Sunset B&O Q4b

Very happy with mine. I wrote a review of it for OST magazine. Smooth runner, excellent hauler.  Handled a 56 car freight with cars averaging in weight of a little over a pound each at a scale 55 MPH at 12 volts on a large O scale 2 rail layout when testing it.

Ed

Thanks, is that straight out of the box with no modifications?

Mike

My friend has two of them.   He mentioned that there is a big issue with the drawbar, but that Scottie will provide a fix.    First the drawbar on the ones he got was very large and looked like the old stamped  hooks on lionel stuff from the 50s.   He said it looked awful on the loco on the track.    Second he said the drawbar was attached to the trailing truck instead of the loco frame.   He said the loco would not back up with a load without derailing the trailing truck.

My Q-4b was run right from the box, no modifications even though I did have the replacement drawbar. One thing though, the loco and tender were very tightly strapped with industrial strength Glad Wrap to a board for shipping. The force applied was great enough to spread the tender truck frames so the wheels fell out. I fixed that and also added some Kadee washers to the axle ends to take up excess slop of the wheel sets in the trucks. I'll later make another pair of transom (bolster) plates to bring the side frames a bit farther in as the trucks were made for 3 rail wheelsets.

We actually backed that long train I wrote about into a yard on that layout in Texas. The move was about 70' in length for the loco, and it squirmed the train through two "S" curves as well.  Suprisingly, we had no problems with the a'la "Lionel type" engine truck-mounted drawbar. Backing speed was slow, about a scale 15 MPH. This layout is also level, with no grades. Yet it was new and still tight. Give it some wear and loosening up and I'm sure it would derail, having to handle the weight of such a long, backing train. 

I understand that it was the builder who insisted on using that drawbar set up over Sunset's objections. In China, one must not push a contractor too hard or they just might legally walk out on you. They see contracts as collegiate agreements, not as  master-servant agreements. Sunset showed them the many complaint letters about that hitch, so the builders made a new drawbars of a more usual design for O scale, mounting to the engine's frame.

I'm hoping maybe to snag one of the long Vanderbilt tenders Sunset offered on the B&O T-3 locos for my Q-b. B&O used these long tenders with some Q-4bs in the mid to late 1950s, as intermediate water towers were being dismantled and greater water capacity was needed for them. Should still (barely) fit on my 100' turntable.  

Thank you Ed Bommer for a recap, some of the issues were present and I do have the Drawbar from Scott Mann who kindly had one sent. I wanted to show that I put up a video in the For Sale section on the engine.

The engine really likes to pull/run well right about halfway or so on the conventional throttle. It feels as if there is a lot of power. However I think due to it's short drivers, it falls off all the way to max throttle. (Runt top end)

Many thanks to OGR for allowing the process of posting video and picture (Once I tore hair out learning how to get it off the tape...) easier than before.

Good luck!

I have two also.  They are excellent.  I too backed long trains with the lionel draw bar and it worked fine.  I have heard about the bent truck frames but mine was ok

I have one of these but never ran it.   I was very happy with it but have decided to sell it if anyone is interested.

Hi

I have a Q4b with a second tender for extra water. My model is a Westside product from 30+ years ago. It runs like a top. Consider other options.

John McEnerney

We had to adjust the side frames on the tender slightly so the wheels would roll - they were getting dragged - but beyond that small change it ran fine and looks fabulous...