The common "wisdom" is that N-scale is not for serious mod-elers. "N-scale is for guys who play with toy trains." Those days aregone, forever!

GHQ locomotive conversion kits offer N-scalers a significantadvancement over the hurdles traditionally placed before serious mod-elers. Now, for the first time, all the important features of a specificprototype locomotive class are included in one easy package. From"plumbing" to decals, and featuring cast Britannia pewter details thatsurpass brass, everything you need is in this kit. GHQ has even includ-ed plans that show the minutest super-details for the ultra- fastidious!Welcome to this brave new world!

If you are new to locomotive conversion, this is really not asscary as it looks. Follow some simple, common sense rules take yourtime, and soon you will have a model you'll be proud of forever. Sometips:

• Read all the instructions and understand them prior to gluinganything together.

• When working with Kato's Mikado, don't use brute force.Their plastic parts are beautifully formed, so be careful.

1 x Power Reversing Mechanism (#20) 1 x Deflector Plate Sprue (#21)1 x Long Engineer side Air Tank (#22) 1 x Short Fireman side Air Tank (#23)1 x Coffin Feedwater Heater Pump (#24) 2 x Coffin Feedwater Heater Pipes (#25)2 x Westinghouse Compressor / Simple Sand Valve Sprue (#26)2 x Running Gear Retainers (#27) 1 x Valve Gear Hanger Sprue (#28)1 x Cylinder Detail Sprue (#29) 1 x Coffin Heater Plates Sprue (#30)1 x Fireman side Walkway (#31) 1 x Straight Injector Sprue (#52)1 x Generator/Injector Valve Turret Sprue (#32)1 x Bells & Whistles Sprue (#33)1 x Compound Sand Valve / Whistle Sprue (#34)BAGGIEBAGGIE #3:#3: TenderTender PartsParts1 x Doghouse Main Body (#43) 1 x Doghouse Side Sprue (#44)1 x Fireman side Tender Cover (#45) 1 x Engineer side Tender Cover (#46)1 x Stowage Box (#47)1 x Long Water Hatch (#49) 1 x Short Water Hatch (#50)4 x Tender Truck Side Frames (#51)BAGGIEBAGGIE #4#4 (COAL VERSION ONLY) [55-010]1 x Fireman Firebox side (#35) 1 x Engineer Firebox side (#36)1 x Engineer Firebox side w/ Coffin Feedwater Pipes (#37)1 x Coal Bunker Rear board (#42)BAGGIEBAGGIE #4#4 (OIL VERSION ONLY) [55-011]1 x Fireman Firebox side (#38) 1 x Engineer Firebox side (#39)1 x Engineer Firebox side w/ Coffin Feedwater Pipes (#40)1 x Oil Bunker (#41)NotNot inin BaggiesBaggies1 x Boiler (#1) 1 x Tender Shell 1 x #28 Brass Etching 1 x #29 Brass Etching2 x Instruction Sheets 1 x Decal (NP W-3)4 x .022” Brass Wires 3 x .019” Brass Wire4 x .015” Brass Wires

WhichW-3 are you going to model?First, let us state right up front - nothing is "standard"on the NP W-3 Mikado, but there are predominant characteristics.• First Series: NP #1700 - #1749The main visual differences are on the boiler. The sand dome is gener-ally hard against the boiler band over the 2nd driver, placing the domedirectly over the gap between the 1st and 2nd drivers. (However, atleast 1706 in 1956 had this dome to the front.) Because of this domeposition, the

• "Measure twice; cut (or bend) once." Still good advice!• Use CA (cyanoacrylate) glue to cement brass wire, pewter

castings and plastic pieces together. We highly recommend gap fillingHot Stuff. Do not use thin "super" glues.

• Use Testor's Liquid Cement to glue plastic to plastic. Asalways, a little goes a long way!

• Before beginning, get out your favorite form of magnifica-tion. Proper modeling requires great lighting and magnification.

• For those unaccustomed to drilling holes with very fine bits,here's a primer. These bits are very brittle and need to be handled carefully. Insert the bit into the collet of a pin vise so that very little of thetip is protruding. Drilling pewter is not like drilling wood: don't justcrank away until the bit bursts out the other side. Every revolution orthree, back the bit off counter-clockwise. Don't allow the waste to clogthe hole, as friction will break the tip of the bit, not only ruining the bit,but also probably fouling the hole. Drilling out a carbon steel bit isimpossible.

