# Buying a new big boy



## davidone (Apr 20, 2015)

If you were going to buy a new HO big boy which one would you buy?

MTH, Athearn, BLI, somebody else? 

Please give your reasons for your choice, do you like the sound, detail, smoothness etc.


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## Texas Hi-Railer (Jan 28, 2015)

davidone said:


> If you were going to buy a new HO big boy which one would you buy?
> 
> MTH, Athearn, BLI, somebody else?
> 
> Please give your reasons for your choice, do you like the sound, detail, smoothness etc.


Personally I would go with BLI simply because I own 4 of their locomotives, 3 diesel & 1 steam, ATSF 3800 Class 2-10-2 and I swear by BLI all the way. Not only is their Paragon2 sound very impressive, their detailing is equivalent to MTH but a whole lot cheaper in price for the same details.

Now I also own 2 Athearn DCC w/sound locos and I like them also but not near as much as I do BLI models. I have a KATO and I have an Atlas, all are DCC w/sound but by far the best of them all IMHO is BLI all the way! I understand they now have Paragon3 sound which from my understanding totally blows away their Paragon2 sound which I currently have.


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## LateStarter (Mar 12, 2016)

Looks like the B.L.I. is priced fairly reasonably.

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Broadway-Limited-Blue-Line-HO-5081-4-8-8-4-Big-Boy-p/bli-5081.htm

(Out of stock for now though).
I'd give an arm for the room to run one!
I have an AHM, purchased in the '70's, that I've never run for lack of room. I airbrush-weathered it, and put it away. Shame!


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## Texas Hi-Railer (Jan 28, 2015)

LateStarter said:


> Looks like the B.L.I. is priced fairly reasonably.
> 
> http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Broadway-Limited-Blue-Line-HO-5081-4-8-8-4-Big-Boy-p/bli-5081.htm
> 
> ...


Check their "Rebuilts" section, as I've seen them there before from time to time. One of my diesel locos is a rebuild from their website and it comes with the same warranty as their new stuff and when I received it, it appeared brand new to me.


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## davidone (Apr 20, 2015)

LateStarter said:


> Looks like the B.L.I. is priced fairly reasonably.
> 
> http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Broadway-Limited-Blue-Line-HO-5081-4-8-8-4-Big-Boy-p/bli-5081.htm
> 
> ...


That is a very old add, blue line was before paragon 2.


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## Cycleops (Dec 6, 2014)

Texas Hi-Railer said:


> I understand they now have Paragon3 sound which from my understanding totally blows away their Paragon2 sound which I currently have.


Don't believe all the hype from manufactures!


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## Texas Hi-Railer (Jan 28, 2015)

Cycleops said:


> Don't believe all the hype from manufactures!


Well, I'd have to say I agree with that! I'm really happy with the Paragon2 sound personally but I have no experience with the new Paragon3 sound they offer. Someone said the Paragon3 was steam locos while the Paragon2 is diesel but it didn't appear that way to me according to their website?


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## flyboy2610 (Jan 20, 2010)

I concur with BLI. They are great loco's. They do have a Big Boy in the pipeline. Factory Direct Train's website has a Fall 2016 ETA for them, but that is likely to be very optimistic given the delays BLI seems to have getting projects to market. BLI's website has the same date.
http://www.factorydirecttrains.com/upbigboy4-8-8-4.aspx

I have no experience with Paragon 3. Paragon 2 is very good however.
Athearn just released (last Fall) a Genesis Big Boy. I ordered one without DCC and sound so I could pick my own decoder. On DC it runs VERY well, though.


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## D&J Railroad (Oct 4, 2013)

The BLI Paragon 3 decoder will work with their rolling thunder system.


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

AHM/Rivarossi...for nostalgia's sake...my goal when I was 8 years old when they were an impressive $49.95. It still runs great for a 45 year old, and was actually quite easy to convert to DCC with its original 3 pole motor...










Final test run before I weathered it...


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## HOTrainNut (Feb 17, 2016)

I go to a hobby shop locally and he was at the model train show in Edison, NJ and he spoke with a BLI rep and they told him they were going to be doing a run of big boys this year. they are going to attempt to make them Paragon 3 with rolling thunder. Probably $650


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## Texas Hi-Railer (Jan 28, 2015)

HOTrainNut said:


> I go to a hobby shop locally and he was at the model train show in Edison, NJ and he spoke with a BLI rep and they told him they were going to be doing a run of big boys this year. they are going to attempt to make them Paragon 3 with rolling thunder. Probably $650


OUCH! $650 for a model locomotive? I might go $499 for a real nice DCC w/sound "Big Boy" but that would be the max. I do truly love this hobby however the pricing has really gotten out of hand and I simply refuse to pay those outrageous prices, but that's just me.

