Just a curious question for all of you railroaders out there… Who sells the best HO scale UP Big Boy on the market? I have seen samples from Athearn Genesis, Broadway Limited, etc, but from a detail and performance standpoint, does one manufacturer have an edge over the other?
The sound unit on the Athearn Genesis is pretty bad in my opinion, the chuff sounds like a dog barking, again, just my opinion. Also, the marker lights on it are plastic, they don’t light up (as is true for most HO and smaller scales even my own BLI T1 and J1, neither of these have working, glowing marker lights)… O-gauge is generally the place to go for smoke and marker lights if someone is into that. The Athearn has bright, lit up number boards though, thats a plus, the light emitted from the headlight comes off a little greenish…I think, some models have more reddish lights, this to me is not a big deal, it actually looks kinda cool, and makes it stand out more than the BLI big boy.
Athearn Genesis Big Boy: (many more videos are availabe of this engine on youtube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDe_ifY6YiU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgIdiJ4sNRY&feature=related
However, from what I have seen of the Broadway Limited Blue Line Big Boy, it looks much better detail wise and sounds far better as well, much closer to the real thing, and it even sounds like the ultra pricey lionel or mth o-gauge models. Also there are working, glowing marker lights on the front of the engine, and on the back of the tender. This is very rare for HO, and I want to get one of these so bad.
It is a tough question. Each of them has its strong points. Overall, I would probably go with BLI for availabilty and sounds, decoder management, and from the absence of complaints posted online. The Trix should be a fine one as well, but MR reported that the driver wheels are undersized by more than one would expect for the sake of expediency in getting the model to work well.
I haven’t followed the Athearn one…(there is an Athearn Big Boy?), but I would expect that if you were to get a DC one and install either a Revolution-U or a heavy Tsunami you would be sure to enjoy a nice model.
-Crandell
I would say that the PCM version of BLI’s Big boy is the best. It’s a very strong, well running engine. It’s also more correct than it’s closest comparison, the Trix BB.
As Crandell says, the Trix BB got way to small wheels, which is unacceptable for me anyways and makes it a non contender. For such an expensive engine I can not see any reason for such faults. I can not think of any department where the Trix beats the PCM, but I could be very wrong, lets hope Cazephyr sees this, his the expert and will be able to tell us more.
The PCM brass Big boy would get my vote as the best engine of them all but most probably shy away from it due to the cost.
Magnus
I bought the Trix Big Boy , it came with a nice case. The owner of the Hobby shop that I purchased the Big Boy gave a few of us select patrons a special deal. He sold these to us for a little over three hundred dollars. [:D] Sweeeeeeet !
It should be noted that the Trix model is also sold in 3 rail form (with much deeper flanges) by Marklin (the owner of the Trix brand). Now consider that Marklin models are expected to run around 14" curves - this would almost certainly be the reason for the use of smaller wheels.
Trix did make an effort to break into the US market in recent years but overall it seems to have been a big failure. I recently saw Trix PAs going for less than $150 (original price was well over $300).
The best bang for the buck is the Athearn Genesis Big Boy. But, you need to marry it with a Soundtraxx Tsunami Heavy if you want the best sound as well. The MRC decoder it comes with is junk.
David B
You may think in the customer service. BLI/PCM, in example: I had problems with some of their products, but always and quickly they answer the questions, and give satisfactions; this is a value. I don´t know what about the Trix customer service; regretly, the PCM Big Boy is sold out, search in eBay.
[#welcome] to the forum!!
I don’t mean to be critical of your first post, but asking which engine is better is like asking if Ford is better than Chevy!! (or which will go belly up sooner[:I])
Many of us get very strong opinions of our favorite brand(s). That said, I’d add my vote for the Athearn. I have a Challenger (and three other Athearn DCC/sound locos) and don’t have a problem with the MRC decoders in them, but a lot of others will say the MRC decoders are poor. There was a comparison in MR a few months back (don’t remember which issue, but I’m sure someone else will) and it pointed out the + & - for each. Sound, pulling power, and detail varies from one to another, so it depends on weather you want to pull 87 cars at a time or count the rivits as to which is better.[%-)] Within a day or two you’re sure to have a bunch more opinions posted here. If you’re near several hobby shops, or can get to a large train show such as The World’s Best Hobby, seeing all of them would be your best bet. Which ever you decide on, be VERY careful of buying on E-thing!!! A local hobby shop will be your safest bet for an expensive purchase![:)]
The best one currently is the one from BLI/PCM. The Athearn one is also excellent, but the sound is pretty poor (and I’m not an expert on sound). The Trix BB was the very best when it came out 7 years ago, and except for the undersized wheels, it’s still a great model.
If you don’t have the money for one of those, the more recent Rivarossi Big Boys are great. The shell doesn’t have any separate detail to speak of, but it still looks pretty good, and the drives are very smooth.