• Bending brass wire is a bit of an art, so here are a fewsecrets. Square corners are most easily formed holding the wire in apair of pliers and bending against a firm surface. A pair of toothed nee

NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD W-3 MIKADOW-3

Top View 1st Series note domes, generator,bell & injectors

Engineer Side View: 1st Series

• Specific FeaturesFeedwater Heaters: The only system used on the W-3 was the Coffin.Some engines in all series had it. In each case installation was thesame. Engineer side steam line and injector were eliminated. Thesmokebox was squared off on the bottom half with wedge shaped fil-lets, steam pipes added here. The main steam return wason the fire-man's side of the smokebox and attached to the injector in a 2 o'clock

position on the boiler between the 1st and 2nd driver. Exhausts wereadded to the steam chest fronts. The Coffin pump was added to thetrailing truck. Firebox side castings with these pipes are included in this kit.Coal and Oil Burners: Coal burners were used on both ends of thesystem. Oil burners were used in forested areas since they didn’t throwcinders.Pilots: During the transition era, all three versions were used. The

3] The 2 shelves protruding straight out from the mechanism frameimmediately below each end of the forward screw must be completelyremoved. Use a Dremel tool, or cut with a pair of side nippers. Usefiles to clean the resulting burrs. If you remove the drivers and siderods, replace them in this order: 2nd set (on drive gear) then 1st & 3rdsets, and finally the rear 4th set. You can lift them slightly and rotatethem one gear tooth at a time until all are properly quartered, thenreplace the pins connecting the rods.4] Compare these photos to the Kato Mechanism: the valve gear isquite different. Some of the plastic valve gear hanger has to be cut offto provide space for the forward Westinghouse Compressor, and themetal pin, currently holding the rear of the plastic hanger is also in the way.

5] Cut the plastic valvegear hanger as indicatedby the arrows in dia-grams, taking cares toleave plastic completelyaround the slot for thepivot arm (shiny silvermetal piece) in which toride. Remove the rear of the plastic piece by prying itstraight sideways away from the mechanism.

6] Now there’s a metal pin sticking out of the mechanism. It has togo! Remove it. You can simply snip it off using flush edge nippers, orgrind it off using a Dremel cut-off wheel (which will require removalof the drivers). In either case, touch up the silver “scar” with black

paint to avoid a shiny mark under the compressor. 7] The plastic valve gear hanger is now really whippy, sothis kit provides a pair of running gear retainers. Glue

them up against the frame at the front of the #2 driverposition, aligned so that the plastic pin connecting thevalve gear hanger goes into the hole in the newpewter piece.

8] Test fit the pewter valve gear hang-ers (a sprued part resembling a trian-gle surmounted by an arm) onto the remaining plasticvalve gear hanger, abutting the forward edge of the

pewter piece against the vertical plastic. The two mounting pins on theplastic piece go above and below the horizontal plastic “slot” for thepivot arm. Note that there is a left and right cast-ing, and that the arm should leave the triangle hor-izontally and pointing to the rear. Bolt headshould be over the pivot point on the valve gearpivot arm. Consult photos, and then glue.9] Repeat valve gear modification on the other side.10] Pull the lead coupler straight forward. Set it aside.11] Scribe a line square across the deck using therivets as a guide. Slice through the pilot deck,removing the pilot. During this cut, the lead cou-pler plate will pop off, which is fine. See drawing.12] Trim both sides off of the pilot deck as deep asthe main frame under the deck. See drawing. Theremaining frame should be square and as wide as themounting frame on the rear of the pewter pilot beam.13] Pick a pilot. Glue the pewter pilot beam ontothe plastic mechanism frame with CA cement. 14] Glue the metal dummy coupler into the pock-et of the pilot.

Engineer Side View2nd & 3rd Series

Coal Burningw/ Coffin Feedwater Heaternote pump added to trailing truck &deletion of water pipe on the right

side atop boiler

w/ extra # boards near stackw/ short smoke stack

cab roof hatches openedshort water hatch on tender

Pilot deck: plan view

Remove front edge

remove both sides

modified pilot deck

Top View2nd & 3rd Seriesnote domes, generator

& bell, main injectorlocation atop boiler.

