MTH Imperial Big Boy

These are great engines   One problem alot of them seem to come back for is loose side rods  Check them out after running a little while

I have mine coming tomorrow. Which are the side rods?

Thank you Ben

The rods on the side of the wheels  The stud backs out a little and can bind it up  Just make sure they are tight

For the price it's hard to beat the value of any of the Imperial offerings, and the Bigboy is no exception.

Not scale by any means, but nicely proportioned.

Mine is the PFE reefer set and it runs great.

 

Rod

I have the UP Passenger set on order (30-1584-1).  Still shows to be shipped.  I hope it arrives soon.  Until then I have to make do with your (soon to come) video.

 

Thanks

 

And yes Ben,  I actually bought an MTH engine!

Did it take buring out one of those CSX engines last week?

A couple of videos.

Ben; thank you so much for the info on the rods. The Big Boy kept stalling & sure enough after I tightened up the rods it is running like a champ.

As my big boy is coming tomorrow. Can u please take a pic of where to tighten the rods.

Thank you thank you!

 

Read the part of the manual for how to change traction tires. A series of 5mm hexhead screws holds the rod assemblies together. You need to just check them and make sure they're tight. The eccentric is held in place with a little dimple on the back side, if the bolt loosens up, then the eccentric drops out of place and the whole thing binds up. So basically, tighten the bolt on all of the 3rd drivers.

Thank you

5MM socket or nut driver will tighten them.,

Thanks spence

I though that this was supposed to be numbered 4011- maybe they changed because of the most recent Lionmaster Big Boy?

You guys are right on with them. I had 2, still have one. I modified mine a bit, the Loop in the tether is gone, I went to the straight plug tether. This requires cutting a slot in the front of the tender for the tether to slide side to side in as it corners.

It does not show since the tender is recessed in that area. This also allowed me to put a second hole in the drawbar and shorten the gap.  With the shorter drawbar hole in use O-54 is the Min curve she will take.

 

SJC;

Clearance depends on curves.

On O-31 expect a 4" swing out on the boiler and cab from the outside rail !!!  Ask me how I scratched the cab edge  paint...

Killian; there are 2 videos posted.

I am so excited mine is on the vehicle for delivery today.

I took a quick video of the 1st run of the big boy. Enjoy

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELeqks5IjzI

I have the 4024 passenger set, had to do some scenic rework but it was worth the effort. Love to watch this run and the PS2 sound is very cool!

Just curious if anyone has BOTH the Imperial and Lionmaster Bigboy, and could you give us a few side by side picture comparisons??

 

Thanks,

Rod

Very nice Brian. Make sure you tighten all of the nuts. I think the total is 8.

Will do. Thanks!

That brings up another question I had.

How is the pulling power on the LionMaster Big Boy? 1 or 2 can motors and how many traction tires?

The Imperial Big Boy can pull stumps. I have pulled 58 mixed modern and PW cars (including some Die Cast cars) so far, ran out of track to add more.

The engine didn't seem to notice the weight, the only trouble was couplers opening.

Remember to put the heavy ones up front to avoid stringlining.

I have the latest Lionmaster BB with the whistle steam effect. 

 

Based on Brian's video, the MTH unit appears to allow the chuffing of the two sets of drivers to go in and out of sync. That's really nice at slow speed.

The Lionmaster cheats and just treats them as one from an audio standpoint.

 

Not sure that I'm crazy about the twin smoke coming out at such angles though. Seems like a consequence of using an internal funnel for one smoke unit.

 

Either way, they are both very impressive.

Enjoy!

I use the zip tie trick on the annoying couplets that open so when pulling a Tom or cars especially at my clubs layout I don't loose a car. Having to jump on the Njhirailers layout with a bad back is rough.

Wow. That was a whole lot of typos.

All Imperial articulated's have this "out of sync" sound effect as far as I know.

The Erie Triplex, Allegheny, Challenger, and Bigboy do, at least.

It is a pretty neat effect.

 

Rod

My Imperial Y6B from the most recent (2010) release does not have out of sync chuff. 

"My Imperial Y6B from the most recent (2010) release does not have out of sync chuff."

SJC;

That is interesting. Maybe MTH has done away with this effect for PS-3?

Mine are all PS-2.

Weird.

Rod 

Brian, what is the diameter of the curves that the Big Boy is running on in your video? It is a very nice looking locomotive.

Rod...

 

It is not a PS3 engine. It is PS2. I know the earlier release of the Imperial Y6B has out of sync chuff but my PS2 version does not. I'm near certain it came out of the 2010 V. 2 catalog.  I got the Y6b Freight Set with 4 hoppers and caboose. I doubt the sound sets are different between the separate sale engine and set. I personally like the out of sync chuff and have considered, on more than a few occasions, loading in an older sound set. 

The curves are 072.

Well spence I must have missed tightening 1 of the screws because it came out mid run causing the linkages to fall off 1 of the sides. Took me 40min to find the teeny tiny screw and then another 30min to get the screw and linkages back in place.

I really don't understand why mth could not tighten all of the screws in the factory. While not premier $699 is not nothing.

Brian; at least you found the screw. When I go downstairs today I'm going to doublecheck & retighten if necessary. I lost a screw a few years ago & with a magnet it took me an hour. Don't want to go thru that again. I agree with you. MTH should have caught this problem. As I said previously, thank goodness for Ben letting us know about the problem.

Loved the video. Great engine. I'm glad I bought one.

I almost spit out my coffee when you wrote"I lost a screw a few years ago". sorry spence

drodder, I debated that when I posted but I thought it would be better than saying I lost a "NUT" (LOL)

Funny

I would rather lose a screw than a nut.  I don't know what it is with these about the siderods   Brian you are lucky the screw that came out didn't have another rod next to it as that could bind it up   Good thing you found it but I think I may have spares at the club.  Seems like the rods actually loosen the studs on these  I would do periodic checks on them

Is there An issue with the premier big boy as well in regard to the nuts and screws?

I put blue lock-tight on my Imperial PS2 Big Boy. I also had to debur the hole in a couple of the siderods, I think it would bind up then loosen the bolts.