My one & only complaint about BLI is they constantly advertise a product date for distribution and they have yet to come thru on any product hitting the market on those dates. I recall when they posted on their own website when their new DCC Trackmobiles would be available and they didn't hit the hobby shops until 14 months later. They recently did the same thing with their new DCC Water Towers that I ordered back in September and I'm still waiting on mine???


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## HOTrainNut (Feb 17, 2016)

Texas Hi-Railer said:


> OUCH! $650 for a model locomotive? I might go $499 for a real nice DCC w/sound "Big Boy" but that would be the max. I do truly love this hobby however the pricing has really gotten out of hand and I simply refuse to pay those outrageous prices, but that's just me.
> 
> My one & only complaint about BLI is they constantly advertise a product date for distribution and they have yet to come thru on any product hitting the market on those dates. I recall when they posted on their own website when their new DCC Trackmobiles would be available and they didn't hit the hobby shops until 14 months later. They recently did the same thing with their new DCC Water Towers that I ordered back in September and I'm still waiting on mine???


Its most likely gonna be dual motors, Full LED lighting incredible details. If they wanna be the best theyre gonna have to kick up the bar a lot, I might hate MTH but their locos have the BEST detail in HO. Kato is still the smoothest but the detail goes to MTH. And when it comes to sound, LOK Sound is the absolute best. They have the most realistic sounds ive heard in a locomotive to date. I have a video of my SD7 with the proper sound for the era. Most steam locos sound off, at speed the chuffing gets far less pronounced but with DCC its a constant chuff chuff chuff high unprototypical.


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## Texas Hi-Railer (Jan 28, 2015)

HOTrainNut said:


> Its most likely gonna be dual motors, Full LED lighting incredible details. If they wanna be the best theyre gonna have to kick up the bar a lot, I might hate MTH but their locos have the BEST detail in HO. Kato is still the smoothest but the detail goes to MTH. And when it comes to sound, LOK Sound is the absolute best. They have the most realistic sounds ive heard in a locomotive to date. I have a video of my SD7 with the proper sound for the era. Most steam locos sound off, at speed the chuffing gets far less pronounced but with DCC its a constant chuff chuff chuff high unprototypical.


Now see, I disagree with that. I think BLI has the same quality of detailing as MTH and they are definitely much cheaper price-wise compared to MTH. MTH is and has been over-priced since he started in business and I'm actually surprised he's lasted as long as he has to be honest with you.


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## davidone (Apr 20, 2015)

The BLI big boy was announced a few months ago and the msrp is $749.00 which to me is too high. It will have paragon 3.

Although it will be nice I think even if the street price is $650.00 it still is too high. 

I have the MTH challenger and the detail and sound is very good.


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## HOTrainNut (Feb 17, 2016)

Texas Hi-Railer said:


> Now see, I disagree with that. I think BLI has the same quality of detailing as MTH and they are definitely much cheaper price-wise compared to MTH. MTH is and has been over-priced since he started in business and I'm actually surprised he's lasted as long as he has to be honest with you.



Most of the MTH crowd, I hate to say it, is old men with disposable income and love their O gauge crap. I know its because,"its what I grew up with", however you need a large amount of space to do a decent layout. MTH has the worst customer service, refuses to adhere to NMRA standards therefore they are being propelled by idiotic buyers that expect high quality from a closed source DCS system and terrible customer service. Now, in Diesels MTH is the hands down winner in detail, they have the most true-to-life paint schemes and most prototypically looking locos.


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## Prospect193 (Nov 30, 2011)

I have a BLI on order!!!


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## alaska railroad (Oct 20, 2015)

I would say bli would be my choice. But honestly , just owning a big boy is a privilege yah?? Very,very awesome locomotive indeed.......


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

I have 3 BLI locos. 2 steam and 1 diesel. All are great. The steam are a N&W
class A #1218 and a N&W Y6B, almost as big as a Big Boy. Both articulated.
I like big steam. I would love a BLI Big Boy but probably won't happen. I already
have 2 rivarossi Big Boys and a rivarossi challenger #3985. One of the Big Boys
is an old AHM/rivarossi I bought used, paid a bit too much for, $300. One is a
Model Expo/rivarossi I bought new and it was only $150 in 1994. Both run great
on DC and need to be converted to DCC. I thought they would be worth getting
Tsunami decoders. Tsunamis no longer made, but I will still get something from
Sound Traxx. I cant justify buying a 3rd Big Boy. I only bought the second one cause
of such a good deal.


