In all the time I’ve been involved in the hobby, I’ve often wondered if there was one steam locomotive that stood out among all the rest that was a have to have for the collection of just about every model railroader. And though I own a number of steam locos, I doubt I have “that one” in my collection…
So what’s “THE LOCO” to have and why ?..
Tracklayer
Back in the 50’s, it was a Varney ‘Dockside’ or an American Flyer Hudson. When ‘brass’ became the ‘thing’ in the 60’s, there were a lot of PFM/United ATSF 2-8-0’s on layouts.
Now days, there is just so much to select from. A few years ago, it was the C&O 2-6-6-6, then the on-rush of ‘sound’ steamers from several sources…
Jim Bernier
I can’t say too much about it… I have a very limited scope of what’s good and not so great, nor do I have the experience that many of you guys here have…
But, with current trends… and the downfall of steam (OK, one time progress wasn’t that great… but that rant is for another thread entirely… [;)]) I doubt that there is going to be a (steam)loco that can attain the status of “THE LOCO” to have… I think the biggest part of this is that (to me) it seems that modelers as a whole are becoming much more fractured in the interests (thats not to say that there weren’t splits in opinion before this) - in that we all (seem to) strive to model some point of some division of some railroad at some specific time frame. Because of this desire for protypicalness, people are much more limited in their purchases.
With the American Flyers, EVERY locomotive was simply labelled for the"American Flyer Lines" (though I think some had actual prototype markings on them…). This was great, because that line was completely fictional, AND in it’s “prototype” you’d have Northerns running alongside Atlantics alongside some diesel, regardless of whether or not a real RR ever ran those locomotives together. So I think that, in order to have a locomotive climb to the top of the heap, we’ll have to move away from the “exact prototypical” running style, to the “playing with trains” style of running our fantasy world OUR way…
and so, I’m going to go and pull a coal drag over the mountains with a Hudson J3a, and pull that excursion train with a Consolidation. (OK, I think I’ve effectively put locos in the wrong duties. If not, well, I tried)
If I had to pick one, it would be the UP Northern. #844 of course if you want a specific loco. A streamlined Hudson or a Pennsy K-4 would rank high also.
Well, I’m surprised noone has mentioned it, and even though I’m not a UP fan, nor do I have one of the models, there have been many releases lately of the Big Boy, even though there were only, what, a couple dozen or so ever built, and they only ran on one railroad.
Personally, the Big Boy is a great looking engine, but they don’t like sharp curves (OK, that is to say they don’t look right on a sharp curve), and my chosen prototype never had any, so I don’t think I’ll buy one, not even for display. I might take a N&W Y6b even though I’m a Southern Modeler, if they weren’t so expensive.
Brad
If I could not have a PRR J1, it would have to be the NYC S1b. The J1, for some reason that I have yet to discern, tugs at my guts in a way that only one other loco does nearly as much, and that would be the Niagara.
However, my ardour has begun to shift to the PRR Duplex T1. I first thought it was too quirky for my tastes, but now I have one of the latest (new) pre-production images of it from the BLI site set up on my background in Windows.
Is there any help for me? Any at all?
When I was a kid, THE steam engine to have was a Big Boy, and it only took only one trip to Steamtown (at that time, in Vermont) to sink the hook in good and deep. Not too much later I got my wish in the form of a Rivarossi, gleaming pizza cutter flanges and all. I became obsessed with the UP. In the 90’s I upgraded to their more realistic version.
There’s a lot of competition, and my interests have long since turned a way from the UP, but I guess I’m with Brad on this one. The Big Boy is an aesthetically beautiful machine, and the ultimate articulated. As to the prototypical argument, if a hobby starts to feel like being at work, I’m going to find another one. If I’d wanted to get lost in mobius loops of minutiae I’d have become a bureaucrat.
Nelson
When I was a kid, the Big Boy was a must have, then again Steam Loco availability was very limited.
Now that I have just about every wheel configuration I’d have to say the Challenger is probably the most versatile loco in the roster for my needs.
If I was to be given only three choices I’d go with:
Challenger
Berkshire
Conslidation
If I were to speculate on the most popular steam engine made right now it would have to be the Pennsy K-4. There are 4 or 5 mfgs turning them out , so you have to figure they did some reseach to be producing so many. When I was just getting started in this life time obsession, it was a AF 4-6-4 Hudson and then an HO 4-6-4 Hudson by Gilbert American Flyer. Later on I bought one by Rivarossi. Now with so many choices I am DL&W with Poconos, Mountains, Pacifics and yes a Hudson too. I have the original Hudsons and still can’t part with them.
