I for one am all for the Big Boy! I just got a Rivarossi Big Boy and lovin' every minute of it, it pulls great and you dont have to worry about it stalling out on you if it misses a curve. Thanks to the flywheel! I'm thinking about pulling a 100 car train, I'll just take out the current weight and replace it with a new light weight (I'll just cut them into square pieces and put some on top of the trucks inside the body).
Why would you take out the weight that comes factory installed? I almost always try to add weight to most of my steam power. On diesels it can be a little tricky to add weight, but in the steamers I can do it. I might add that I'm in N-Scale.
I think the real question here is who doesn't love the Big Boys? Porky - I think UPBigBoy meant to take the weights out of the rolling stock to make it easier to pull. There are some guys here with that Rivarossi model - what do you guys reckon? Will it pull 100 NMRA weighed cars? If you do lighten the cars - watch out on the curves - the normal weights help keep the train from stringlineing (falling over onto the inside) on curves.
Hey UPBigBoy, I wouldn't be too quick to remove weight from the engine! I have one that runs very smooth like yours does, and also has the rubber or plastic tires on one pair of the drivers. If you put too much load on and the engine stalls, you must very quickly turn off the power!! Those rubber bands prevent the wheels from slipping, so your motor over-heats and will melt the plastic boiler!! I know of a guy who this happened to, and Rivarossi wouldn't replace his engine either! So be carefull. See? It will pull all the cars I have room for, but Rivarossi did not intend to make this engine model to pull 100 cars. When you have a layout huge enough for a train that long, you would need more than one engine anyway. 88 cars is a mile long, you know, and in HO that's around 64 feet. I was ok trying that, until I came to the first curve, (at a club layout), then the cars started falling over, and everybody laughed at me. That is how I learned that real railroads have engines in the middle of long trains as well as at the rear, pushing. The same thing applies to our models, see? The other engines take the strain off enough of the cars to keep the couplers from pulling such a side load that it topples the cars over. You probably already know this with a layout that big, but I am just trying to keep you from being embarassed if other people are around. We all have to learn these things, they sure don't warn us in school! Happy whistle tootin! Post some photos of your new engine, not everyone has seen one of those really big ones! OK?
yankinoz TrainBoard Member Member # 1480 posted 18 May 2001 01:58 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I think the real question here is who doesn't love the Big Boys? Porky - I think UPBigBoy meant to take the weights out of the rolling stock to make it easier to pull. There are some guys here with that Rivarossi model - what do you guys reckon? Will it pull 100 NMRA weighed cars? If you do lighten the cars - watch out on the curves - the normal weights help keep the train from stringlineing (falling over onto the inside) on curves. Yes, that is what I meant, but some people just take advantage of not thinking too well. No offense! However if the rolling stock does intend on jumping the track in a curve, add some more weight til its balanced out.
Oh and Watash, I wasn't thinking of ever taking out the weight in the engine! Only the rolling stock!
I really didn't think you meant the engine, but I was just trying to be a buddy, like we all do here. Post us some photos of your layout, and that new engine!
This has nothing to do with modeling, but I saw on another forum today that REAL BigBoy 4023 has been moved out of Kenefick park in Omaha. So has the Centennial that was parked there. Someone has a short video of it on the net, but I haven't found it yet.
UP Big Boy, I got some news for you and others in the board here. I have a 2-8-8-0 EL-5 by Rivarossi, with the new drive (Model Expo), and crazy enough I haul long trains all the time. So I got a bunch of regular untouched cars with the weights in them from factory. No less and no more. Completely factory. These cars include from various manufactures, like Athearn, MDC "Roundhouse", Bachmann, Life-like, old AHM, Mantua etc... I could go on and on. Anyway I got to thinking that my EL-5, 2-8-8-0 pulls like their isn't anything coupled to it and in fact theres already 40 cars tailing behind it. And it pulls them no sweat! Like its running alone. So I got to thinking and also using precaution in doing so. I got out all I could to run behind it. Normal out of the box weight, I already had 40 cars coupled to it, so I started adding cars in sections of 4 to 5 cars every time I added cars. Each time I added cars I checked to see if the loco would start out smooth and run a lap around my layout. It did each time like a real pro (a real loco) In the end I got to looking at my collection of cars I got out of storage and the pile was real small. I got the pile down to 10 cars that wasn't on track with the Ross EL-5. So I started to count each car that passed me. The first 40 was already coupled to it, so I kept counting and counting here to notice that the caboose was about a cars length from the front of the loco! my layout's main lines cross each other 2 times like an over and under. So I had well over 64 feet of nothing but