Sounds on layouts remind me of the '70's (I'm 76) when home sound systems were the rage. Reel to reel tape, balanced turn tables and tube driven amps with the sound being pumped out of Klipsh Horn speakers. We'd listen to Fred's, then drive to Dave's and "memory compare" the systems. A DCC sound system with micro speakers living in a train that's smaller than a record player's tone arm - that's magic. My two way radio watch still has me pleasantly baffled and I'm a computer engineer (small trains).
This ESU Loksound install turned out great. The loco runs pretty good with the two motors but it isn't an easy installation to do because of that. I ran this in Reno at the N scale convention to see how it performed in a real world setting, Free-moN. It turned out better than I thought it would.
@MrTech2three Well, currently, BLI does have smoke and great sound and Kato doesn't even have DCC version. Unless you get a custom DCC sound installation. It is hard to decide really, but the Kato is worth the money overall. It really depends on what you value most, running ability or smoke or sound. Kato did stay on the track better I think.
Well regardless, it's a whole lot better than that Rivarossi Big Boy I had years ago. You are right about too much silver. I saw the real 4014 in 2021.
I too want an install, however I had to return my Kato Big Boy because it was moving on the rails and the gears on the right side fell apart. So I'm sending it back where I bought it from for a replacement. Once I get it back how do I get it setup to send it in for a install? How much will the install cost if I may ask?
Yikes Bob the Difference between the 3 & the Pulling Power of the Kato is pretty incredible.. Might be a While before i can get one might be a while before i can buy Anything.. My Mom, My Great Supporter Right Next to my Dad left this World way too soon Matter-of-fact she wanted to get better she wasn't in her mind going to let two strokes stop her from doing what she wanted to do but she had some minor health issues & her age she was 87 they we're pushing back.. She's with me & Dad all the time Now Bob.. I'm hoping to see ya at the Train show Bob but we'll see.. You take Care happy 4th 🧨🧨 July Allen D
may I ask a big favor from you could you do a video of the tender and cuz I'm trying to figure out how to make my kato big boy DCC and sound but theres no videos showing besides your video it may not be the best picture to see how it all hooked up but maybe a video you can do up close to it that way i can get an idea on everything with the speakers too please and thank you I appreciate it.
Sorry, I made a promise to KRail Hobbies not to show the installation of the decoder on the inside. They do put in 2 speakers and the decoder in the tender and have to modify the headlight board for DCC. There is two motors, so they have to be wired separately and configured, one decoder.
the most important info i got from this? Esu didnt update their Bigboy sounds in forever. still no Double chugging and still the old generic "European" cylinder sounds. Esu really needs to step up their game when it comes to the Big Boys running sound.i am also surprised that your athearn only has 2 traction tires???? i have the Athearn 4014 Race to Promontory edition and it has 4. 2 on the very front driving wheels and 2 on the very back driving wheels. Do you have an older version of the Athearn?
That works as well, I did see one person with DC have the front motor lose connection to track power and wouldn't move. They had to take it apart to fix the loose connectivity to the motor.
I got DC only too as I run dual types (I can operate in DC or DCC mode on my layout, just a matter of switching over the panel control boards) but for some reason the loco hangs up a lot. At first I thought it was the trip pin for the tender, but it was not, so I am trying to find out why. As a side note, I model pre-1970 but I just gave in and ordered the Kato UP Excursion train and tenders. Oh well, some things have to be done for fun. Last, the thing, ran GREAT right out of the box, as has been all my experiences with Kato locos. Loving this purchase.
@@DaBobsNScaleMancave there was a blurb about it in an article I read from Counter Arts called Heavy Metal Thunder. I can’t imagine it would get used much.
Any reports of the pilot wheels constantly derailing? Mine do. My track work isn't perfect but the slightest imperfection will derail those pilot wheels. None of my other steamers have this problem. For what the loco cost me, so far it is a pretty big disappointment. Especially for a Kato.
Flawless track is important, any little kink or raised rail will usually cause a problem. I don't have an issue very often with my pilot wheels derailing, but they have on ungauged rail.
the 4014 has been sitting right outside the ballpark where the College World Series is being played in Omaha for the last 10 days or so... I thought about going over from Des Moines but it has to be crazy downtown right now and I was lucky enough to see it a couple of times in 2019 when it was in Omaha for Railroad Days and then came to Des Moines... all I can say is Wow!
