Diamondhead Mikado Fire Update

For those who saw or heard of my Aristo-Craft Mikado turning into a flaming torch at Diamondhead I can finally give you an update.

After butane overflow from refilling my Mike was ignited by a passing loco and the fire was put out I simply put the Mikado back into its case and left it there until this Tuesday. I never did bother to look at it after the fire because I was not sure that I wanted to see what it looked like or to find out if it still ran.

This was not a minor flare up. The flames encompassed both the loco and the tender and it  took a LONG time for  them to go out. My eyebrows and hair were singed.

OK so it's been over 3 months but by comparison last year I did not run the Mike for almost a year after Diamondhead. Live steam is still just an occasional itch for me to scratch once or twice a year.

A friend has been wanting to see the Mike run so Tuesday I took it out of the box, looked it over (no visible damage at all), put it on the track and fired it up.

It ran every bit as well as ever.

Lewis - you gave us a pretty darn good locomotive for a great price.

Jerry