Bergie wrote: Smoke wrote: rrinker wrote: Great, yet ANOTHER Big Boy. OK, since BLI/PCM already did it they can easily strip some details and make a Blue Line version, but still... I don't understand why everyone wants one of these. There have been more variations made then there were actual locomotives. They are too big for the typical smaller home layout, and only one railroad owned them. Oh well. --RandyHow many [swear word removed my Bergie ] Big boys do we need??!!! Why do they keep producing these????!!! Don't they realize sooner or later people are gonna stop buying them???!!! This has better be the last big boy. We need to start seeing different locos other than the big boy!!!!!! Why must we continue to use swear words to get our point across? Please read our rules: http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/974532/ShowPost.aspx Bergie
Smoke wrote: rrinker wrote: Great, yet ANOTHER Big Boy. OK, since BLI/PCM already did it they can easily strip some details and make a Blue Line version, but still... I don't understand why everyone wants one of these. There have been more variations made then there were actual locomotives. They are too big for the typical smaller home layout, and only one railroad owned them. Oh well. --RandyHow many [swear word removed my Bergie ] Big boys do we need??!!! Why do they keep producing these????!!! Don't they realize sooner or later people are gonna stop buying them???!!! This has better be the last big boy. We need to start seeing different locos other than the big boy!!!!!!
rrinker wrote: Great, yet ANOTHER Big Boy. OK, since BLI/PCM already did it they can easily strip some details and make a Blue Line version, but still... I don't understand why everyone wants one of these. There have been more variations made then there were actual locomotives. They are too big for the typical smaller home layout, and only one railroad owned them. Oh well. --Randy
Great, yet ANOTHER Big Boy. OK, since BLI/PCM already did it they can easily strip some details and make a Blue Line version, but still...
I don't understand why everyone wants one of these. There have been more variations made then there were actual locomotives. They are too big for the typical smaller home layout, and only one railroad owned them. Oh well.
--Randy
How many [swear word removed my Bergie ] Big boys do we need??!!! Why do they keep producing these????!!! Don't they realize sooner or later people are gonna stop buying them???!!! This has better be the last big boy. We need to start seeing different locos other than the big boy!!!!!!
Why must we continue to use swear words to get our point across?
Please read our rules: http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/974532/ShowPost.aspx
Bergie
oops! didn't mean to break the forum rules.
-Smoke
VAPEURCHAPELON, would you have time to post PIC of the engines you listed? As far as why I like them, they are big and to me look powerful. Funny you like the trim on the wheels and walk ways, my self I don't. Latter when I detail my BLI Hudson I will be removing the white trim.
As far as the Real Life Big Boy, it made 3000 HP. Is that not about what current engines make?
Have you ever had a chances to see one in person? I am lucky and happen to live with in 40 miles of UP 4006. Few in person PIC.
May be I am just a little nutty but when I was in the enginer seat and had my hand on the thottle I could all most still feel the power of the sleeping giant.
This engine was all so there. Under cover it looks big, well it is. But the Big Boy made it look like a 13 year old teenager.
By the way LHS is taking back my Spectum and giving me a driffrent one. Crossing my finguers on the next one.
Simmon, hope to make it over some day. How do you like yours, pull well?
Big Boy Ken Posting Again
I hate Rust
VAPEURCHAPELON wrote: Mastiffdog wrote: If you like big steam locos, Big Boys are pretty cool. Not correct: I like big steam locos. But I do NOT like UP Challengers and Big Boys because they have nothing special in appearance to make them beautyful. No white driver edges and running boards, running boards even are interrupted at half the length, square cab, etc. Then come the voices stating that they look powerful. But here, too, I don't agree. They don't look powerful - and they even WERE NOT as powerful as one should expect by their size. They even were the wrong engines for the job UP had them to do - accelerating dieselization. But I like Virginian's AE, or NP's Z-5, or DM&IR's M-3/M-4, C&O's H-8, P&WV's 2-6-6-4s, Reading's 2-8-8-0s, B&O's 2-8-8-0s, Great Northern's N-3 and R-2, among many others, not counting here the many rigid frame large steamers. But definitely NO UP articulateds.
Mastiffdog wrote: If you like big steam locos, Big Boys are pretty cool.
If you like big steam locos, Big Boys are pretty cool.
Not correct: I like big steam locos. But I do NOT like UP Challengers and Big Boys because they have nothing special in appearance to make them beautyful. No white driver edges and running boards, running boards even are interrupted at half the length, square cab, etc. Then come the voices stating that they look powerful. But here, too, I don't agree. They don't look powerful - and they even WERE NOT as powerful as one should expect by their size. They even were the wrong engines for the job UP had them to do - accelerating dieselization.
