did I waist my money

[Anonymous]

I purchased a Rivarossi HO Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 Big Boy w/Tender #4005. I hear that it is junk if it is older then 15 years old....

[TurboOne]

[#welcome] ineednot, didn't see your name on profile. Glad you found the forum. Do you like the engine. Does it run. My [2c] is if it makes you happy, it was not a waste of money. If you are not happy with it, return it. There all always more expensive engines, and cheaper engines. But everyone has their own ideas as to what they like. Make yourself happy and enjoy the hobby. I have a blast with any engine. I just like trains. [:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]

Again, glad you stopped by the forum. Enjoy, and ask questions. [:D]

Tim

[simon1966]

Is yours older than 15 years?

I have one that is about 5 years old and have had good success with it. I think the older ones have much deeper flanges on the wheels compared to the later version and would not be able to run on anything but code 100 track. I'm not sure what else is supposed to be different. A couple of things to watch out for; the front 4-8 section can drop down too far when the locomotive is lifted off the track and not re-seat properly, there is a plastic post that has to fit up into the body and this can get out of place and cause bad tracking. easy to put back in place. The tender wheelsets have a lot of lateral play (presumably to allow sharper curves) and in my case the leading wheelset of the tender can fall out if not careful.

[Anonymous]

Some of the earlier runs were problematic, electrical problems, insufficient pick-ups.
The newer Allegheny & the FEF-3 so far have been problem free for me.

Getting a Rivarossi serviced is a problem since there is no authorized Riv repair center
in the US. Some LHS may attempt servicing providing they have or can get parts.

[Anonymous]

Thank 's to all who have replied so far. It seems that I may have purchased a model that was made in the 60's . It is suppossed to be never run ion a track and come in a acrilic case. I talked to Walthers and was told that there wasn't any standards at that time. Technology wasn't in place and I should look for the newer pieces. He said if it will sit and look pretty than you should be okay. LOL..... I paid mid 180's for it. I didn't think I could get it for less than $275 . I have seen them in the mid $300's and the newer ones up in the $600s.....Does anyone know a good source for getting manuals on the old loco's?......

[cacole]

Rivarossi declared bankruptcy. They were bought by Lima of Italy, which also went under, and has now been purchased by Hornby of England. Whether Rivarossi products will continue to be sold in the U.S. is unknown, because Hornby is supposedly in the process of moving assembly from Italy to China, and they haven't publicly made any announcement that I am aware of concerning the continued availability of Rivarossi products.

If you have the original Rivarossi Big Boy, the main problem with them seemed to be the size of the wheel flanges, which are too big to go through an Atlas turnout. If you really want to use this engine, you're going to need Peco turnouts on your layout.

As far as getting parts for this old a product, you might be able to find a dealer who has leftover parts, but that is going to be a real challenge.

[Anonymous]

I am so greatfull these forums are available....What I seem to see the most negative issue was the motor....I did run across this link to address that issue. http://www.steamlocomotive.com/model/remotoringbigboy.shtml So far I have no layout. My father-in-law has a small one. Not sure about the track being .100 . I will definetly keep the flags in mind when track pieces are considered. How would one know what type of track one would have.? Is it marked on the track anywhere?

[Anonymous]

www.golfmanorhobbies.com of Cinn Oh, 1-513-351-3849 could?? be of some help
since they do Riv repairs for a fee.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have the book or manual from the 1960's that shows the mechanics of the Rivarossi HO Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 Big Boy w/Tender #4005