6-11437 LIONEL Visionline big boy 4014

Union Pacific Big Boy

As the enormous hulk of the first of Union Pacific’s new 4-8-8-4s emerged in ALCO’s erecting plant in Schenectady, NY, a worker looked upon the brute and simply chalked “Big Boy” on the engines side. The apt but impromptu name stuck. This meant it had to be powerful enough to drag the train up the 1.14% grades without helpers and fast enough to maintain schedules on the rest of the section.

What set the 25 Big Boys apart from other massive steam locomotives was not just its size but its purpose. The Union Pacific wanted a single locomotive capable of pulling 3,600 ton trains between Ogden and Wasatch. By 1962 the eight survivors could be found only in museums. Each of Lionel’s new Vision Line Big Boys represents one of these surviving legends.

NEW VISION BIG BOY FEATURES:Dual Stack Smoke and Dual Chuff Sound: Each of the Big Boy’s 8 driver pairs required its own exhaust. Since the two sets were not in sync with each other, neither were the exhaust chuffs. Once the train got rolling, the thunderous exhaust appeared like a single, continuous blast but as the Big Boy got underway you could clearly see, and hear, the dual exhaust. For the first time ever, each stack on the Lionel Big Boy has its own smoke unit. As you run your locomotive at low speed, you’ll get the unparalleled realism of distinctive dual chuffs. And with that second smoke unit, as the train gathers speed you’ll enjoy the extra volume of smoke as well.Whistle Steam: This feature is still one of your favorites Vision features and ours, a plume of “steam” from the whistle.Blowdown Steam: Despite efforts to ensure the purity of the water used in locomotive boilers, impurities were always present. As the water evaporated to steam, these impurities remained. Routine blowdown of the boiler helped wash away the materials to keep the locomotive running efficiently between services. Steam blowdown valves on each side of the firebox emit great clouds as you “steam clean” your boiler.Stereo Sounds: On a locomotive as large as the Big Boy, you could hear different noises coming from different places. Thanks to three on-board speakers – two in the tender and one in the boiler – you’ll get unmatched sound quality. Some sounds will be localized; others shared across speakers for dramatic and realistic effect.Depleting Coal Load: You’ve been running your Big Boy for almost an hour, how can the coal still be full? Thanks to this new Vision feature, it won’t be! For the first time ever on an O Gauge model, the coal load in the tender of your Vision Big Boy will automatically drop as you run your train. This visual effect is tied into the LEGACY control system – meaning the harder you work your train the sooner you’re going to need to stop to reload. This sophisticated system tracks the engine’s speed and labor to calculate the rate of fuel consumption. When you’re running low, you can “refill” the tender coal and water with accompanying sound effects. A “Demonstration” mode will also be available for when you want to show off thisgreat feature in a hurry.

Use the Big Boy in conjunction with our new LCS SensorTrack™ to get the most out of your experience. Any more realistic and you’d have to wear gloves!