But I like Virginian's AE, or NP's Z-5, or DM&IR's M-3/M-4, C&O's H-8, P&WV's 2-6-6-4s, Reading's 2-8-8-0s, B&O's 2-8-8-0s, Great Northern's N-3 and R-2, among many others, not counting here the many rigid frame large steamers. But definitely NO UP articulateds.
It is not whether I am correct or you are correct. I simply shared my opinion as you did yours. We just happen to disagree and that's okay. No one has to be right or wrong. Just be happy with what locos you enjoy.
So aside from being nothing special in appearance to make them beautyful. And the fact that they do not have white driver edges and running boards, and that the running boards even are interrupted at half the length, and that they have square cab, That they don't look powerful - and they even WERE NOT as powerful as one should expect by their size. And that they were the wrong engines for the job UP had them to do - accelerating dieselization. They are pretty cool!
I'm thinking that one of them is not in your future.
Simon Modelling CB&Q and Wabash See my slowly evolving layout on my picturetrail site http://www.picturetrail.com/simontrains and our videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrispybake?feature=mhum
Mastiffdog wrote:If you like big steam locos, Big Boys are pretty cool.
I have the Trix Big Boy and the Lionel Challenger models. I can actually run them on my "mainline" which has a minimum radius of 30", however I just display them simply because I like 'em. I like them because they are the biggest locos and they always light up conversations when friends come over to the house. They are beautiful steam locos.
I don't see what the big magilla is here over another example being manufactured. If you like big steam locos, Big Boys are pretty cool.
I have to agree with Simon. I don't see how PCM producing a Blue Line version of the Big Boy is a negative. Now I don't model that era, prototype, or type of locomotive. And I probably won't buy one myself. But I could certainly get excited at the idea of owning a Big Boy pulling a 50 car train on a club layout - or a 70 car train double-headed (watch out CudaKen, I'm becoming like you.)
The only downside I see for PCM is slow sales due to already-mentioned market saturation. But it's not really any new resources involved, either.
Meanwhile, I'm truly grateful to all of you buyers of Big Boys and other big steam. It is your $$ that have encouraged manufacturers to produce for the smaller markets (1900-era Americans, die cast and plastic HOn3 locos in my case). Every successful steam loco production and sales encourages production and sale of another steam loco model. Sure is a change from the past when the only non-brass available was hold-overs from '50s and '60s tooling produced by Mantua, MDC, and Bowser, and the occasional plastic model by Rivarossi.
just my thoughts
Fred W
bb4884 wrote: simon1966 wrote: I can see why someone might shrug "Oh great another Big Boy", but I can't see why one would get all hot-and-bothered by it. From viewing your pictures, you appear to model diesel era. To put in prespective, lets say all the manufactures are only building EMD SD45T-2. You'd be mad too. Even I am mad, and I model Sherman hill area!!!!
simon1966 wrote: I can see why someone might shrug "Oh great another Big Boy", but I can't see why one would get all hot-and-bothered by it.
I can see why someone might shrug "Oh great another Big Boy", but I can't see why one would get all hot-and-bothered by it.
From viewing your pictures, you appear to model diesel era. To put in prespective, lets say all the manufactures are only building EMD SD45T-2. You'd be mad too. Even I am mad, and I model Sherman hill area!!!!
I'm more transition era. So what you are saying is that there are very few Steamers on the market except for all the Big Boy models that are available? I'm not sure I follow, BLI/PCM have over 20 steam locomotives either available now or for pre-order. Add in Bachmann, Rivarossi/Hornby, IHC, Athearn, MTH and there are literally dozens. I would have said that the availability of good HO steam has improved dramatically in the last 5 years.
In the case of this Blue Line model, it is not as if BLI has been channeling its resources away from other projects for this. It appears very much as if they are trying to tap into an additionl revenue stream from work they have already done.
VAPEURCHAPELON wrote: simon1966 wrote: I can't say I blame manufacturers for producing a model that seems to have such wide appeal. BUT WHY DOES THAT LOCO HAVE SUCH WIDE APPEAL? WHY? WHY? WHY?
simon1966 wrote: I can't say I blame manufacturers for producing a model that seems to have such wide appeal.
I can't say I blame manufacturers for producing a model that seems to have such wide appeal.
BUT WHY DOES THAT LOCO HAVE SUCH WIDE APPEAL? WHY? WHY? WHY?
