chuff
• F21 One Shot Doppler
• F22 Coupler Slack
• F23 Coupler Close
• F24 Single Horn Blast
• F25 Engine Sounds
• F26 Brake Sounds
• F27 Cab Chatter
• F28 Feature Reset

Overview:

During World War I, Uncle Sam nationalized the railroads when they proved unequal to the task of moving massive amounts of men and material for the war effort. The agency that ran the trains was the United States Railroad Administration, or USRA, and one of its chief accomplishments was the creation of 12 steam engine designs that lasted for decades. According to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, USRA locomotives were "the first successful standardization of American motive power" - and the only standard designs until the diesel era.

The most popular of the USRA designs was the 2-8-2 Mikado, which was heavy main line steam power in the World War I era. The very first USRA engine built was Baltimore & Ohio #4500, a light Mikado that is preserved today in the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore, MD. At the direction of Baldwin Locomotive Works Senior VP Samuel Vauclain, #4500 was constructed in a record 20 days so Baldwin would have the honor of delivering the first USRA locomotive on July 4, 1918.

The USRA designs were modern but conservative. They incorporated the best practices of their day, but broke little new ground. After the war, the basic designs were used by railroads across the nation, and about one-quarter of the Mikados built in the United States were either of USRA designs or descendants of those designs. While Mikados were generally relegated to lesser duties as heavier power arrived in succeeding decades, many USRA Mikes outlasted later, more modern steam engines because they were relatively simple and durable.

Constructed with dozens of added-on detail parts, the USRA Mikado returns to the Premier line in new road names and numbers for the first time since 2016. While other manufacturers have offered fine models of this classic engine, we believe none matches the detail level, sound quality, slow speed performance, and synchronized puffing smoke of this MTH Premier model.