rolling stock coupled to my loco by itself! The count of cars was 109! I could have added another car to make up the distance between the caboose and the front of the loco making it a squeezing half inch between the end of the train and the begining of it!I thought why would I have to theirs alreay 109 cars on it now so what difference would have one lonly car make! So I left well enough alone. But anyway that EL-5, 2-8-8-0 pulled all those cars and didn't harm a piece on the loco besides needing a lube job afterwards. It never broke a sweat! The motor got to a degree of temperature that is known as "luke warm" and never got hotter than that or colder, it held its own from then on out for a run time of 2 hours! The only place I did catch it slipping was going down grade.. All those cars pushing on it. But going up the other side it went right up no problem not even stall one time. All I have to say is 1 of 2 things. Either I got lucky on buying this one, that Rivarossi threw the mold and all into it. Or God himself blessed that little fellow to run like a champ! Anyway Rivarossi stated alot of times in advertisement that, "Our Big Boy was at one time and still is the best of the Rivarossi line" If that holds true i'm sure you could take that Big Boy of yours and pull 100 plus cars just as I did, but with a larger loco then I had! Just make sure to yourself that it is in fact the Model Expo version with the new motor and flywheel, before you do this task. You might get a surprise if you don't. Also if you do this, please, please keep an eye on it as for heat on the boiler as it runs, also for it slipping at a grade at running speed, slipping down grade is no problem its simply sliding because of the weight of cars its actually trying to hold back from running away. Just don't let it try to slip going up grade it will burn up the armature inside the motor. I can't say I have seen this happen to ANY Model Expo type Rivarossi loco's as of yet, but their is always a first time for everything. DO BE CAREFULL if your loco wasn't blessed by God himself or if Rivarossi didn't throw in the mold to yours! You might be out of a Rivarossi Big Boy thats an expensive "Big Boy's Toy" [ 19 May 2001: Message edited by: 7600EM_1 ]
UnionPacificBigBoy, does your BigBoy look like this one, or does yours have the Graphite silver smokebox? (That is a Norfolk & Western coming up on the outside.)
Watash, I see you have schematics on your control panel--neat. Hey, I finally got a copy of that "mv" file that shows the 4023 being moved in Omaha. How can I make it available for others to copy? If I can't, I'll just send it as an email attachment to anyone who is interested.
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> watash Forum Moderator Member # 982 posted 21 May 2001 10:28 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- UnionPacificBigBoy, does your BigBoy look like this one, or does yours have the Graphite silver smokebox? (That is a Norfolk & Western coming up on the outside.) <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Watash, no it's completely black! But what I've found is that the real engine is painted Graphite/Black. The number on my Big Boy is #4008!
I have #4004 & 4005 Rivarossi's. My dad made one that I think is 4002, but it is still packed away and I'll have to check to see. He made his from the actual blue prints Mr. Prentis send us. (He was Pres. of U.P. at the time) so it is custom made all brass before BRASS imports were even thought of. Dad and I got to ride in the cab from the Cheyenne roundhouse all the way down to the big coaling tower in 1941, and whatever number that engine was is the number dad put on his engine. That was a real thrill, I was 11 at the time.
http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/photos/engineterminals/ks015.shtml Well I couldn't get it but you can look at it from this site, just copy and paste to your web bar.
hello UPBIGBOY: I am also a huge fan of the UP big boy since I saw one in a Walthers 2000 catalog. I have never heard of one or thought about one till Jan. 2000, when I got back into trains. I was leafing thru my friend's Walther's 2000 catalog and saw the Rivarossi big boy and was hooked. I bought one of them plus a Challenger from model expo in Feb. 2000. I got 4010 (which was scrapped) and Challenger 3967 (UP's first excursion challenger in 1953 and was later scrapped) I also recently saw 4012 at Steamtown USA in Scranton,PA. Also a good video series is LAST OF THE GIANTS by PENTREX video. there are 3 volumes, 2 is the best because of the footage of Cheyenne,Wyoming, shops in color and photos. So congrats on the Big boy. Also--WATASH--lucky SOB--got to ride in a BIG BOY--PURE ENVY on my part. also nice looking N&W & UP locomotives in the pix.
Guys, Easy on that "S" word around me!! I have virgin ears you guys on such subjects. It seems to drive me mad sometimes!! Why would anyone or anything want to "S" (Scrap) a loco such as those, I will never know and honestly I don't want to either!!! I just wish they would have saved more of a few that they didn't, and didn't save any period of a certain few!!!! WHAT A SHAME! I guess it goes with times today with the "Rich and Famous". Back then it was "Rich and Shameless" where the railroads were concerned and the so called Brass hats... It should have been said Brass Asses.... They never used there head to perserve any of the last part of the steam era for the history sake of it!!!!!
