Description
ATHEARN GENESIS BIG BOY STEAM LOCOMOTIVE WITH SNOWBUS CABOOSE PROTOTYPE AND BACKGROUND INFO:
The Union Pacific's Overland Route, the eastern portion of the Transcontinental Railroad, was built west of Omaha, across Nebraska and Wyoming, and on into Utah. The steepest grade was the eastbound climb on the Echo Canyon line through the Wahsatch Mountains just east of Ogden, Utah. Forty 4-6-6-4 Challenger locomotives were acquired in 1936 and 1937 to move fast freight over the grades in Utah and Wyoming. They were rated at 4,290 tons across Wyoming, but were limited to 3,100 tons eastbound through Echo Canyon.
Union Pacific wanted something that could make the same speeds as the Challengers but could carry the entire 4,290-ton train over the Wahsatch Mountains without a helper. The easiest solution was to scale up the successful Challenger design by adding another pair of drivers to each half of the locomotive, thus making a 4-8-8-4.
In 1941, UP placed an order for twenty 4-8-8-4's, numbered 4000 through 4019, with the American Locomotive Works. Each engine cost $265,174. According to legend, an unidentified machinist at the ALCO plant is responsible for the name “Big Boy”, having scrawled the name in chalk on a partially completed locomotive.
The Big Boys were exactly what the railroad wanted. They were coal burners with 68-inch drivers, 135,375 pounds of tractive effort and 6,000 horsepower. They started service on the line from Ogden to Green River, Wyoming and their operating range soon increased to cover the line all the way to Cheyenne.
Traffic during WWII resulted in five more Big Boys, numbered 4020 through 2024. being built in 1944. These versions were slightly heavier than the original order due to wartime materials restrictions. Despite the influx of diesel locomotives following WWII, the Big Boys and Challengers remained the prime power on the Overland Route. They also say service as helpers, leading gas turbines and diesels over Sherman Hill. They remained active through the 1950s and weren't retired until the early 1960s. By then, the first twenty units had been run well over one million miles.
ATHEARN GENESIS 4-8-8-4 BIG BOY STEAM LOCOMOTIVE FEATURES:
- Boiler backhead with full details and printed gauges
- Individually applied piping, valves, generators, etc.
- Operating eccentric cranks on both sides operating in correct direction
- Headlights and indicator number boxes (number boards) with directional light change
- See-through running boards
- See-through cab windows
- 5-pole skew wound motor, precision machined flywheels, and multi-link drivetrain
- Body-mounted McHenry® operating scale knuckle couplers
- Fully-assembled and ready-to-run
- Heavy die-cast frame for greater traction and more pulling power
- Scaled from prototype resources including drawings, field measurements, photographs, and more
- Accurately-painted and –printed paint schemes
- Bidirectional constant LED lighting so headlight brightness remains constant
- Minimum radius: 11”
ATHEARN GENESIS CA-11 CABOOSE FEATURES:
- Better than brass detail™ including roadname and road number specific detail and laser-sharp painting and printing
- Detailed interior including conductor's desk, stove, sink, bathroom, radio stand, and more
- See-through end platforms and steps
- Etched metal window screens on door and some side windows
- Wire-form grab irons
- Axle generator details
- Body-mounted McHenry® scale knuckle-spring couplers
- Multiple road numbers
- Separate wireform grab irons, etched metal coupler platforms
- Coupler lift bars, trainline hoses, brake hoses, and hardware
- Full underframe detail: air brake reservoir, control valve, and brake cylinder with plumbing and brake rod details
- Machined metal wheels with RP25 contours operate on all popular brands of track
- Weighted for trouble-free operation
- Fully-assembled and ready-to-run out of the box
- Accurately painted and printed for prototypical realism
- Highly-detailed, injection-molded body
- Durable jewel case packaging
- Minimum radius: 9 ¾” radius
SOUND-EQUIPPED MODELS ALSO FEATURE:
- Onboard DCC decoder with SoundTraxx Tsunami2 sound
- Sound units operate in both DC and DCC
- Full DCC functions available when operated in DCC mode
- Chuff, whistle, and bell sounds work in DC
- All functions NMRA compatible in DCC mode
- Precision slow speed control
- Program a multiple unit (MU) lashup with lead unit only horn, bell, and lights
- Many functions can be altered via Configuration Value (CV) changes
- CV chart included in the box
BIG BOY FEATURES:
- 2024 style new “Big Boy” font printed on smokebox door
- Current tender markings
- Additional “plaques” applied to boiler and tender
- “Polished” cylinder heads
- “Polished” paint finish
- PTC Equipment
SNOWBUS FEATURES:
- Unique body style with enclosed end porches
- Features insulated,-non-opening windows
- MU pedestal and rubber signal hoses unique to these cars
- Additional center-mounted porch light
- Original straight steps
