o scale mikado

I highly doubt the Lionel is scale. More 1:43..   That being said, you need to check whether the MTH 1:48 or 1:43 as well.     

There were light and heavy mikes, (mikados).  Some of the very small ones were part of the East Broad Top Railroad, narrow gauge. 

Weaver Pennsy Mikado.

Another comparison is a Decapod.    The large one is a Pennsy Decapod, small one is the Russian Decapod that MTH has done.

BradA posted:

I highly doubt the Lionel is scale. More 1:43..   That being said, you need to check whether the MTH 1:48 or 1:43 as well.     

Doubtful that the Lionel model is 1/43rd scale; the Lionel Frisco Mikado is the heavy version of the USRA Mikado - they have a larger boiler/firebox than a light USRA Mike like the MTH.

The Lionel Frisco mikado looks like a repaint of the Southern RR Mikado which was not a USRA engine, heavy or light.

Pete

I have 2 of the Williams brass Mikes.  One I converted to a Seaboard Class Q3:

The other I simply repainted (no modifications made) to a Seaboard Class Q1:

Here's both:

Stevenson Preservation Lines carries the large USRA domes I believe, or maybe Precision Scale Corporation.

I will probably replace the domes on the Q1 with some of the larger ones like on the Q3, but that's for a later date.

Both of these have 3-rail drivers and wheels, but have been converted to Battery-Power, Remote-Control.

The original USRA tender (replaced by a Vanderbilt Tender) can be seen on SAL 4-6-0 #653 in the background of the last photo.

Here's drawings of the USRA heavy and light Mikes:

None of the locos mentioned is "1:43"; that is British/French O-scale, model automobiles notwithstanding.

The Lionel "Frisco" (hah) Mikado is, indeed, a model of the Southern Railway Ms-class Mike, specifically the 4501. It is 1:48 scale.The MTH Mike (assuming a Premier loco) is 1:48 scale, as is the brass Samhongsa (Williams) Mike, although, the Williams brass loco's boiler is proportioned (diameter) somewhere between the Light and Heavy versions of the USRA 2-8-2, and the domes are definitely from the Heavy version, but the overall dimensions are 1:48. I think of this model as a Heavy.

The Lionel Ms SOU Mike is the only accurate 3-rail version of the 4501; the others are green-painted USRA Light Mikes. The Lionel tooling is older and lacks the detail and fineness of detail expected these days, but is still a nice representation of the real loco. The Lionel cab always looks too long to me. Still like it. I have one in 4501 Black, as it was when in revenue service.

I have a Lionel #4100 and it's really a great engine. Being a Frisco fan and growing up along the right away, I always wanted one to pull my freights out of Fort Smith, Arkansas to my home town of Monett, Missouri, just like they did many years ago. Its a long steep grade, with many curves and trestles, and a tunnel, all on a single track run up and down. Sounds like a great model railroad.