Yes I did see it up close at the steam shops and with steam here in Omaha, not the first time either. It makes my review a lot easier when comparing the details included and or missing from the model.
I am still just blown away that it’s back on the rails and running. I clearly remember playing on it as a kd in Pomona when we went to the county fair every year. I never would have believed it could be running again. Mr Dickens and his crew are amazing mechanics and the U.P. Company is to be comended for brining it back. Thank you all involved. And, oh yeah, thanks Bob for the honest review of Kato’s model of it!
Regarding your comments that the Kato Big Boy Carrie's too much silver coloring: the firebox and the smokebox--I'll let you figure out what those are, and where they're located on the Big Boy, real and miniature--are not covered with insulation (usually asbestos bricks in the days when steam locomotives were operating) then sheathed with thin sheet metal, as was standard on the rest of the boiler. To help prevent the uncovered steel firebox and smokebox from displaying surface rust. Railroads coated those parts in a mixture of graphite and oil. It wasn't paint, rather the graphite was suspended in the oil. Depending on the mixture, the appearance of the coated parts could range from near-black to near-silver. UP and some other railroads sometimes gussied up display and fantrip locomotives with silver paint in odd places such as the journal boxes on the tender. Often the firebox and smokebox appeared to be painted silver. It's possible that was due to a higher-than-usual graphite-to-oil percentage or, perhaps, the railroad covered the already coated parts with a layer of silver paint (which would burn off fairly quickly due to the intense heat of the firebox and smokebox). Thus the appearance of the Big Boy with all that silver isn't "wrong" but it is,in my opinion, overdone and too bright. Kato makes nice models but it's been my experience that they tend to follow only their own research and ignore the advice that's available from Railroad historians and well-informed modelers.
I asked Ed about the color changes as well. He mentioned that when they do a repainting application, UP gives them whatever shade they have available. Sometimes it was more silver than it is currently looking today. It is more of a darker gray than silver and the heat over time will darken it up. The original color was gray in 1941. So the paint on the smokebox is variable along with a section of steam tube below it. I guess it is what it looks like at the time they took their pictures.
Not to impress with it...I have one DC......to light weight in pulling..I did a review on all three ....kato at 5.4 oz bli at 8.5 oz and athearn at 7.7 oz.....know a guy who went to the n scale nats...said it couldn't pull 30 cars on the s curve...only on the straits with tons of wheel slippage.....could only do close to 20.....draw bar comes apart...and other issues guys complained to kato and there taking notes and will fix it .there doing a second run of them said it will be a fox ....friend suspects they may do a metal body........so I'm not wasting time on my DC till this second one comes out ....hope they fix the issues on the first run ..... Don't care for esu . Why?... Because there not wright with the sounds ..... athearn with tsunami 2 was on the money...the bell the whistle and duel Dynamos sounds that esu don't have let alone the crew talk....even have them talking to Ed on that crew talk ...if I kato another kato it will get the athearn tsunami 2.. ..ps that pull test video kato did with it pulling 15 pounds weight is false advertising......
I didn't do a pull test of 15 pounds, I did it with the same set of cars as the other two brands and added more and then pulled it up a 2% grade. I haven't heard anything about Kato making it in metal or the draw bar coming apart. But I agree with you on the ESU part that they have the wrong sounds, they are using 844 sounds because they didn't get permission to record the BigBoy sounds, Soundtraxx did and have the officially recorded sounds.
The reason kato big boy pulls more than other bigboys is because I know that in the athearn version the tender includes a huge heavy and unnecessary tower shaped lead weight. I took the huge weight out of the tender and it had no effect on it tracking ability but a noticeable increase in traction...howbeit the additional traction tires on kato probly contribute to no more than 20% increase over athearn and broadway, also the kato drive wheels all track evenly with the kato suspension system, they are genius!
I'm sorry I'm taking youreview at face value. Because some of the stuff that you're saying is nit picky. As for the horn, you do realize that. Many steam locomotives had fog horns on them, right? Decent review but wish you could have left out some of the Lesser complaints.
