When you cross into Nebraska going west on I-80, two giants of the Union Pacific are there to greet you: DD40X Centennial #6900 and 4-8-8-4 Big Boy #4023
Omaha isn't just the home of Union Pacific's Headquarters, it's OUR home! So my son and I have been visiting our "Friends on the Hill" pretty much since he was born. But our O-Gauge Layout needs trains to operate on a minimum of O-48 to make a full loop of the main line and that knocks out any chance at us running a scale Big Boy. Since 4023 has only been offered in the scale size (JLC version and VisionLine LCCA Exclusive) I decided to embark on a project to make a LionMaster version instead. Most would assume this would just entail a simple renumbering of the locomotive and call it a day... but I decided to go a little bit further.
We started with the Legacy LionMaster Big Boy #4006 released from the 2008 Lionel Catalog. We could've used a newer LionChief Plus 2.0 version, but there's another element I wanted to get right more than just the numbers. The SOUNDS. By swapping in the sound card from a JLC Big Boy #4023, we're able to get roadnumber-specific dialogue in our version. It might seem petty, but this feature really brings another element in to make this feel like Lionel actually made this. Generic crewtalk would've worked, but I much prefer the specific dialogue when I can!
Renumbering wasn't too difficult as I found a waterslide decal set that fits in perfectly. I was actually surprised to learn that the numbering on the LionMaster Big Boys is actually the same size as the scale versions, so this worked out much easier than I had anticipated. All of the LionMaster engines use the "old style" radiator placement on the front pilot deck. This is fine for the original batch of 20 Big Boys that were made, but the final 5 that were delivered had the updated radiator pack just ahead of the headlight. As a result, the pilot deck on the Big Boy should reflect that and the scale models do but... LionMaster doesn't. So I modified mine and put in more accurate hand rails that should be on 4023 and it's really nice to have that front end looking right.
Recently updated some of those details as... take one of the handrails recently broke off with a slight mishap on our line. It gave me the opportunity to make it better than before and I'm really happy with how it turned out now that I had a chance to revisit it. Got a shot of 4023 next to 3985 and they both look like they came from Lionel like this in the box. That's the goal, make something that could've come outta the box like this.
If you're curious on what I did for some of these items or need to see more, we made a video on my YouTube that covers most of it. Otherwise I'm happy to address things here!
