Union Pacific BigBoy 4002 runs again under steam

FRED: Once again, you have outdone yourself! I remember seeing one of these monsters at the Diamonhead, MS Steamup in 1997, and being more than impressed! May I ask your occupation? With your apparent mechanical flair, I suspect engineering or perhaps you are an entrepreneur. Could also be law or medicine - something cerebral at any rate! CHEERS, Art (retired Professor of English with five years of chemistry)

Thank you; I have been retired since 2016 after having worked for 45 years as an information technology engineer.

Regards

Fred

THANK YOU for your response! My wife started her career as a software programmer in 1971 and progressed upward into IT Project Management (Sigma Six) and later became a lucrative independent contractor ($125 USD/hour) after retirement. Alas, if not for my wrestling unsuccessfully with calculus, I would have been a chemical engineer. Such is life!

Your Aster 4002 has to be one of the Crown Jewels in your collection!

It is not "one of", it is THE!

Regards

Fred

AGREED!  ☺

That's awesome! I didn't know Aster had produced a Big Boy in live steam.

I first saw one at the Diamondhead, MS Steamup in 1996, snd thought it was gi-normous!  

I believe the Aster Big Boys were available as either butane or coal fired versions. Gas firing was probably more practical for a longer run time.

Proper coal firing with premium Welsh coal will produce a sufficiently hot fire especially with a blower assist! Gas or coal firing is really a matter of personal preference.

Tinplate Art posted:

I believe the Aster Big Boys were available as either butane or coal fired versions. Gas firing was probably more practical for a longer run time.

Indeed the kit could be build for both. I decided for coal firing but it failed. The firing door is wrongly located against the fire grate. So I changed  it to butane firing. I have never seen a ASTER Big Boy on coal; I assume with some changes to the design it is possible. The first version of the ASTER Japanese JNR C62 was coal fired and that was a good design, so I could run on coal:

Regards

Fred

FRED: Wunderbar! THANKS for sharing!

sncf231e posted:

After 6 years it was time to have a run with my 1 gauge ASTER live steam BigBoy again.

Regards

Fred

Very nice.

I hate to say it but your Big Boy seems to be working steam more than the 4014 has in most of the videos I've seen of her, since she left Cheyenne on July 8 on her Mid-west tour. The only things that appear to be getting a workout on the twelve-inch-to-the foot Big Boy are the blower and the whistle.

What's the greatest number of cars that you've had behind your 4002? How many do you estimate she can pull on level track?

I wouldn't know the number of cars the BigBoy can pull; this time he pulled 16; I noticed that a couple of years ago I had 17 on.

My track is not that long, so a much longer train would look not right.

Regards

Fred

FRED: That fantastic layout of yours always looks RIGHT!