Can’t say I got everything 100% right as I’m still learning but I appreciate the kind words!

Yep, mine has the decal in the bag as well. Already have it in place.

I don’t plan on running it much faster than that as that’s right around how fast UP runs 4014 in real life, I don’t think they’ve gone above 60 mph with her.

Both alternate whistles sound like 844 to me, but the one I picked (CV224=2) sounded the closest to 4014 in my opinion.

@@michaelstrains4014 Big Boy 4014 is now using the UP 844 whistle since late July 2022

@@miguelChivasFan17 yeah so now mine sounds even better :D

The model is made from diecast, both locomotive and tender.

I’m currently running on 28” radius curves from Kato. They work best with the passenger cars I currently own. This should be able to take 22” no problems, my old MTH model would handle 18” curves pretty well.

@@michaelstrains4014 Thank you very much for the reply. This is useful information!

@@michaelstrains4014 how can you tell the curve radius

@@railroadfan-io7ns says it on the box

Unfortunately I don’t have the MTH model anymore, sold it off after it kept dying on me and bought this one as a replacement. However, I absolutely plan to make a comparison video as I’ve got enough stored video footage to make one.

I have Kato’s Unitrack. A bit pricy but it’s very high quality and generally cheaper if you buy it in a pack. Haven’t been using it lately since I built my layout.

Yes it does have the on-off switch for the smoke unit. Actually is a nice touch in my opinion.

@@michaelstrains4014 The E6 Atlantic has an On off switch too

@@JoshSmith-eq7kp pretty much all of BLI’s steam locomotives have it

The white box is Broadway’s new standard for all P4 locomotives. Very sharp in appearance, but I do miss the older packaging design where the models were wrapped in foam along with their plastic cradles.

It’s expensive, but you mostly get what you pay for in my opinion.

@@michaelstrains4014 ended up getting one, have preordered a Rivarossi as well as a backup

@@DietPizza1 gotta say I’m floored that Rivarossi made some attempt to make their Big Boy look like the prototype. Granted there’s till a few things wrong with it (mainly the after-coolers on the front) but it’s not too bad honestly. And they have ESU in it too so I’m curious as to how it’s going to sound.

Yes it will run on regular DC.

This is HO scale, forgot to put it in the title.

They have this version and the gloss finish first run version. Both come with a set of decals that you can apply yourself. Would’ve been nice if they were applied from the factory like Athearn and MTH did, but hey, at least it’s there and available to use.

@@michaelstrains4014 agreed.

Yes, it’s been out since July 2022 and BLI is making another release in 2024

Muchas gracias!

Yes

They personally haven’t confirmed it yet but they did buy the Big Boy tooling MTH was using along with multiple other steam locomotives. Currently they’re in progress on producing the Norfolk & Western J class 4-8-4s. We’ll just have to wait and see…

@@michaelstrains4014 sorry for the stupid question, but as a European I’m not so familiar with MTH. Was the MTH big boy a high quality one? I really like scaletrains product even they are hard to get here, but I don’t hear many god things about MTH?

@@TobiasL1000 not a stupid question at all. MTH’s Big Boy is pretty decent build quality, it’s actually the old Broadway/Precision Craft tooling. It was also about $200 less than everyone else’s Big Boys at the time (2020), and the sound and smoke features were killer. But the electronics were pretty finicky and I ended up selling mine after a circuit board in the locomotive kept failing and I got tired of replacing it. I do kinda regret selling it just a bit especially since they’re out of production now.

Funny you mention that, I found a small bag in the box with decals in it, so it turns out Broadway does have you covered in that area. Thanks for the offer though.

@@michaelstrains4014 show us all on KZfaq the big boy decals so everyone knows.

Это фантастическая модель, ни в коем случае не идеальная, но достаточно хорошая за такую ​​цену. Вы всегда можете импортировать его, но это сделает его более дорогим для вас.

@@michaelstrains4014 к сожалению к нам в Россию посылки сейчас из Америки не отправляются

I’d love to go see 4017 someday, the museum up there is fantastic from what I hear. So far I’ve seen 4006, 4012, and 4014.

@@michaelstrains4014 Iv Been there it is awesome there is even a train u can ride

@@railroadfan-io7ns Green Bay is the only place you can see a Big Boy, GG1, and a British LNER A4 all at once.

@@michaelstrains4014 yah it's pretty cool

Welcome to the hobby! My control system of choice is currently the NCE PowerCab. Great starter DCC system, easy to use from my experience. Should come with a power supply in that kit too. You can also buy separate auxiliary controllers like the ProCab and Cab06. They are a bit pricey brand new but I think they’re well worth the money for what you’re buying.

I’d say the closest to perfect is probably Marklin’s, they went crazy with the prototype accuracy. Technically speaking no model in any scale is truly perfect.