2014 Lionel Vision Big Boys. Do they all have problems?

I have operated two, and have had no issues yet.

I have only had the blowdown smoke issue with mine, which is a well documented problem but doesn’t affect all of the models. I think that compared to more recent Lionel engines the VLBB proved reliable rather than problematic. Judging by the number of threads devoted to issues with it they are relatively isolated.

As far as I know there’s only been one production run of these and although Lionel will no doubt issue another BB at some point I wouldn’t expect it any time soon.

I have had a few issues with mine. One was the blow down smoke...which I don’t care about. I don’t run smoke often at all. 

The other issue I had was the coal pile. It stopped “depleting”. That was fixed by Lionel under warranty.

Currently the motor is making a squeaking noise. It doesn’t impede operation, it’s just annoying. I’ll get the motor replaced at some point.

All in all, it’s proved to be reliable...as much or better than anything else these days. I’ve run it much more that anything else these last four years.

Problem, it just quit running.

Brent

RICK S    yes they are finicky but work well if you follow below sugestions

1. track voltage at the track must be at 18 volts for all smoke units to function properly

2. after startup allow 10 minutes before use of whistle smoke and blow down smoke reason as per Jon/Lionel retired now the whistle smoke and blow down smoke are a delayed startup meaning they are not fully electrically connected at startup this comes straight from Jon who designed the electronics!

3. blowdown smoke fill area is directly over the rcmc board and if smoke fluid spills onto it poof its toast so add 20 drops and let it sit after the 10 minute wait try it if no smoke lightly blow down the fill tube hole try blowdown again if still no smoke leave cover plate off of fill tube and hold the blown down  button on cab-2 until you see smoke coming out of fill tube.

4. this is from Marty Fitzpatrick never- never pickup this engine up only by grabbing the boiler you must cradle the front truck assembly and rear truck to insure no power roller wires or mechanicals are disconnected trust me on this one folks been there done that and the front power roller wire is no fun re-soldering it to its eyelet wire is short and I mean short !

5. find a small plastic bottle with a tip like used for hair dye this can be used to clear meniscus in smoke fill tubes also works to clear tubing for blow down feature.

6. grease the truck drive gears for some unexplained reason most of these engines never seen a grease gun! red and tacky is best it sticks around like no other grease to date that's a fact not fiction.

good luck finding a new in box 2014 vision line big boy but you might get lucky best part enjoy the sounds this beast has 3 speakers one is in the engine it truly is magnificent. mind the 2 smoke stack units they eat bottles of smoke fluid as if it was an appetizer most users will concur on this. as to type of smoke fluid that's your choice  lionels smoke fluid makes thick white smoke  but personally I use JT's smoke fluid more product for the $ sorry lionel yours is way overpriced.

that's it from me hope you find one and join those of us that pre-ordered it and so far no hint of a re-run far as I know only smoke feature missing is steam cylinder smoke and if you ever have to take one apart you will see no room left for that feature.

I have a mint sealed 4018 in shipping carton.  I have two others that i run.  I keep thinking someday i will open up that 4018!  But for now am happy to know its sealed in the box...  the vision bb is my favorite engine ever.

The current regime will probably put whitewalls on the next Vision Big Boy and who even knows what color silver. I feel fortunate to have a sealed 4018 as well. They saved me a lot on the Allegheny and Niagara although I would rather have the engines the way they were previously made before cosmetically.

Mine had a couple of minor issues, I resolved them myself.  #1, the cab light LED was bad, I replaced it.  #2, the blowdown was very weak, turned out the thermistor was out of place and sitting too close to the smoke resistor.  Moved it over, all is well.

My only complaint with the VL Big Boy is there was missing boiler trim up by smokebox.  My JLC big boy has some diagonal running piping by the walkway on smokebox, and the vision line does not have this...

Mine have run great otherwise, no problems.  I have a #4006 on the track all the time.  My 4014 is on display, sees limited running.  The 4018 is sealed under the train table.

I still have my 4024 from the JLC run.  It also had no radiators on the front platform handrails...  the later look of these engines...

I have had zero issue with my vision 4004.  She see's a ton of run time and the smallest train she ever pulls is newer 21" full excursion consist.  I actually ran mine at a show over the weekend a little over 3 hours of runtime on a 65 car mixed freight mostly all atlas cars(heavy).    Mechanically I find this engine one of the soundest around with proper lubrication.  I have had Zero electrical gremlins to report.  I have never had any issues with the smoke units.  I always used the Lionel premium fluid and anytime I run any engine I let the fluid soak for 10 minutes before I turn on the units.     I recently picked up a vision Niagara and I have to say its a fantastic engine but IMO the big boy is still the flagship of the Visionline.   I suspect with the upcoming Golden spike celebrations of 2019 it wouldn't surprise me that Lionel would re issue it much like the challenger.   I do wish however they would for instance do away with the depleting coal load or just switch up one of the extra features to give the previous run a slight element of exclusivity.  I think that's wishful thinking though.   I've never spoke to anyone who owned one of these that didn't love it.         

Thanks for all the replies everyone.  It's good to hear that issues are not widespread.

