I haven't been all that big a fan of restored steam, maybe because there hasn't been a whole lot of it out here -- every few years, 3751 or 844, but not much else. But somehow I got stoked about UP moving Big Boy 4014 back to Cheyenne. I decided to see if I could get one of the cheap Revell plastic Big Boy kits and modify it as far as possible into the 4014 during its move. The Revell kit doesn't seem to be carried by the usual model train sites, but you can get it pretty inexpensively off Amazon, so I got one.

I need to be careful about scoping this project. My aim is to add whatever details I can to the Revell kit to make it look somewhat like 4014 on its move, without going bananas. For instance, the boiler sheathing has been removed (as it is on many museum locos, apparently to get rid of the asbestos insulation), and I am simply not going to spend the effort reproducing the unsheathed boiler with rivets showing. However, I do want to be able to have a diesel shove it back and forth on my layout. While the kit is advertised as having movable wheels, I'm not sure how well this will work, but I'm going to try to make it into enough of a dummy that I can at least have a mini-restoration trip if I want to.

I'm starting with the tender, as the changes really caught my eye when I saw the loco leaving West Colton on Monday:

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Notice there is no coal in the coal space, and the tender deck is being used to carry what looks like an air tank, as well as some components from the loco. The loco components can be made from the Revell parts, and I'll have to figure out how to do the air tank:

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I cut away the coal load from the Revell casting and will build up the empty coal space from styrene. I will also add weight to the tender for operation, insofar as this can be made workable:

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I replaced the snap-on lead truck attachment for the centipede tender with a screw and washer. I also made a styrene retainer for the pedestal tender wheels.

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I'll need to modify the chassis of both engine and tender to provide for Kadees front and rear, as well as more robust articulation and drawbar connections. I will also need to make the center wheels on the pedestal tender blind.

Cool project. One question, does the Revell loco have a rigid frame, or does it actually articulate? If it is rigid, this could be a huge problem. If I was doing this, I would probably replace all the wheelsets except for the drivers. Even though they roll, they may not roll well. You will have to add weight to keep it on the track. Good thing the prototype had it's valve gear disconnected, because I'm sure that would cause a bind of the model and the plastic would wear out quickly. Not sure how the drivers fit into the frame, but any way you could replace the driver axles with steel?

I was up on Pepper Avenue for that, too.

I saw the SUV with the Trains mag signs. Was it you who stopped me and another guy and asked us if we wanted to say who we were for the Trains cam? I was John from LA and was wondering if it was you.

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nachoman Wrote:Cool project. One question, does the Revell loco have a rigid frame, or does it actually articulate? If it is rigid, this could be a huge problem. If I was doing this, I would probably replace all the wheelsets except for the drivers. Even though they roll, they may not roll well. You will have to add weight to keep it on the track. Good thing the prototype had it's valve gear disconnected, because I'm sure that would cause a bind of the model and the plastic would wear out quickly. Not sure how the drivers fit into the frame, but any way you could replace the driver axles with steel?

Yes, it articulates. There are several problems with the wheels. They are nominally HO, but not to any standard for tread width or flanges. They will roll, but they're plastic. The tender pedestal and trailing truck wheels look to be about 40 inch diameter, blunt axles. You can scare commercial wheels like this up (NWSL or Jaybee), but it gets expensive for what I'm doing. I'm thinking I want to shove the loco back and forth, and I don't want to go bananas. For what I'd begin to spend on time and effort, even a Rivarossi Big Boy would be a better option. I basically want a souvenir or memento, not something to operate over the long term -- but a Big Boy is problematic for many, many layouts, and I'm not sure I'd go that route other than as a souvenir.

Yes, the frames articulate. Again, I'm not sure that even if I had the tools and talents of guys like Schraddel on this forum that it would be worth replacing axles, etc. It's worth pointing out that a pedestal tender needs major tweaks for operation on a model layout -- there's no cheap and easy way to get to a decent running loco from a Revell! But it's a potential static loco if you have a big enough engine terminal.

Could've been. 50/50 odds.

This is a cool project. Wish the best of luck with it.
I was at the train show in Springfield Mass the day they moved it from the museum. They had a live feed. But I missed it.

And you are right, the Revell models are designed more for on a bookshelf, or sitting on a siding, or a yard as statics. I had the Big Boy and the Revell New York Central "Berkshire" or "Niagara"(forgot what it was), and one of the other ones, but can't remember which.

Are these models still available?

The information for the prototype's move is here:
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eightyeightfan1 Wrote:Are these models still available?

Yes, you can find them on Amazon.

I studied all the photos I could find, and it appears that all the cab windows were removed from 4014 for the move, whatever the reason. So I carved the mullions out of the Revell cab and airbrushed the interior with a light green.

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The boiler backhead casting includes cab front walls. The backhead itself will be airbrushed black when I do the rest of the loco.