I actually did not know that they had a fog horn on some locomotives. The BigBoy has an air horn as well but I don't think it is just like a deep base foghorn would sound. But then again I haven't heard the air horn other than the steam whistle. Well I have an opinion just like everyone else and I gave this my first impression, good and or bad. Thanks for watching.
Ah so this decoder was installed aftermarket. Just got my big boy with soundtraxx tsunami2 factory install and not impressed at all! To digital!!! Nothing like ESU 😡
If you got the Kobo Shops DCC and sound version, it isn't as well done as this one was. Kato only installed one speaker and didn't replace the headlight or put in a tail light in the tender. Here is something good about the Tsunami sound files; they are the only manufacturer authorized to record 4014's actual sound while onboard the engine and in a crowdless environment. ESU was not allowed to record because they didn't ask for permission. ESU sound files are of 844 instead of the BigBoy. So, if a custom Soundtraxx install was done to have 2 speakers and the better decoder, it may sound a lot better.
Did they make it any easier to replace the traction tires? Or hopefully did they make them last longer? Thank you for the review. I have 4 of the Big Boys from Athena and all of them have lost their traction tires.
Sounds on layouts remind me of the '70's (I'm 76) when home sound systems were the rage. Reel to reel tape, balanced turn tables and tube driven amps with the sound being pumped out of Klipsh Horn speakers. We'd listen to Fred's, then drive to Dave's and "memory compare" the systems. A DCC sound system with micro speakers living in a train that's smaller than a record player's tone arm - that's magic. My two way radio watch still has me pleasantly baffled and I'm a computer engineer (small trains).
Wow!! Extremely smooth slow speed for a N scale model. Very, very nice!!
Thanks for sharing. I enjoyed meeting you. The dinner was okay. But the prizes were great. I had a good time.
This ESU Loksound install turned out great. The loco runs pretty good with the two motors but it isn't an easy installation to do because of that. I ran this in Reno at the N scale convention to see how it performed in a real world setting, Free-moN. It turned out better than I thought it would.
Bob, I'm looking at getting a big boy. Which would you recommend, kato or bli? By the way, great review on both!
@MrTech2three Well, currently, BLI does have smoke and great sound and Kato doesn't even have DCC version. Unless you get a custom DCC sound installation. It is hard to decide really, but the Kato is worth the money overall. It really depends on what you value most, running ability or smoke or sound. Kato did stay on the track better I think.
Good informative review of the Kato Big Boy.
Great review! I wish it had a smoke system too! Thanks George
Well regardless, it's a whole lot better than that Rivarossi Big Boy I had years ago. You are right about too much silver. I saw the real 4014 in 2021.
I too want an install, however I had to return my Kato Big Boy because it was moving on the rails and the gears on the right side fell apart. So I'm sending it back where I bought it from for a replacement. Once I get it back how do I get it setup to send it in for a install? How much will the install cost if I may ask?
Yikes Bob the Difference between the 3 & the Pulling Power of the Kato is pretty incredible..
Might be a While before i can get one might be a while before i can buy Anything.. My Mom, My Great Supporter Right Next to my Dad left this World way too soon Matter-of-fact she wanted to get better she wasn't in her mind going to let two strokes stop her from doing what she wanted to do but she had some minor health issues & her age she was 87 they we're pushing back.. She's with me & Dad all the time Now Bob..
I'm hoping to see ya at the Train show Bob but we'll see..
You take Care happy 4th 🧨🧨 July
Allen D
🇧🇷🚂👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Great DeBobs!
It's excellent review Kato Big boy!
Wow! cool😊
may I ask a big favor from you could you do a video of the tender and cuz I'm trying to figure out how to make my kato big boy DCC and sound but theres no videos showing besides your video it may not be the best picture to see how it all hooked up but maybe a video you can do up close to it that way i can get an idea on everything with the speakers too please and thank you I appreciate it.
Sorry, I made a promise to KRail Hobbies not to show the installation of the decoder on the inside. They do put in 2 speakers and the decoder in the tender and have to modify the headlight board for DCC. There is two motors, so they have to be wired separately and configured, one decoder.
@@DaBobsNScaleMancave oh okay
the most important info i got from this?