Because it is firmly entrenched in US RR lore.
simon1966 wrote:I can't say I blame manufacturers for producing a model that seems to have such wide appeal.
I can see why someone might shrug "Oh great another Big Boy", but I can't see why one would get all hot-and-bothered by it. I have one, an old Rivarossi version. It is not prototypical for my layout, looks ridiculous on the curves, but the boys love it and want to run it all the time. I can't say I blame manufacturers for producing a model that seems to have such wide appeal.
Bergie wrote:Why must we continue to use swear words to get our point across? Please read our rules: http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/974532/ShowPost.aspx Bergie
Because the civilized language doesn't help. I tried many years. Sometimes some harsh words are necessary to awake a certain group of people - and sometimes this really helps!
But yes, I agree that I have to accept the forum rules. I simply forgot them when I was angry. Please excuse. I will take more care.
VAPEURCHAPELON wrote:I can't see those [swear word removed my Bergie ] Big Boy and Challenger models any longer! As others stated, every "new" Big Boy PREVENTS variety. Every more of these drops the chance of production of other NICE and MORE USEABLE engines closer to zero. The hype of those big UP engines is breathtaking. Soon the lost world of steam in reality will be lost at model railroads, too. The industry is to suggest us that UP engines of course are the must-haves, and all the others go more and more to history... Many of you could say if I don't want UP then don't post here, but in my eyes the situation is that serious that I hope a little that others will come to my side and ignore these models. I am really angry.
And another...
Speaking for my self great news! The more companys that make them the better they will become! My Genesis has so many problems the Teck at Athearn asked me to ask for a refund at the LHS I bought it from.
Maybe with BLI making the new Big Boy Athearn will pull the decoder they are using! Decoder is only half my problem I will add. 30 Car drag will bring my BB to it knees.
I have a PCM with a Lok decoder coming in the next 2 weeks, it will be 4002. But I have loft goals, I want all 25 of the 4000's.
Cuda Ken
bb4884 wrote: In keeping with the "bigger is better" mind set, may I reccomend UP's 9000 class. Let's see you get that around 18" radius
In keeping with the "bigger is better" mind set, may I reccomend UP's 9000 class. Let's see you get that around 18" radius
If there are no dogs in heaven,then I want to go where they go.
rrinker wrote: Hmm, I haven't had any problems with P2K diesels other than cracked gears ... --Randy
The P2K SD9s are the worst offenders. They run decent when new, but as they age, their power pickup reliability tanks badly. I have several fellow modelers locally and on the net who now won't touch these locos with a ten foot pole their power pickup gets so bad.
I and others have tried everything under the sun to get them to straighten up, but the only thing that seems to be the permanent solution is to replace the guts entirely with a ProtoPower West chassis. The Lifelike shell drops onto the PPW chassis with very little work. So you get the best of both worlds ... a nice shell and a nice power train ... but it's a bit pricey since you have to ditch the P2K guts entirely.
Joe Fugate Modeling the 1980s SP Siskiyou Line in southern Oregon
Hmm, I haven't had any problems with P2K diesels other than cracked gears that were promptly replaced for free. But then I don't have anything but neglible grades at this point. But that's nothing a couple NWSL thrust washers won't fix - the binding on grades is due to excessive back and forth play in the worm shafts. Given the high level and quality of detail on the P2K shells, and the fact that since I never bought any of mine the day they came out, and as such never paid more than $40 for one, a couple bucks to tune the drive line isn't a killer. Consider all that used to have to be done to Blue Box Athearns to get smooth runners.
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
This is one big boy too many.
I wager that BLI is going to strip everything down and re-issue it all without QSI on the Blue Line Series. Next up is my prediction for a Reading T1 in Blueline for 200 dollars flat and 140 FDT.
Any takers?
Randy, you and me both. I've never owned one, don't plan to own one, and can't see why most people would even want one. Can you say ... "saturate the market"?
How about something like a decent HO SD9 or GP9? The P2K versions look okay but run poorly, and the Athearn versions have the non-scale width hood. The Atlas version GP9 runs nice, but has the sidesills molded onto the chassis ... what a pain! It does look like some Blueline SD9s may be on the way ... I'm waiting for an SP version!
How many Big boys do we need??!!! Why do they keep producing these????!!! Don't they realize sooner or later people are gonna stop buying them???!!! This has better be the last big boy. We need to start seeing different locos other than the big boy!!!!!!
MOJAX wrote: If I may ask, what or where is FDT?Thanks
If I may ask, what or where is FDT?
Thanks
Michael Click Here to view my photos at RailPictures.Net!
My Photos at RRPictures.Net: Click Here