Steam Chest extendersvisible protruding from

front of steam chestbehind the pilot beam

cut rear of valve gear here

Remove piece to here

Pivot Arm

running gear retainer

valve gear hanger

bolt head

Plan ViewFront

CutHere

RemoveShaded area

Fireman side viewrunning

gearretainer

Shaded areais mechanism

clean them carefully, removing any “drill vents.” Set other pair aside.27] Pick the firebox sides (engineer’s side with or without the Coffinfeedwater pipes) you wish to use. Set other fire box casting aside. 28] Glue the engineer side fire box side onto the boiler. It is marked onthe interior side with the letter “E.” The forward end will fit very nice-ly onto the recessed area below the walkway, and the notch at the topwill fit over the protruding lower edge of the cab front wall. 29] Glue the fireman side firebox side in place. The notch is smaller,but mirror the procedure used for the engineer side above.30] Glue the cab windows into the recesses on the interior of the cabwalls. The two tabs on the exterior of the windows should be towardthe rear: they will hold the brass etched wing windows.31] Gather the cab parts: two sides, floor, and roof. Test fit themtogether before gluing! Some filing may be necessary for a perfect fit.Once all are aligned properly, glue to the boiler in this order: cabwalls, floor, then roof. Work quickly so the glue hasn’t a chance to setcompletely until all are aligned perfectly. Allow to dry.32] Test fit the longer engineer side air tank under the lip of the boiler,aligning the notches and locating peg. Drill a hole in the forward endfor the etched pipe to seat, and, optionally, one in the center of the rearof the tank for the wire to the front of the base of the cab shown atright. Glue tank to boiler. 33] Test fit the fireman side air tank. It is a flat relief casting .34”(5/16”) long with a mounting tab projecting from the top edge. Test fitas far forward in the notch on the interior under side on the boiler,5/16” behind the fireman side steam pipe. Glue.34] Once cured, test fit boiler/cab sub assembly on mechanism. Ifprobably will not fit without scraping away some of the pewter fromthe interior, particularly the firebox walls and air tanks. Also check the

42] The facetted elbows are the feedwater heater pipes (drawing at farright above). The larger flat face should be glued onto the front face ofthe steam chest (on the mechanism), nestled so that it is tangent to bothfront circles and sticking straight up. Test fit the boiler on the mecha-nism: if the feedwater heater pipes are too tall, trim them to fit.43] Using the photos as a guide, add the plumbing for the Coffin. Theengineer side cold water pipe was described above (see Step #40) Thepipe delivering the heated water from the fireman side is illustrated inthe photo at left. Install one water pipe into the firebox side of theinjector valve turret only (no pipe on engineer side of valve turret).44] The Coffin feedwater pump is the 7/8” long pipe with the fittingson one end. It is glued to the engineer side of the trailing truck, fittingsto the front, by inserting the two tabs into notches in the plastic truckframe. Wire details can be added to improve appearance at the cost ofadded fragility.

back bottom of the smokebox front. A Dremel tool can be used, butwork gingerly. You can also scrape manually with a #11 blade. Analternate route would be to note the areas that bind, and file the exteriorof the Kato mechanism. If you choose this option, GHQ heartily rec-ommends that you completely disassemble the mechanism first, so thatno filings find their way into the motor windings or gear assembly.

DETAILING THE BOILER35] It is best to pre drill all of the holes in the boiler prior to

adding more details. Using a #77 (.018") bit, drill all of the dimples forthe handrail stanchions. There are seven on each side of the boiler.36] Use a #71 (.026") bit for the holes for the bell, whistle , and generator. Check photos for locations on the series of W-3 you are modeling.Choose your favorite location, and drill holes. 37] If you plan to mount the diagonal auxiliary number boards aheadof the stack, drill #71 (.026") holes now.38] Drill holes for the injector / injectors. Locationswill vary depending on series and if a Coffin feed-water heater is being installed. Placement will beatop boiler behind the sand dome (series 2&3), oron the sides (series 1), or one of each (coffin)! Re-read the text above describing your options, andstudy the photos.39] Run the sandlines down from the sand dome.The exact locations varied from engine to engine.This kit offers two different styles of sand reliefvalves, a simple version sprued with theWestinghouse Compressors, and a more steppedversion sprued with the whistle. Consult photos,

