Larger Engines than Big Boys

[Anonymous]

Great idea---If you haul a lot of coal. I also am designing a locomotive, A passenger diesel known as the DaimlerChrysler MP1. I'm thinking of using an SD40-2 frame for it. You might want to start with a Virginian 2-10-10-2.

[Anonymous]

How 'bout "Power Plant"? However, Officialy it will still be a "Mallet" though.

[Anonymous]

Big Boys have 66in or so drivers which would be appropiate for your model.

[Anonymous]

Ken,
I get hasseled too. ALOT. Whatever you do Don't take this.

J.D. McHenry
Washington Community High School

[Anonymous]

What ever you decide to make your engine, try buying some 1/24 scale auto racing turbochargers; you'd need 'em to produce draught on a prototype 4-10-10-4

[Anonymous]

well, that's not nearly as powerful as a 10,000 horsepower NHRA top fuel dragster. Sure, it cant pull much, but can the PRR Q2 do the quarter mile in 4.50 seconds @ 320 mph?

[Anonymous]

A) try a Garrat sush as a 4-10-2+2-10-4
B) try multiple boilers for any engine larger than a Triplex
C) Juan meant you had the most messages

[Anonymous]

'Yall are right. My DCP1 (Read my other posts) is gettin' into it's begenning stages, and the Hazzard and Southern/McHenry Railway Museum layout may not be appealing to another modeler. Go 4 it! just one suggestion.....Run Coal trains with (and for!) this thing!

[Anonymous]

The aforementioned DCP1 may also be referred to as the MP1. I cant decide Which to name.

[Anonymous]

All this talk and no links? ::sigh::

Here's some helpful info, Ken.

We'll start with the Whyte System of Classification of Locomotives site:
http://home.att.net/~Berliner-Ultrasonics/whytesys.html
Good info here on the different wheel configurations and their histories.

For more info on articulated steam locomotives, including some of the experimental monsters, try here:
http://www.steamlocomotive.com/articulated/

'Course, seeing some photos of these beasts would be nice, and for that, you will want to head here:
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/steam5.html
You'll be happy to know that they even have photos of the 2-8-8-8-2 and 2-10-10-2 at the above site.

More fun articulated photos can be found here:
http://home.att.net/~Berliner-Ultrasonics/rr3.html#articuls

As a final note, from what I've seen the biggest problem with the 2-8-8-8-2 used by both Eire and Viginian wasn't steam loss; rather, it was the inability of the firemen to keep up with the constant need for fuel.

Hope this all helps!

-- Jessica

[Anonymous]

Jessica,
Thanx for the info. I was bewildered about any sites that contained photos of any engine other than diesel. Thanx alot.
Kenneth

[Anonymous]

Try www.uprr.com. You can see photos fron the Union Pacific Railroad Collection, from Big Boys to Centennials. Hey now! Thats an idea! Why not a diesel bigger than a Centennial!

cu later
James

[Anonymous]

You took the thought right out of my head. I was thinking about making a diesel engine larger than that but I chose against it because it is so large that I don't think I could make it fit the curves on my layout...

[Anonymous]

hmmm...you could try three wheelsets, with a joint at the middle over the center truck. I also got inspiration by watching "super semis" at a truck and tractor pull. If that kind of power (4000hp out of a semi truck V-8, four could make 16000hp!) could be put to the rails, I wonder what would happen......

[Anonymous]

YEEEEAAAAAH! Post a picture pleeeeeeeeeeze!

[Anonymous]

I know this ain't a pro help forum but I couldn't help asking, does this Ben kid bug you alot?

[Anonymous]

I agree with Ed...Trains.com, are you reading this?

[Anonymous]

James,
That all depends on which Ben your talking about. The one that was answering is my friend and he was just joking with me. The other one thought he was the lord of the trains and was always telling me stuff wouldn't work. The only reason he did that was because I showed him up in a meeting when he said that there was no engine that was large as a 4-8-8-4. That was when I had first say the big boy and thought I'd test his knowledge. I pulled out the picture and he was furious. So no, ben doesn't bother me.
thanx

[Anonymous]

Ohhhhh.....I see. So one of them's mad at you, and one of them is just jokin'. I get it now.

[Anonymous]

I know it's a wierd one, being metric, but have you looked at "uncommon steam locomotives" at

http://www.skyrocket.de/locomotive/

I came across it the other night and it has some limited info and pics. It ought to get you thinking since it has some of the units mentioned elsewhere in this thread. Have fun being creative!

[Anonymous]

Kenneth,
After much debate I have decided to tell you good luck, and sorry I harrassed you so much before you moved. I like the idea of this new engine, but don't tell anyone I said this!!!

[Anonymous]

Try and beat this! 2 Challenger (UP 4-6-6-4) frames back to back, with a boiler straddled between them! I call this monstrosity "Charger", referring to the fact that the Dodge Charger was a larger musclecar than it's stablemate, the Challenger.

[Anonymous]

James,
I would love to see that done. Gods speed to ya.

[Anonymous]

Hi Kenneth
since you watn to build a model of such a huge steamer you must have a good source for drawings of prototype steam engines. I'm currently thinking of building a Big Boy in G-Scale (!!!). Do you have any hints where I could get some good drawings ??
Thanks for your help.

[Anonymous]

I personally think the Big Boy is big enough. Every time my family and I go up to Cheyenne I can not believe the size of it. However, I have an idea for a unique train design that I think would bother many people, and at the same time revolutionize railroading as we know it. I would like to take a large steam engine such as the Big Boy and restore it with some modern technologies added; with fully computerized steam capabilities using high efficient fuels to create the power and steam. Fuels such as propane, jet fuel, natural gas, methanol, etc. Nevertheless good luck with your design.

[Anonymous]

If you want something bigger than a Centennial, get a Big Blow gas Turbine. Highest HP single locomotives UP ever used,at 8500HP. The smaller 5,000HP units were actually recycled into the U50B.

[Anonymous]

more power to you. to hell with the pureists. build what you want!!!!!!!!!

[vsmith]

Just a little info on the Soviet 4-14-4, an earlier post stated that it failed because they could not find stations large enough. Thats not what I found, it failed becuase the shear lenth of the frame and wheelset -14 non articulated drivers- had an annoying habit of trying to straighten out every curve it met!
BOO to you rivet counters, let the kid have his fun. " IT DOESN'T EXIST! SO YOU CAN'T MODEL IT"...BOOO!!! ever hear of a PROTOTYPE? If the kid is running his own design on his own named RR, Shut up! It happened all the time in reality, if the design was a success it started showing up on other lines. If it failed, it was scrapped and soon forgotten. So let the kid experiment, if he wants to built a 4-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-4 SuperDuperBigBadBoy that 3 feet long, and he has the huevos to try, GO FOR IT!

I was at a model airplane show once upon a time and saw two guys almost go to blows arguing over whos F4 phantom detailing was more perfect true to life. I stopped worrying about rivet counting after that.

[Anonymous]

Well if you want true realism, give up. You dont stand a chance at 100% perfection anyway. Our curves are to tight, our towns are to close together and the sky has a ceiling. Build It! Hobbies are fun and thats the point. Think of J. Lionel Cowen first train it was a cigar box.
I was thinking of doing a bullet train since I use modern equipment. About 7000 HP should do it!

[GDRMCo]

I have plans to build a 0-10-10-0 which I call the Highlander. Its a locomotive built during the diesel revolution and using data gathered from the diesels it hs no lead and trailing trucks so all its weight is on its wheels so it has a very high TE and the drivers are low as in 58in so the boiler can be made larger fo higher TE.