I've always loved the Big Boys but they are too large for my layout.  I recently joined an O-Gauge club with a large modular layout.  As I was helping set it up it dawned on me, "I could run a Big Boy on this!"  I love the Visionline version of this.  It's a shame it's not available.  I am still thinking about looking for one.  I've only ever run conventional.  The digital age will be brand new to me.

Questions for you:

* It seems like people prefer different number cabs than others for some reason.  Is there a reason?  Are some numbers more rare than the others?

* How on earth do you roll this over to oil it - without denting any rails or knocking off any delicate parts?

*  When you roll it over - don't you run the risk of some smoke fluid dripping out?  And then getting on the electronics when you turn it back rightside up?

StPaul, Thank you for all of those notes.  I am going to print that and keep it with mine if I get one. 

The only problem I have had with them is to try and stop blowing the whistle !

rick s posted:

Thanks for all the replies everyone.  It's good to hear that issues are not widespread.

I've always loved the Big Boys but they are too large for my layout.  I recently joined an O-Gauge club with a large modular layout.  As I was helping set it up it dawned on me, "I could run a Big Boy on this!"  I love the Visionline version of this.  It's a shame it's not available.  I am still thinking about looking for one.  I've only ever run conventional.  The digital age will be brand new to me.

Questions for you:

* It seems like people prefer different number cabs than others for some reason.  Is there a reason?  Are some numbers more rare than the others?

* How on earth do you roll this over to oil it - without denting any rails or knocking off any delicate parts?

*  When you roll it over - don't you run the risk of some smoke fluid dripping out?  And then getting on the electronics when you turn it back rightside up?

StPaul, Thank you for all of those notes.  I am going to print that and keep it with mine if I get one. 

To answer you to roll over questions:

i use foam cradles.   I use two because I have the engine and tender connected upside down at the same time.   This allows me to run the engine by connecting jumpers to pick up roller and ground point while I lubricate moving parts and clean wheels.     Don’t over think the actually rolling over process it’s big yes but it’s still an engine just like the rest their more resilient than you think.  Just be mindful of detail parts.  I always remove the whistle first to be safe.   I always sit the engine on the side of the cradle upright then just. Roll it into the foam cutout.   The foam is very forgiving and makes this very safe on detail parts.    

As far as the smoke fluid.  If this is the case then your using to much fluid.  I’ve yet to have any leak out of any of my engines when having them rolled over at least enough to be noticeable anyway.   And something you’ll learn about the big boy is they love smoke fluid.  

You can always just put a loop of o72 fastrack down in family room and run the big boy.  Easy to do quickly...  and easy to take down again.

"Do the vast majority of them have issues...?"

To state the obvious (then why do it, huh?), you will see and hear far more about the problematic units than the non-problematic ones. 

I do not own one (I love Big Steam, but the BB is not my thing) so I have no hands-on, but I imagine that most owners who operate them are happy.

---------

"...there was missing boiler trim up by smokebox." 

Sorry, but it's not "trim", it's "detailing". "Trim" is for the Toyota. 

StPaul posted:

RICK S    yes they are finicky but work well if you follow below sugestions

1. track voltage at the track must be at 18 volts for all smoke units to function properly

2. after startup allow 10 minutes before use of whistle smoke and blow down smoke reason as per Jon/Lionel retired now the whistle smoke and blow down smoke are a delayed startup meaning they are not fully electrically connected at startup this comes straight from Jon who designed the electronics!

3. blowdown smoke fill area is directly over the rcmc board and if smoke fluid spills onto it poof its toast so add 20 drops and let it sit after the 10 minute wait try it if no smoke lightly blow down the fill tube hole try blowdown again if still no smoke leave cover plate off of fill tube and hold the blown down  button on cab-2 until you see smoke coming out of fill tube.

4. this is from Marty Fitzpatrick never- never pickup this engine up only by grabbing the boiler you must cradle the front truck assembly and rear truck to insure no power roller wires or mechanicals are disconnected trust me on this one folks been there done that and the front power roller wire is no fun re-soldering it to its eyelet wire is short and I mean short !

5. find a small plastic bottle with a tip like used for hair dye this can be used to clear meniscus in smoke fill tubes also works to clear tubing for blow down feature.

6. grease the truck drive gears for some unexplained reason most of these engines never seen a grease gun! red and tacky is best it sticks around like no other grease to date that's a fact not fiction.

good luck finding a new in box 2014 vision line big boy but you might get lucky best part enjoy the sounds this beast has 3 speakers one is in the engine it truly is magnificent. mind the 2 smoke stack units they eat bottles of smoke fluid as if it was an appetizer most users will concur on this. as to type of smoke fluid that's your choice  lionels smoke fluid makes thick white smoke  but personally I use JT's smoke fluid more product for the $ sorry lionel yours is way overpriced.

that's it from me hope you find one and join those of us that pre-ordered it and so far no hint of a re-run far as I know only smoke feature missing is steam cylinder smoke and if you ever have to take one apart you will see no room left for that feature.

 

StPaul.  #4---- Is this problem easy to see? 

