Union Pacific 'big boy' steam locomotive

[Dawg]

Just thought i'd show this which my late father started building from scratch; mainly from photos and works drawings - it's a live steam 3 1/2" gauge model of a Union Pacific 'Big Boy' 4-8-8-4 which is 3/4 complete. It's about 8ft long with the tender. It's currently up for sale - I have other completed/nearly completed locos such as two Stanier Duchess pacifics (5" and 3 1/2" gauge) and a couple of tank engines, but I have to down size really and finishing this is completely beyond me...






Here's what they looked like back in the 1940's and '50's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8f9VFlNyDQ

[mrmaggit]

The problem with these big engines is they are extremely difficult to drive. My Dad was going to build a South African 15F 4-8-2 (got the blue prints and a tour of the North British works in the early'50's) but once you put the blue prints together, there wasn't enough room to be able to fire it! The real ones had auto-stokers, but you can't scale coal.

We saw a lovely 16D (IIRC) 4-8-4 at Harrogate a couple of years ago, but there were rods 4ft long along the tender to drive it.

[Dawg]

that was exactly his problem and part of the reason he was taking so long over it - he was working on an oil firing system and had extended controls built into the tender - it's just too long to reach over and drive conventionally.

[Lost soul]

That looks like a work of art , how on earth could you sell her ?

[Dawg]

Is another deep quandry i'm going through. I'm currently getting his 5" Stanier Duchess Pacific 46256 'Sir William A Stanier FRS' finished by a model engineering company at a fair old cost - this picture is minus the tender - it's a big loco over 6' in total length and is 85% complete; the Duchesses were his favourite engines






- I have his 3 1/2" 46229 Duchess Of Hamilton too. He also made 2 small tank engines which i'm selling to fund this job.


To get the BIg Boy finished, you'd be looking at £15k easily and I am not a rich man by any means - it's probably 65% done; the boiler is not assembled. I'd love to get it finished, but just do not have the cash. It's killing me to let it go, believe me. I'm asking a lot for it - it may not sell....

[shakotan]

Here's a scale Big Boy in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcJIuYb21BM&fea...

[900T-R]

Amazing work, folks!

[mrmaggit]

shakotan said:

Here's a scale Big Boy in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcJIuYb21BM&fea...

Almost certainly oil-fired.