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## Texas Hi-Railer (Jan 28, 2015)

The only "Big Boy" locomotive I own is an HO scale model made by Revell that I built a couple of years back that sits on my layout directly in front of the train depot that sits on a non-powered track strictly for cosmetic reasons. My layout turns are not large enough to operate a Big Boy on the layout and I have no current plans for any new layout so, I guess my static Big Boy will be the only one I'll ever own, lol. It actually looks pretty good to be honest with you and most who see it on the layout think it's a real powered unit and they can't believe it when I tell them it's just a static model and my Big Boy was only $19.95 at my local Hobby Lobby.


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## alaska railroad (Oct 20, 2015)

Hi Texas hi- RAILER...
I don't no the degree turns you have. But just in case, I wanted to let you no. I have a big boy , and I have 18 degree turns, and it works perfectly on them. My friends ask me ,how does that big monster make those turns. I say because it's articulated . That starts another subject, that I have to explain . LOL!!


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## HOTrainNut (Feb 17, 2016)

I would NEVER try to run a Big Boy on 18" radius. I know it can, but shouldnt.


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## Texas Hi-Railer (Jan 28, 2015)

To be honest with you I don't know what degree my turns are because the entire layout is done with flex-track but I will say, I have a 3800 Class 2-10-2 and it binds on two spots on the layout pretty bad and if I run it too fast it will actually derail. So I assume if that 2-10-2 is having issues with those turns, surely a Big Boy will definitely have an issue however, being an articulated locomotive I may not have that issue?

My old layout was out in my converted garage which could have handled anything because the building is 18' by 24' feet but it has no heat or air-conditioning so I moved the layout inside back in 2014. The layout is now in a room that is only 12' by 15' which makes for a much smaller layout and I don't have near the structures and mainlines that I had in the garage. I'm thinking about maybe building an island in the center of the room and that would add considerable trackage and structures to the layout. Trackage, is that a word, lol?


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## davidone (Apr 20, 2015)

Guys,

MTH, BLI, Trix/Marklin can negotiate 18" radius. Both wheel sets can turn unlike the prototype where only the front set is articulated. 

Nothing wrong with mfgs doing that because it allows more people to be involved in running large engines.


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## davidone (Apr 20, 2015)

Ok, after all the post on what kind of big boy I should buy and doing research on the different brands, here are my thoughts.

Athearn---pro--Detail, runs smooth, looks great
Con--sound, especially the chuff, it is awful-----not in the running

MTH-------Pro--Detail, smooth, great sound
Con--proprietary systems but runs great with DCC----in the running

Trix/Marklin----Pro--- maybe the best out there
Con--The ones out there are fairly old and sound is dated----A maybe

BLI-------------Pro-- Will take a look at it when the Paragon 3 is Released

Rivarossi--Don't know much about them, seems to be old tooling.


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## HO LOVER (Nov 25, 2007)

I just got a BLI (Y6B) Rolling thunder, No regrets. I run it on my 22 Inch radius which is my largest radius in my small 8x4 layout, i just started my layout and will make a 19 inch radius on the inner track, i use flex track, i will def be running it on the 19 inch radius as well. Next on the list is a BIGBOY for sure. My BLI Y6B.


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## LateStarter (Mar 12, 2016)

Maybe I should drag my AHM from the display case, and run it on my small layout (18" & 22" r.) just for laughs. I don't have DCC yet, but it'll probably run pretty well when I do.
It'll look strange with an RSD-15, a Geep, and a couple of SW-1500's, but it'll be offset by the jollies.


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## Guest (Apr 7, 2016)

HOTrainNut said:


> I would NEVER try to run a Big Boy on 18" radius. I know it can, but shouldnt.


While I will say that for the most part I agree with you, since my home HO layout has a minimum radius of 36" (frequently bigger), I used to play with three rail O scale, and I didn't find the overhang objectionable. Here is a photo of my MTH Great Northern Class R-2 2-8-8-2 on a layout that I helped build. The layout was built at a 45" layout height, so the viewer was not "helicopter railfanning". 

You would have to be the judge on whether or not you fell it is objectionable. This is on the equivalent of about a 21" radius in HO. 









Regards, 
GNNPNUT


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

HO LOVER, I got a BLI Y6B (paragon2) last year. They are sweet. Very heavy
with a diecast body and frame. Slow speed is awesome. I love it. Then I got
a BLI N&W class A, another fine loco. Since they are articulated they can run on 18".
Boiler does swing way out but it will do it.

Nice looking loco gnnpnut.


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