injectorsfeedwater pipe

heater plate

heater pipe

single pipe on fireman side only

2nd & 3rd Series with Coffin

Page3

the rear of the pilot beam.57] Test fit the front walkway steps (sprued along with the headlights)at the front the of the main walkways beside the smokebox face. Thetab at the top fits in the notch on the underside of the boiler walkway.Supports can be added now. Drill holes prior to gluing. Consult pho-tos.58] Drill holes in the dimples in front & behind cab windows forawning braces. Make a “U” shaped staple to support the outer edge ofthe awning. Glue awnings over cab windows59] The two small frames on the brass etching are for the tunnel ser-vice cabsides: if interested, mount them centered on the cabsidesbelow the windows.60] Glue the other details into holes drilled in boiler. These willinclude the bell, generator, whistle, optional diagonal number boards Extra "plumbing" can be added now. Drill holes prior to gluing.Consult photos.61] Examine the etching. There are 3 sets of coiled pipes. The verylong one is for the engineer side of the boiler. Trim the shorter coiled“plumbing” piece located at the center of the etching kit. It is the for-ward fireman side piping, with the descending tail pipe which mountsinto the side of the forward Westinghouse compressor. Drill two #71(.026") holes up through the walkway edge so that the etched piece willdescend from the walkway and the long pipe touches the compressor.Bend the lower short pipe straight back toward the boiler. Insert intoholes, and glue. Trim excess supports off above the walkway after theglue has cured using a pair of flush edge nippers.62] Trim the remaining short coiled “plumbing” piece located at thelower left hand corner of the etching kit. It is the rear piping, with twopipes pointing forward. Drill two #71 (.026") holes up through the

75] Remove tender shell from frame.If you plan to add wire details to the tender rear footstep beam, do so now.

DETAILING THE TENDER SHELL76] (Coal Version Only): Test fit the tender coal box rear

board: it slides straight down into the slots at the rear of the coalbunker, with the small tab on the tender deck to the rear of the rearboard casting. Glue in place.77] (Oil Version Only): Test fit the tender oil bunker onto the shell: itslides straight down into the slots at the rear of the coal bunker area,with the small tab on the tender deck to the rear of the rear board cast-ing. Glue in place.78] Choose a tender water hatch: the shorter, two door variety wasmost common. The longer 3 door version appeared on some tenders.If the 3 door hatch is used, the rear headlight will not fit. Glue the cho-sen hatch into the mounting holes, hinges pointing forward.79] Glue the tool box against the interior edge of the fireman side ten-der wall, on the deck, immediately behind the coal or oil bunker.80] Assemble the doghouse: The sprued walls are marked “L,” “R,”and “F” for front, which points to the rear! Glue on the tender deck

abutting the center of therear face of the bunker,adjacent to the toolbox.81] Some W-3s carrieda rear headlight mount-ed on the tender deck atthe fireman side rearcorner. Glue in place.

82] The brass etching has 4 hand-grabs, these can be mounted horizon-tally on the rear of the tender asshown at right. Mark, drill and gluethem in place.83] Examine the tender ladder etch-ing. The tall upper arm should be onthe fireman side, and must be bentover in a 180o sweep to touch the ten-der deck. The lower two legs willtouch the tender frame floor, trim lad-der to fit. The two tabs projectingoutward must be folded 90o back.Test fit prepared ladder, mark centerand drill holes for the two tabs, and glue in place. 84] Glue the two tender “covers” into the large square niches on eitherside of the front of the tender at the top. Note these pieces look likeclipped corners and are marked “E” & “F” for engineer & fireman side.When properly positioned on the appropriate side, the top will slope

down from the centertoward the outsides. Glue.Each corner of the tenderhas a full height handrail.Add if desired.85] Place tender shell onframe, replace screws.86] Reconnect tender tolocomotive.

walkway edge so that the etched piece will descend from the walkway,positioned as shown in the photo bottom left, p. 3. Bend the uppershort pipe straight back under the boiler, the lower pipe will touch therear side of the rear Westinghouse compressor. Insert into holes, andglue. Using a pair of flush edge nippers, trim excess supports off abovethe walkway after the glue has cured. 63] Test fit the long brass etched pipe assembly on the engineer side ofthe boiler (found across the entire top of the etching kit). When view-ing the etching with the writing “right-side up”, this long piece is“upside down.” Note that there are two descending pegs which shouldline up with the bands on the long air tank. Bend these two pegstoward the boiler.

Place the etched piping in place, aligning the cylinder bands &pegs. Mark and drill clearance holes up through the walkways using a#71 (.026") bit and insert the tabs until the upper pipe abuts the under-side of the walkway.

Mark and drill holes in the bands of the cylinder to accept thebent pegs.64] Prior to gluing the Engineer side piping in place, bend as describedbelow:•Bend leading 1/8" of top pipe 90o inward toward boiler.•Bend leading 1/8" of top two pipes 5/8” from the front 90o inwardtoward boiler.•Bend trailing end of rear pipes 90o inward toward firebox side wall.Once all looks good, glue in place, and then use a flush edge nipper totrim the excess tab. Gap filling glue will seal the holes. 65] Glue brass etched wing windows into the notched tabs on the win-dow castings on either side of cab.

toolboxback here

Tender Rear

tender“cover”