Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
lupo, sorry for the delay in answering your question, trying to finish a house by this weekend. I have 1 old Rivarossi #4005 with the deep wheel flanges and the new Digital Rivarossi #4010 with the RP25 wheels. One of the most noticeable things I see when the Trix BB is rolling down the rails is that the number boards in front light up. I think this will clue off anyone who knows this detail and sees it running down the track from any reasonable distance whether it is a Trix or Rivarossi. As you may have noticed, when Rivarossi upgraded their BB they made subtle changes such as the piping on the front and the painting of the smoke box and the fire box. #4010 is more similar to the Trix #4010 than #4005. So other than the obvious with the engine numbers (but these can be changed) I will confine my comparison between the Rivarossi #4010 and the Trix #4013. The linkage on 4013 is finer and has a more tighter look to it than the 4010. The 4013 has brakes between the wheels whereas the 4010 does not. I certainly am no expert on the BB so I can not say with any authority about the wheels on the BB. But both the 4010 and the 4013 have different drive wheels and they appear prototypical. Perhaps someone out there can help out and inform us if there was indeed two different styles of drive wheels. The 4010 has wheels that appear more like spokes with egg shaped holes, and the 4013 wheels have alternating large and small egg shaped holes. Since the Trix is made mostly of metal, they have more piping and different routings for some of these piping. Under and around the cab there is much more detail including glass for the windows. The smoke stack on the 4010 looks more realistic than on the 4013 as they have a thin rim and the 4013 is thick. But I have been unable to locate any photos of the BB from the top without smoke billowing out of the top. So which is the correct dimension, I must bow down to someone who knows more than I. The coupler release on the front of 4010 has a small "U" shaped grab handle and wants to remain in the upright position (I need to glue this someday), 4013 has a longer handle that looks like it would be easier to grab for the brakeman. The superstructure on 4015 shows other details such as finer detail for hinges and doors on the top. The cab on 4010 has 5 rows of rivets running across from side to side, where 4013 has 7 rows and 2 rows running length wise. The end of 4010's cab is open where 4013's cab is covered and has doors and windows. Most of these detail differences are subtle and I know I have missed many of the details The real obvious difference between the two tenders is 4010 lays flat and evenly distributed where 4013 is of finer texture and is humped up at one end. 4010 has large access doors (for water) on the top with running boards where 4013 has small access doors and a riveted deck. Alas, the children are up, the wife is up and wants to go, so I will have to conclude the comparison between the two. I'm sorry if I was a little wordy or gave more detail than you wanted but I did want to try and answer your question about the detail difference. Even now I've notice some other details that I have not mentioned. I know detail can be added or changed on both these BB's but I was attempting to describe out of the box detail. For me, these differences are an asset and not a hindrance because I can have several different BB's and the all look different to some degree. As to your question as to how many cars did the Trix pull? It was last year on an old layout (since removed to get ready for the new bigger and improved layout), I used every car I had that ranged from 35' to 60' and even the MOW's, I pulled 61 cars! It was like watching an N scale train roll on by. I tried this with the Rivarossi but the tender would derail on a turn (gotta add some weight to it someday) and I don't recall right now how many cars I could pull with it. The next layout I hope to have more rolling stock built and purchased by then. Gotta go, the boss is here again.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag

Update Reply

Subscriber & Member Login

Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!

Model Railroader Newsletter See all

Sign up for our FREE e-newsletter and get model railroad news in your inbox!

Subscriber & Member Login

Edit post

Post Body

Tags (Optional)

Subscriber & Member Login

Users Online

Search the Community