I have a couple of Kato Japanese steam locos, a C62 4-6-4 and a D51 2-8-2. Very, very nice. And, Jay, yes! He should get fifty lashes with a wet noodle!
I think a cat o' nine tails would be more like it. Whoever he was, he has greatly stressed and inconvenienced me.
Don't know what you mean by "small", but the MP 2-6-0 and 4-4-0 are very nice small engines with small tenders. I'll agree that they're not Ten-Wheelers, but the B&M had both classes in commuter service out of Boston's North Station into the early 50's.
Here you go, Mike. I got mine yesterday after ordering more than one year ago. My 2nd steam locomotive and first-ever locomotive with sound. Fantastic and totally worth the wait.
Thanks , finally someone with a camera !!! It looks great, If I was a steam guy I would have to have the one with elephant ears. Mike
Those photos are great. Love seeing these on a layout versus the stand alone photo (which is nice) from Athearn. Unfortunately, I am now going to have to do a new PC, which stops the train purchases for a while. Was just about to order one of these when the technology gremlins hit. Good news, I will now have a PC which is capable to use Helicon Focus.
You are right about that. My layout has less than 18" curves, though thankfully some of the scenery somewhat obscures this. The cab swings out quite a distance and I've found a few clearance issues and some track geometry she does not like. Some of that may also be substandard track-laying on my part. Oh well, I simply look at the situation as incentive to expand the layout with broader curves where the Big Boy can roam freely. Worked out just like I planned!
Can anyone tell me how this runs on DC? Does it come with a special controller like the first run? I have heard it does not. I have one from the first run and it requires that I use the special controller.
The new run has a Soundtraxx Tsunami decoder rather than the POS MRC, which had a propensity to melt the tender shell before burning up. The radio control for DC was okay as long as you didn't have another Big Boy or Challenger on the tracks at the same time, then they would all, simultaneously do exactly the same thing when you started using the radio control! Seemed like the reception improved the more Big Boys and Challengers you had on the track at the same time. I don't run DC anymore, but my friend Nate does and he has reported to me that his new Big Boy was a little stiff at first, but runs great on DC with appropriate sounds also. However, to get the full potential of these models, you really need DCC. On mine, I've had to tweak the factory settings a bit to get the kind of sound and operation I find most realistic, and that simply can't be done without DCC. Better get one soon, I hear they're selling fast... Cheers! Bob Gilmore
Yes, they are going fast. Watching the Internet suppliers, I see that approximately 197 have been sold in the last five days. This suggests to me that the much maligned Athearn is producing, high quality N-Scale equipment that we want to buy.
Appears that there are several Big Boys on the ebay for sale ... used and new , anyone care to recomend what NOT to buy ? Specifically this one : N scale Athearn Big Boy 4-8-8-4 (Sound) Excellent condition. http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odk...0.TRC0&_nkw=n+scale+trains+big+boy&_sacat=479
I notice two differences that stick out. 1) The e-bay model has Road Number 4014. However, the just released model has 4012, shown on this video. http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?150379-Video-of-the-new-Athearn-Big-Boy 2) The e-bay is listed as "Vintage", which implies that it is an earlier release. Spookshow's website might list release dates by Road Number. These differences might not be that big a deal. On the other hand you should be aware of them and check out if they're important to your operation.
4012 and 4014 are both new releases as Athearn did 5 numbers in this batch. The latest release has Tsunami decoders while the previous had MRC decoders. Personnaly, I'd stick with the new release, the decoder is better but that's just me... Info on all releases can be found on the Athearn webpage: http://www.athearn.com/Search/Default.aspx?SearchTerm=Big+Boy&CatID=TNLS Brian
Nice lookin locomotive. Glad I dont run steam. Selling the dogs to afford to play with trains is NOT an option...LOL :teeth:
five new UP Big Boys just joined the steam inventory in my district, ready to haul some long freights. And for fun, a streamlined Hudson from the Forty Niner set joined in a desert photo op.
The one that has the description you give above shows the remote for DC operation in the box with the locomotive. That means that it is an older one with the MRC decoder instead of the Soundtraxx Tsunami.
