- Update! -

We are almost Sold Out of the new Big Boy Steam Locomotives!

Looking for a really special gift for Christmas this year? Order yours Now!

 

Did you know this is the original built 4-8-8-4 Big Boy. (Before)

(and it even has the Bog Boy markings on the face!)

Athearn Genesis - HO Scale - 4-8-8-4 Big Boy Steam Locomotive - w/DCC & Sound - Heritage Steam Fleet - Union Pacific (UP) #4014 - Race to Promontory - Black/Grey With White Lettering (Era: 2019+)

 

 

It was later rebuilt and given a more matte finish is to match the finish (After)

Athearn Genesis - HO Scale - 4-8-8-4 Big Boy Steam Locomotive - w/DCC & Sound - Heritage Steam Fleet - Union Pacific (UP) #4014 - Excursion - Black/Grey With White Lettering (Era: 2019+)

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PROTOTYPE SPECIFIC INFORMATION

The Union Pacific’s Overland Route, the eastern portion of the Transcontinental Railroad, was built west from Omaha, across Nebraska and Wyoming, and on into Utah. The steepest grade was the eastbound climb on the Echo Canyon line through the Wahsatch Mountains just east of Ogden, Utah. Forty 4-6-6-4 Challenger locomotives were acquired in 1936 and 1937 to move fast freight over the grades in Utah and Wyoming. They were rated at 4,290 tons across Wyoming, but were limited to 3,100 tons eastbound through Echo Canyon.

Union Pacific wanted something that could make the same speeds as the Challengers but could carry the entire 4,290-ton train over the Wahsatch Mountains without a helper. The easiest solution was to scale up the successful Challenger design by adding another pair of drivers to each half of the locomotive thus making a 4-8-8-4.

In 1941 UP placed an order for twenty 4-8-8-4’s, numbered 4000 through 4019, with the American Locomotive Works. Each engine cost $265,174. According to legend an unidentified machinist at the ALCO plant is responsible for the name “Big Boy”, having scrawled the name in chalk on a partially completed locomotive.

The Big Boys were exactly what the railroad wanted. They were coal burners with 68-inch drivers, 135,375 pounds of tractive effort and 6,000 horsepower. They started service on the line from Ogden to Green River, Wyoming and their operating range soon increased to cover the line all the way to Cheyenne.

Traffic during WWII resulted in five more Big Boys, numbered 4020 through 4024, being built in 1944. These versions were slightly heavier than the original order due to wartime materials restrictions.Despite the influx of diesel locomotives following WWII, the Big Boys and Challengers remained the prime power on the Overland Route. They also saw service as helpers, leading gas turbines and diesels over Sherman Hill. They remained active through the 1950’s and weren’t
retired until the early 1960’s. By then the first twenty units had been run well over one million miles.

 

LOCOMOTIVE FEATURES:

• Fully-assembled and ready-to-run

• DCC-ready features Quick Plug™ plug-and-play technology with 21-pin NEM connector

• Scaled from prototype resources including drawings, field measurements, photographs, and more

• Accurately-painted and –printed paint schemes

• Full cab interior with boiler backhead with printed gauges

• Individually applied piping, valves, generators, etc.

• Operating eccentric cranks on both sides operating in correct direction

• Headlights and indicator number boxes (number boards) with directional light change

• Five pole, skewed armature motor with dual flywheels for smooth operation

• Pivoting front and rear engines for negotiating 22” radius curves

• See-through running boards

• Smoke unit ready with no soldering required

• See through cab windows

• McHenry scale knuckle couplers - Kadee compatible

• Genesis driveline with 5-pole skew wound motor, precision machined flywheels, and multi-link drivetrain

• Wheels with RP25 contours operate on all popular brands of track

• LED Lighting for realistic appearance

• Heavy die-cast frame for greater traction and more pulling power

• Packaging securely holds for the model for safe storage

 

SOUND EQUPPED MODELS ALSO FEATURE

• Onboard DCC decoder with SoundTraxx Tsunami2 sound

• Sound units operate in both DC and DCC

• Chuff, whistle, and bell sounds work in DC

• All functions NMRA compatible in DCC mode

• Precision slow speed control

• Many functions can be altered via Configuration Value (CV) changes

• CV chart included in the box

 

 

Pssst... Looking for the right decoder specifically for the Big Boy Locomotives? Click Here!

 

Order Due Date: July 26, 2019

Anticipated Delivery Date: October 2020

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