I don’t think that you will find a consensus pick, everyone has their own interest. A sound equiped locomotive is probably “the feature” to get.
Actually that may depend on area…Locally it was N&W’s 611 in the late 80s…I can recall while living in Kentucky everybody wanted a model of NKP’s 765 or Chessie’s Steam Special,s 4-8-4 2101 and of course the 614…
Now the most popular model must be Varney’s 0-4-0T Lil’ Joe.In N Scale it was the Trix FM switcher.
good question with a variety of answers.
<>Theres a lot of locos out there that arent hard to buy to be the MUST have, but some of those are the rare items that are hard to find now.
Not steam but a must have model is the North Shore Electroliner for me, Sunset models is still having it listed in Brass to make, I am on an advanced order for it.
but the most rare and difficult model I scoured for as a MUST have for me is NKP 4-6-4 with
elephant ears, and finally someone on EBAY had one on sale. I contacted the owner and was going to bid on it, but the seller was in Austrailia, but he said he had 2!!! of these models.
If I didnt win the EBAY listing he would sell me the 2nd, about the same price the ebay cost went.
He sold to me!!! All the way from Australia it came
supercool.
thats the baaad girl in the middle, next to the elephant eared inspired K4 conversion .
my next gotta have model is a Virginian Triplex. They show up sometimes on ebay but oboy pricey!!
Hey Dinwitty: Check the for sale HO adds in Model Railroader. There is a Virginian 2-8-8-8-2 for sale. No price given but who knows?
I doubt that there will be a cnosensus on this one. For me it would be a Duluth, Massabi & Iron Range 2-8-8-4.
Fergies 4-6-6-4 is in PINK.
The one YOU want. Nothing like getting something you want.
At this point, since steam locos have not run in real time for aver 50 yrs, any steam loco could be the one to have![:)]
No one seems to have mention the popular 2-8-2 Mikado. That seems to be one that many who either are modeling it’s time period, or who have a “general” or fictional RR seem to favor. [:O]
The big boy 4-8-8-4 is making a come-around strong again, and I have a fictional RR so I wish for one. Even If I wasn’t doing the Pacific lines who ran such, I would want one. The videos I have are fantastic to see such a piece of machinery in animated operation! If only I was able to see them in Life Steamtown in Scranton PA has a stationary one, I wish they’d restore. The articulateds with double 6 or 8 driver wheels were the '60s and 70’s RR muscle cars of the time![;)]
Everyone will have their favorite and it should be their favorite for their favorite reasons![swg]
I’ll vote for the Big Boy as well, with the Challenger coming in a close second! Of course, I’m predjudiced (spell check still dosn’t work!) being a UP fan & modeler!
The one I want next, (and that’s THE LOCOMOTIVE" for me) and I want at least 2, is the undecorated MDC old-time 4-4-0 w/ sound. I just wish they made an SP roadname. Then after that the old-time 2-6-0 w/ sound and that does come in SP colors.
“…Just about every model railroader,” the answer is, “Every one ever built for any railroad, anywhere.”
Breaking that down to model railroaders and collectors who are into 56.5 inch gauge, North American prototype (which, incidentally, pretty much excludes a substantial percentage of all model railroaders, myself included) narrows the choice to, “Every standard gauge locomotive ever run in North America.”
So, let’s look at the ratio of models built and sold to the number of full size locos built and operated. There, IMHO, the Union Pacific’s Big Boy appears to be the big winner - 25 prototype locos, about that many production runs by various model manufacturers, literally thousands sold and they still go like hot dogs at a baseball game - mostly purchased by people who need a Big Boy about as much as someone living in a studio apartment needs a Great Dane! I recall one chap whose “layout” was a double track circle under the bed who owned and ran three of them, and have met a collector who gathered up 26 so he could claim (correctly) that he owned more than UP!
The most accurate observation in this thread is that every modeler has a favorite, and that those favorites vary all over the lot. And for every favorite, it would be possible to find three people who, gifted with that loco, would immediately put it up for bids on E-Bay.
So what’s MY favorite? Try the Nihon Kokutetsu D51 class 2-8-2, final version, in HOj (1:80 scale, 1
The Virginian never had a 2-8-8-8-2. That was Erie. VGN’s was a 2-8-8-8-4.
I would suppose a Big Boy is “the must have loco” for a lot of people based on sales.
Personally, for me it was the N&W Class A, 2-6-6-4… well, more than one actually. The J was the finest steam passenger locomotive ever, but the A was the best reciprocating steam locomotive engine ever built. And BLI’s version won model of the year, engine of the year, and I don’t know what else. Mine run like Swiss watches.