DATELINE FEBRUARY 2012: GLACIER PARK MODELS was pleased to announce the arrival of our long awaited "3200" Class "Mikados" of the Southern Pacific ! Our most recent "O" Scale arrivals... Two of the "MK4" Class "Mikes were produced, both with the very common to the S.P.'s freight hogs 57" drivers! Why not check out our web site to see photos of these gorgeous models now! We're Glacier Park Models, P.O. Box 244, Ukiah, California, 95482.

Revised: Monday, May 6, 2013

Engine number 3227 was a "MK-4" Class Mikado. With 57" drivers it's obvious she was built with freight service in mind. She's wears a ''Footboard'' or "switching" pilot indicating she was right at home delivering freight to hometowns across the west.

She's followed by a 120 C-6 tender sitting atop Commonwealth Steel Company Six Wheel Trucks.

Our catalog numbers for this great model were: 3227.1 (Pre 1946) and 3227.2 (Post 1946) - Sold Out...

Engine number 3218 was also of the class "MK-4". She also had ideal layout sized 57 inch drivers. And note that she was equipped with a Worthington BL Feedwater Heater in this view.

Her tender is one of the Espee's signature "Haystack" units sitting atop 4 wheel cast steel trucks.

Our catalog numbers for this great model were: 3218.1 (Pre 1946) and 3218.2 (Post 1946) - Sold Out...

The S.P. had a total of 164 'MK' class Mikados. Though a few of this number were later assimilated during the acquisition of other roads, all of the original order were delivered between the years of 1911 and 1923. These early "Mikes". as they were called, carried 180 pounds of boiler pressure and were rated at 45,240 lbs of tractive effort.

One especially distinctive feature of the early MK2 - MK4 class locos was they were all equipped with the then "Standard for the S.P." - 57 inch drivers. This meant that they could run at the same driver speeds as the lighter consolidations, and later articulated consolidations. (AC's) It also meant they were designed at the outset as freight engines, doomed to live in the shadow of their more glamorous articulated cousins, and the flashy, high drivered Pacific's, Mountains and GS Class Northerns.

So because the large format film cameras and their film were an expense relatively few could afford back in the day, and "those old trains" would be around "forever", only a few photos exist today of these workhorses of the rails.

One of the locomotives we have chosen to model, #3213, was among the first Mikados to arrive on the system. She was built by Baldwin in 1911. The other two engines we have chosen to model, numbers 3218 and 3227, were outshopped by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1913. But all three engines shared the same basic specifications.

As always, these short driver'd "MK4" Class locomotives ranked right up there on our list of personal favorites. Especially those like the ones we chose to replicate this time around. Their short, 57" inch drivers were irresistible! And because of these, they don't look out of place on the type of layout most guys can afford the space for in a home environment.

With detailing and a level of operation only dreamed about a few years ago, these models were created in Lifetime Brass to our specifications by South Korea's Premier Builder of Brass Models, Boo-Rim Precision, for the pleasure of the astute Collector of Fine Hand Crafted Brass Models and the Serious "O" Scale Operator alike !