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My Big Boy 4014 arrived Friday along with the #990 Legacy Control set and O72 track and terminal track.

I ordered the above from Mr Muffins Trains in Carmel, Indiana.  Steve Nelson, the owner, was great to work with - very patient with a newbie on the phone - took time to explain stuff - no rush; the order was delivered by FedX in just a few days.  I got the BB for $1959 and a decent price for the rest of the stuff.  Steve said he had access to 40 more BBs.

Only things he didn't have was a CW80 and a ZWL transformer.  Before I knew any better per this forum, I ordered a CW80 from Trains and Stuff in Maryland - that showed up today.  After I got your comments in this forum, I ordered a ZWL from Trainworld - that won't show up till next week.

WOW, what a locomotive, what a Legacy Control unit!!!  It took me many hours of reading the online manuals to understand the functions.

So, until the ZWL shows up, I cranked up the CW80 on my 6 X 8 layout with only the BB and a caboose.  No issues, plenty of power till the ZWL shows up.  The CW80 only puts out 15volts but the BB runs great - will go around the track like a rocket if I let it.

The BB had a few startup quirks: 

The handrail on the right side at the front of the engine down low was bent outward - easy to bend back - probably happened when the loco was placed in the box.

For the blowdown fill, the little rubber O ring is groove mounted on a small cylinder that is press fitted over a peg on the blowdown cover.  When the cover was pressed down and then lifted off, the small cylinder with the O ring stayed in the fill hole; a little blue loctite secured the cylinder to the peg.

The electric coupler on the tender did not work at first when I pressed the uncouple button on the remote; then, after some tries, it has been working ever since.

Everything else is just phenomenal - can't wait to get back North (after the snow is done) to begin my home layout.

RickM46

 

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Originally Posted by RickM46:

Thanks folks - got bit just before Christmas with the Polar Express; then, I found this forum with all its great info and advice.  The rest is......well, you know where this is going.

RickM46

I didn't think Lionel could top the VL Challenger, but they did.  The BB is an epic locomotive.

 

This forum has a way of doing that to you.  I've made several unplanned purchases after seeing how nice an item is when a member post photos or video!

Originally Posted by BradF:

Congratulations on your purchases, good to hear Mr. Nelson took great care of you.

 

Brad

Brad, I was just thinking of the buys I have made since the arrival of the Polar Express.  It just so happens that I have ordered train stuff from a number of online stores.  When called, the people at Mr. Muffins Trains, Model Train Stuff, Train World have been patient with the questions of a newbie.  They all have packaged the products very well to sustain shipment.

And now it starts.

RickM46

Originally Posted by 86TA355SR:
Originally Posted by RickM46:

Thanks folks - got bit just before Christmas with the Polar Express; then, I found this forum with all its great info and advice.  The rest is......well, you know where this is going.

RickM46

I didn't think Lionel could top the VL Challenger, but they did.  The BB is an epic locomotive.

 

This forum has a way of doing that to you.  I've made several unplanned purchases after seeing how nice an item is when a member post photos or video!

Funny you should say that!  I just started a thread about what forumites think is the most realistic - from a feature standpoint - steam locomotive. While I've been drooling over my VLBB since it arrived and have been running it daily, I pulled out and ran my VL Challenger and decided that, on balance and with all its active smoke features, I still think the VL Challenger is the best ever.  But I think the VLBB is a close second and has more panache, maybe because of its sheer size.   

 

Peter

 

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