Hello everyone, I just joined here yesterday, so I'll introduce myself a little. I'm 16 years old (But only just!) and I have been a model railroader since I was about 3. We got started in HO, as I recall, but then our uncle gave us a G scale Thomas the Tank Engine set. That kept us entertained and until we decided that real trains don't have faces, so we moved on, but stayed in G scale. Until now, we've been 99% G scale, with a few ventures into other scales, including N. Anyway, a couple months ago, we decided to pull our old train board out of the garage, ripped up all the old Bachmann and Atlas sectional track that it had on it, and replaced it with Atlas Code 80 flex track and Woodland Scenics Track-Bed. So, now we have an operating layout, so we'll get on to my question. Our oval of track has mostly 11.5" radius turns on it, but there is one point where there is about a 3" section that has a 9.75-10" turn because we laid the roadbed slightly wrong. Living three miles from the Museum of Transport where the Big Boy 4006 is kept, I have been a Big Boy fan since my first days of model railroading, and I never could afford a G gauge Big Boy, but now that I'm doing N scale, I'd like to buy a Athearn Genesis Big Boy. My question is, will the Big Boy negotiate these turns? Before we go into it, I'd like to say that I know it won't look terribly great, what I'm asking is if it will negotiate them without causing damage to the engine or derailing. We'll probably be getting a larger railroad in the near future, but for now I'd like to be able to run it some. The reason I'm asking this, is a local dealer has a great bargain on an Athearn Big Boy for about half off MSRP, and I'm worried if I wait until the bigger railroad is built, then I may have to pay more. Thanks in Advance! John
Hi John. The Athern web site states 'will negotiate 11" radius but will operate better on 15" radius". I think your 9 3/4" radius is not going to do for any big steam engine. Rick
John, I would be hesitant to run a Big Boy through anything tighter than what the manufacturer says. I don't think it will blow apart, but it will almost certainly derail. Welcome to Trainboard!! Adam
Hi John: I would definitely go with the biggest radius curves you can, if at all possible. Welcome to Trainboard! Cheers: Bill
Welcome to TB. Your track radii for the Athearn "Big Boy" should be at least 15 inch radii. The radii you have on your layout aren't sufficient to run these massive steamer. I would consider re-evaluating your present layout and make the necessary adjustments to accommodate this steamer. Have fun....
My layout is 2X4' and the balance of the turns is 11.5" However, I nailed the track and roadbed down in just the wrong spot on one turn, and about halfway through the turn, it gets down to 9.75" radius for about a 2.5-3" section, and then broadens back out to 11.5" radius for the remainder of the turn. I guess my Big Boy will have to wait a little longer.
Just for comparison, I have the smaller and shorter Kato GS-4 and I wouldn't try to run it on 11" curves even. It runs quite well around the min. 18" curves at our NTrak club, however.
John, if you only nailed down your track you can always lift it and re-set it. It wouldn't be the first time a model railroader did this and it won't be your last. By the way, if the price for the Big Boy is that great, and you will be building a new layout soon, don't wait. Too may of us have done that only to find they can't get a particular engine again. Good luck. Rick
Ok, I gotta confess.... I'm his brother and I'm responsible for the iffy track! Kato Mikado runs fine on it...though now that I realized how sharp it really is(I suspected 11" minimum...oops!) I'm going to definitely realign it. Would 11" be doable for a Big Boy? Or at least more doable?
I'd go with what Bob (PowerSteamGuy1790) says above - 15" minimum. He knows N scale steam much better than I do.
John & Robbie. Try the Athern link below and see directly what the manufacturer recomends. Bigger is better and you should try and get as colse to a minimum of 15" as possible. Rick Athearn - Product Search
John, if the price is really good, you could always buy the Big Boy now and hold on to it until you get that bigger layout. Just a thought. -Mike
Well, Athearn says 11" minimum, so it probably won't do the 9.75" we have on the layout. As pastoolio suggested, I could simply purchase it and hold on to it until we get the bigger railroad completed, but no telling when that will be completed. I might just go for plan B which is for my second favorite engine, the Kato GS4.
I agree with what others have said, go ahead and get the Big Boy while you can get a good deal on it, your first layout won't be your last and they'll get better as you go. Something else to consider is what I do, I run all my big steam and long trains on my club's Ntrak layout, if there are any model railroad clubs in your area check them out, there are lots of advantages of belonging to a club.
I have a Big Boy and I ran it 2 hours on 9 3/4" radius this last weekend with no hitches. Big oval, but the turns were 9 3/4". You will be fine with the configuration you mentioned.
delljohn: Thanks, that gives me quite a bit of confidence. At least I'll be able to run it a little bit until I get the new layout built
Yep. I was just doing a break-in run, but I experienced absolutely no problems. With that said, I do NOT like the DC sound controllers. I have never been able to get the Athearn remotes to function correctly (I also own 2 Challengers). However, I run DCC so that wasn't really an issue.
I have an Athearn Big Boy and a Challenger and both will negotiate 9 3/4" radius with out derailing. No, it isn't pretty but it works.
Well, I took the plunge and headed out to the hobby shop this morning to pick up my Athearn Big Boy. I took it home and test ran it, and I was shocked at it's performance. Even on my admittedly very sharp turns, it tracked perfectly, and runs as smooth as a Kato Mike, which is definitely an accomplishment. As others have said, it isn't pretty on those turns, but it does indeed run, and it runs very well. But, we have one switch that every piece of equipment we have tends to dislike, and this loco is no exception, as it makes a little thunk as it goes over it. Looks like the frog isn't quite deep enough even for the tiny flanges on the Athearn Big Boy, but it does indeed negotiate my turns. Now, it's time to start on that new railroad! I can officially say I'm hooked!
Congratulations! I have been thinking of picking up one of those Big Boys so keep us posted on its performance.
