My son and I went to the L.A. County Fair last month, to see the Big Boy.
I have been visiting that locomotive, and all of the others there, since I was about 5 years old and wanted to see it one last time before it left for restoration (which is a wonderful thing in itself).
I don't have a permanent home layout, and the small loop of 031 diameter track will not allow my MTH scale Big Boy to run, so I got out the Rail King version, which was last run in 2003 or 2004.
I did not know what to expect, as it had been sitting for so long.
If started right up, and ran as if the last time I had run it was yesterday. It also remembered its DCS address all that time.
I am going to take it apart, lube it, and install a new battery so that it can go to Cal Stewart this year.
A nice, reliable locomotive!