Performance report for the
Kato Mikado
with low profile wheels
The Kato Mikado has deep flanges on the pilot and trailing truck. The tender wheel sets also have flanges that are to deep to run on code 40 Flex Track. Luckily the drivers are acceptable. Micro Engineering states that the maximum depth of the flange can't be over .026" to run on code 40 Flex Track. The Flange on the Mikado drivers is exactly .025" deep. Because the drivers will run on code 40 Flex Track it is only necessary to lower the locomotives pilot and trailing truck as well as the tender wheel sets. N Code 40 lowers all of the necessary wheel sets for $15.00. Add $10.00 if you would like N Code 40 to do the disassembly and re-assembly of the locomotive; call for approval first.
Below are clips from Robert Fogg's e-mails. Robert is a code 40 pioneer who runs 3 Kato Mikados.
February 17, 1999
Hi Pat
A while back you lowered the profile on the pilot and trailing trucks on the Mikado by Kato. You wanted to know how they operated. At the time I tested it I had 16 feet of double track, Micro Engineering code 55 with crossovers, and a siding with code 40 Flex Track that dipped down like the prototype. I used Vinylbed in different sizes to get this effect. I ran the locomotive through the crossovers and into the dip without a problem with the trucks derailing. The only problem I encountered is with the drivers. They are gauged narrow and will bind on the ME guardrails as they go through the switches. Somehow I will have to re-gauge them.
February 21, 1999
Hi Pat
I waited a few days to reply so I could do some more testing of the loco and track. Since I last tested the Mikado, I have added more track. I now have a return loop in Peco code 80 with some Peco #8 insul-frogs. I tried getting the electro-frogs but they were out of stock. Since the loop is hidden I was not worried about the looks of the switches or track. I now have a mixture of code 80, Micro Engineering code 55 switches with Micro Engineering code 55 Flex track, and an 8 foot siding of Micro Engineering code 40 Flex. Including the return loop I have about 80 feet of track to run on. I ran the Mikado through its paces over the completed track. At no time through all the switches or crossovers did I have a derailment of either the pilot or trailing trucks. The narrow drivers did hang up in the ME switches at times. I tried widening the flange gaurds a little on the ME 55 switches. I tried a quick fix on the Mikado drivers, which can be a little tricky. I inserted a small flat blade screwdriver between the bearing block and the driver and gently pried a little bit. I know if you don't watch it you can cause a wobble in the drivers. After a few attempts I checked it with the NMRA gauge and it was within tolerances. It ran much better through the switches with no noticeable damage. I would not recommend this fix to anyone because of the potential damage. I did a little further checking of the ME code 55 switches and I noticed many cars seemed to drop and wobble through them. Tacking a closer look I noticed that the frogs and rails are not aligned in height. This might be part of the problem. I need to file some of the rails to match up. Some of the frog guide rails are a little bowed and can cause a hump as the train goes through. I used their switches as I thought they would cause no problems. I was wrong. These were some of their original switches from a few years back so I don't know if they have corrected the problem or not. I do not have a decoder in the Mikado yet so if it shorts out in the turnout it causes the polarity to reverse. In a decoder loco you would not notice this problem. I can run 1 non decoder loco with the Digitrax system. Over all I am very happy with the pilot wheels. I have noticed one other thing on the Mikado, the tender trucks wheel flanges are deeper than I thought, the blackened wheels hide the fact. They are not as deep as on the Kato diesel locomotives though. They are more on the line of the new Atlas locomotives. I don't notice a bump as they run through the ME code 40 Flex. If you role them over with a little pressure then you can detect a slight bump of the ties. When the N list was more active someone sent an E mail about this conversion so it would work on code 40 Flex and give a much better look. He didn't mention a problem with the tender trucks so I never took a closer look. I believe to do it right you would need to lower the flanges on the tender trucks as well.
Tips and tune ups for the
Kato MikadoGood Electrical contact is the key to smooth performance with any model locomotive. I have noticed that no two Kato Mikados perform the same, some are very smooth right out of the box and some move farther on your finger power than their own power. You can do some simple tests to see if your Mike is making the most of its electrical contact capabilities. Usually the tender does a pretty good job of picking up power but the locomotive falls on its face, so we'll start by testing the locomotive. First you will need to unplug the tender from the engine. Refer to Kato's instructions for replacing the draw bar, steps 1 through 6, to find out how. With the tender removed, place your locomotive on a section of clean, straight, and level track. Your engine should run smooth without stalling. If your locomotive fails the test you need to test each drive wheel to be sure that power is getting from the wheels metal tire to the center hub. The power travels to the center hub through a copper contact strip on the back of the wheel. The contact strip seems to be just a hair short in some cases and doesn’t quite touch the metal tire. Install a pair of contact wires with alligator clips to your throttle or power pack. Clip one of the wires to the tire without touching the contact strip. Clip one lead of a 12v light bulb to the other wire, I use an old light bulb out of a Bachman split frame GP40. Now turn up the power of your throttle about half way and touch the other lead of the light bulb to the bearing of the wheel with the wire clipped to it. If the light bulb comes on there is no problem, if it doesn't light up you'll need to fix the contact problem. Most of the time you can move the contact back and forth with a sewing needle and make connection. If the contact seems to be under the tire's lip you can sometimes pull the contact out from under the lip and gain contact on the outside. If neither of these methods seem to work then you must remove the axle from the mechanism and then remove the wheel from the axle. Once the wheel is free you can remove the bearing and axle hub from the back of the wheel and the brass contact will come free. With a small drill bit in a low speed drill carefully oval out the hole in the center of the brass contact. Bend the arms of the contact in slightly to keep pressure on the tire. Reinstall the contact to the wheel. The oval hole in the contact should allow one arm of the contact to reach the metal tire. Reinstall the hub pressing it firmly into place so that the wheel won't wobble in the bearing. Test the wheel with the test wires you have set up, only this time put the contact of the light bulb on the hub instead of the bearing. Make adjustments as necessary until you have a good connection between the tire and hub. Now put the bearing back onto the hub and install the wheel back to the axle. The wheels need to be Quartered. Quartering is a term used when one wheel is one-quarter turn off of the wheel on the opposite side off the axle. The two axles that don't have the drive rods connected to them can just be eyeballed. If you have to disassemble the drive axles with the rods connected to them than you may have to use a more scientific method for re-quartering them. North West Shortline makes a driver quartering tool for HO scale that may work. I have always had good luck eyeballing even the axles with the drive rods and testing to make sure there are no rough spots as the wheels turn. If I find a tight spot I will eyeball the wheels again and make adjustments until the wheels turn smoothly. Test the locomotive on the straight and level track again. Reinstall the tender once you have the engine running smoothly, again refer to replacing the draw bar page by Kato for instructions. You can improve the tenders pick up ability just by adding a little weight you shouldn't need more than one or two ounces. For every ounce of weight that you add to the tender you can expect to loose about one car from the locomotives pulling ability.
The Kato Mikado drivers are a little tight on gauge as mentioned by Robert Fogg in the above performance report. The North Raleigh Model Railroad Club Articles describe how to widen the gauge as well as many other tips for improving the performance of the Mikado.