GE Eolution Hybrid vs Big Boy

if price was comparable and i had $1500+ burning a big hole in my wallet, i'd go for the big boy. just more asthetically pleasing to me and more action with the valve gear and rods than a thing that just sits there and pulls cars with some sound.

my $.25

I like steam a whole lot, but I would go with the GEVO (truth is, I did get one).  Very cool with those charging lights!  Smooth runner, too. 

I believe that I would go with Allan's opinion on this. Both engines are excellent choices, but the Big Boys have been around and will come back again and again. The GE may not.

I thought that only the GE Evo Hybrid demonstrator prototype #2010 had the charging lights, & the regular production EVOs that the railroads purchased/leased do not.

I have both of them & love them both equally.

Big Boy.  It's not only my favorite locomotive, but I love steam too.  Part of the reason is I've run live steam, and it just gets in your blood.  Also part of the it has more visual action camp.  But many diesels are painted in pretty colors and are nice to look at.

Even though I am a big steam fan, I would go with the gevo, it is just so cool. And yes I have one. 

Wow. This is not even an apples to oranges comparison. More like fruitcakes to watermelons. No one can make this decision except you. Really comes down to whether flashing lights really frost your cookies or not. That's 99% of this diesel's appeal. Other than flashing lights and a different paint job, the GEVO is just another model of a GE diesel. (And it may have smoke, but it shouldn't.) Part of the equation may be what kinds of rolling stock you have. You should pull modern style cars with the GEVO.

The Big Boy is much larger, and has a lot more moving parts, and smokes, and it should. And it's painted black. And it should be pulling older style cars.

I'd go with the one that's hardest to find in the secondary market. Big Boys show up on eBay on an almost regular basis -- Proto-1 and Proto-2. I don't see the Hybrids show up that often (only two so far). I have the scale-wheeled hybrid and will eventually pick up a Big Boy (hopefully 4014 or 4018.)

Buy both - that's what I did!

That would be a tough decision to make, but like breezinup mentioned they are very different.  While I don't own one, the Imperial Big Boys are very nice.  However, the EVO has such a huge cool factor with the charging lights.  I have the MTH 2012 Demo with charging lights and love it.  It runs so well and the paint is great.

GE EVO... the colors and paint make for a really different and great view! Terry

I'd go with the GEVO and wait for the new Lionel BigBoy whenever it comes out. But I already have a BigBoy so maybe thats why I say that now.

 

Write a book, sell it, and then buy both. Not a bad way to do it.

 

Otherwise, tough choice but impossible to really go wrong because they're both great!

 

You can get any number of better models of the Big Boy than the MTH Imperial version, and if you really want a Big Boy it's better to save for a top of the line version.

 

But you can only get one better version of the GEVO 2010 than MTH's model and that is the Lionel Vision GE Hybrid. The Vision model is hard to find in the aftermarket and will cost you a lot more than the original issue price; however the MTH version is really a crowd pleaser although it lacks the sound and action features of Lionel's offering.

 

So, given your choice I'd opt for the diesel.

My diesels get very little run time, plus I model the early 50's so I try to keep everything around that time frame.

Seems like the guest enjoy the steam engines more as well...

I was hoping that this was a thread about a tug-of-war between a BigBoy and the GEVO, along the lines of - how many FTs does it take to out-pull a steamer?

 

My prediction without looking at any review data, is that in O-scale, two GEVOs would be needed to outpull one BigBoy.

Ken-Oscale: How about 4!!!!

Ken,

 

you just may be wrong, I saw a report that a Es44AC would push the Big boy backwards in a tug of war. The main reason given was that the traction controls of the diesel plus the horse power at low speeds.  

 

Of course this all conjecture but I would really like to see it done. Sometimes computer programs can be wrong. 

I, too, think you might be underestimating the traction and pulling power of the O gauge  GEVO.

I think I'd go with Allan here, I've pulled 53 cars with one Legacy diesel, including a roughly 2% grade.  I'd never get that with any of the steamers I have, even the articulated ones.

 

So I got curious, and did a quick search which did not find any data on drawbar pull for an O scale Big Boy.   There must be a review somewhere with drawbar pull. 

 

But I did find a post on another thread on this forum from Steve "Papa" Eastman where he pulls 60 tin cars with no trouble with a K-Line Big Boy, on level track but with lots of O-54 curvature (no stringlining!):

 

Here's my K-Line Big Boy pulling 60 tin cars. Metal wheels, metal axles, metal trucks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRLS3zIrjFE

 

Steve did a lube job on the cars before the trial.  

 

 

That's very impressive, I have to agree with the first comment on YouTube, amazing that they didn't string-line on some of the curves.  Must be really good oil!

 

It has a lot to do with the weight of the cars.  Heavier cars will stay on the track, lighter ones will come off.  I don't have that many to put behind my K-line Big Boy, but I do have enough to make a long train (most are passenger cars).  I was using a CW-80 and O36 curves, and much like his, the train was always around a least 2 curves, one being 180.  The lighter cars would come off, so I'd remove them.  Once I only had cars that'd stay on the track, I had issues with couplers popping open.  Once they were twist tied shut, the Big Boy would drag them all along, the only issue being with all those lighted passenger cars on, the CW-80 would keep trying to roll back.  I think I had 8 freight cars (all about 40 ft-ers), 5 short passenger cars (~50ft), 8 longer passenger cars (60ft), 3 Lionel Amtrak HHP-8 set passenger cars, and a dummy F-B unit all being pulled by the Big Boy all around the O36 curves and only being limited by my CW-80 cutting out.  We had fun that day.  Not sure what the upper limit on that locomotive is.