I don't see a loose wire but most of the time I pick up the Engine the wrong way.   My engine just stopped moving. When power is added to the track, engine will fire up but not move . (990 Legacy is on before adding power.)

Thanks

Brent

No issues with mine

Boy, I hope not. I have the Vision Line Big Boy #4018, 4017, 4004, and 4014 in sealed cartons. I run my first VL Big Boy #4014 beater that I bought used, and used when designing my layout. The #4012 used engine hasn't been run for a while.  Lionel told me these engines never have problems.  I hope that is the truth.

Rick,

    My friend Kevin has been running his 4014 at our club (BDSME, Bethlehem Pa) for the past four open house seasons. This year will be the fifth. No issues No problems.

   I think the wording in your opening post is poorly done.........Do they all have problems? Makes you think every one of them has broken down. Why not try ....Any issues?  From what I hear they are very dependable.

JohnB 

If you go on ebay you'll find a brand new factory sealed in the box Lionel Vision Line Big Boy..Asking price is $3,900.

Its the best o engine ever made imho.

Here is some motivation...

I pull a fruit train of PFE steel side reefers with mine...  like this...

Love my Vision Line Big Boy - runs fine and is really impressive pulling a long set of freight cars.

I have a 4014.  Like GRJ, I had very weak blowdown smoke. I followed GRJ and Alex M tips on adjusting the thermistor and can now fill the room with blowdown smoke.  I run this engine a few times each week and love it.

No issues with my Visionline Big Boy or my JLC version Big Boy!

No collection is complete without one!

-Pete

Had problems with my Big Boy; drowned the blow down smoke unit and thusly overflowed onto the RCMC and blew that; either drowned or starved its other smoke units.  Had all that fixed by Mike Reagan.  So, for me, if I had knowledge about the care and feeding of a smoke unit, none of that would have happened; learned the hard way.

IMHO, it is the best looking and best featured big loco; glad I got mine; it looks like a million on the track; the advice of the fellas in care and feeding of the BB in this post is priceless!

If Lionel ever offers another production run, I will definitely buy two more.

Update 3/1/2022: Bought a 4005? Big Boy from TW in the 2019 production run of the Legacy version Big Boy; no issues - runs great on my temporary Christmas layout; BUT, I know how to feed the 2 smoke units;  there is no blowdown (never used the blowdown on my VL much anyway).  Regarding my 2014 4014 Big Boy, the main stack failed quickly after the RCMC repair; removed the old unit and built a completely new one from parts from Lionel with tons of help from the fellas on the forum.

Like Rick46, i also will buy more in next issue.  You simply cant have enough vision big boys.  I sold 4012, now wish i didnt...  I still have 4006, 4014, 4018, and the JLC 4024...

The other thing about Vision Big Boys is, you just got to sport a matching hat!

I get a ball cap for each big boy i am running, so i can be styling in the trainroom...  naturally you wear the hat for the lead big boy if you are lashing them up!

Here is 3 lashed up!  These are JLC Big Boys...

https://youtu.be/6RlYLTU5gvM

These are great engines, anything electronic will have issues eventually but these are the best, the more you run these new engines the better in my opinion.  But do yourself a favor and save some money on a used one cause even if its sealed new, it's out of warranty 

Bob, nice touch with the hat; as I have always believed, a man needs a truck, a Lionel Big Boy, and a hat!

Super O Bob posted:

Here is 3 lashed up!  These are JLC Big Boys...

https://youtu.be/6RlYLTU5gvM

Wasn't the whole point of the Big Boy to avoid double-heading? ;-)

BREECE   the power roller pickup wire on the front truck is red would assume same for rear truck from memory the rear truck will power up and will try and move the engine but if wire off on front truck then it will not run.

have you tried running it in conventional mode?  have you checked the train brake on remote if on full it will not move!  one way to verify front and rear trucks getting power is use test cables and see if each power truck responds to startup if both power up engine independently then something may have possibly gone awry inside the electronics somewhere.

Checking to determine if the front and rear trucks are actually turning/running sounds like a good idea.  How would one do that exactly?  I have a TekPower tp2844r True RMS meter and needle probe and alligator clips. 

Thanks for all the help and knowledge everyone.  I will be starting a couple new threads on different, but related, topics.  I appreciate your input.

No problem Rick.  I cant always contain my love for the VL big boy...  enjoy yours!

Thanks Bob.  You said, "You can always just put a loop of o72 fastrack down in family room and run the big boy.  Easy to do quickly...  and easy to take down again."  

I will be doing that!  Thanks!  I'm trying to understand the digital age of Lionel and started another thread in the Legacy forum.

Your question makes it sound like someone has convinced you that the BigBoy is problematic. I don’t own this latest version but from what I see on the forum they are s huge hit. If you find one, go for it. 

Hi Rick...  if you can, go loop of 084...  bigger the better!  The engines and rolling stock run better on larger curves.

Legacy hookup is super easy.  You just run the two track wires as usual from the transformer.  Then run one wire from legacy base to the outside rail.  Thats it.  Instructions in the legacy system...  im sure there are youtube videos on hooking up and setting up and running.

Then you always have all of us here to help you if you get stuck...  have fun!