Esu didnt update their Bigboy sounds in forever. still no Double chugging and still the old generic "European" cylinder sounds. Esu really needs to step up their game when it comes to the Big Boys running sound.i am also surprised that your athearn only has 2 traction tires????
i have the Athearn 4014 Race to Promontory edition and it has 4. 2 on the very front driving wheels and 2 on the very back driving wheels.
Do you have an older version of the Athearn?
Yes, I do have a couple versions that came out a couple years before your version did, so I guess they improved it a bit. Thanks for the info.
🚂🚞🚞🚞😎👍Big Boy!
I think they sent an HO scale one by mistake.
When I get my Kato Big Boy, I’m keeping it as DC analog if you don’t mind.
That works as well, I did see one person with DC have the front motor lose connection to track power and wouldn't move. They had to take it apart to fix the loose connectivity to the motor.
I got DC only too as I run dual types (I can operate in DC or DCC mode on my layout, just a matter of switching over the panel control boards) but for some reason the loco hangs up a lot. At first I thought it was the trip pin for the tender, but it was not, so I am trying to find out why.
As a side note, I model pre-1970 but I just gave in and ordered the Kato UP Excursion train and tenders. Oh well, some things have to be done for fun.
Last, the thing, ran GREAT right out of the box, as has been all my experiences with Kato locos. Loving this purchase.
It actually does have an air horn on board. At least it did in 2019. Who wants to hear that though…🤷♂️
Hmm, when I was on board 4014, I should have asked Ed about it. I don't think I have ever heard it blow. I would rather hear the whistle.
@@DaBobsNScaleMancave there was a blurb about it in an article I read from Counter Arts called Heavy Metal Thunder. I can’t imagine it would get used much.
Any reports of the pilot wheels constantly derailing? Mine do. My track work isn't perfect but the slightest imperfection will derail those pilot wheels. None of my other steamers have this problem. For what the loco cost me, so far it is a pretty big disappointment. Especially for a Kato.
Flawless track is important, any little kink or raised rail will usually cause a problem. I don't have an issue very often with my pilot wheels derailing, but they have on ungauged rail.
you got to see the 4014 up close? during the meet and greet , hard to do a review when you see the real beast in person,.,.,.,
the 4014 has been sitting right outside the ballpark where the College World Series is being played in Omaha for the last 10 days or so... I thought about going over from Des Moines but it has to be crazy downtown right now and I was lucky enough to see it a couple of times in 2019 when it was in Omaha for Railroad Days and then came to Des Moines... all I can say is Wow!
@@GDLarcade It is best right now since only two teams are left and the crowd for the BigBoy is smaller.
Yes I did see it up close at the steam shops and with steam here in Omaha, not the first time either. It makes my review a lot easier when comparing the details included and or missing from the model.
I am still just blown away that it’s back on the rails and running. I clearly remember playing on it as a kd in Pomona when we went to the county fair every year. I never would have believed it could be running again. Mr Dickens and his crew are amazing mechanics and the U.P. Company is to be comended for brining it back. Thank you all involved. And, oh yeah, thanks Bob for the honest review of Kato’s model of it!
Air compressor on the side? I thought 2 were on the front deck! 🤔
I may have been referring to the air tanks themselves, I get some words mixed up at times.
Regarding your comments that the Kato Big Boy Carrie's too much silver coloring: the firebox and the smokebox--I'll let you figure out what those are, and where they're located on the Big Boy, real and miniature--are not covered with insulation (usually asbestos bricks in the days when steam locomotives were operating) then sheathed with thin sheet metal, as was standard on the rest of the boiler.
To help prevent the uncovered steel firebox and smokebox from displaying surface rust. Railroads coated those parts in a mixture of graphite and oil. It wasn't paint, rather the graphite was suspended in the oil. Depending on the mixture, the appearance of the coated parts could range from near-black to near-silver.
UP and some other railroads sometimes gussied up display and fantrip locomotives with silver paint in odd places such as the journal boxes on the tender. Often the firebox and smokebox appeared to be painted silver. It's possible that was due to a higher-than-usual graphite-to-oil percentage or, perhaps, the railroad covered the already coated parts with a layer of silver paint (which would burn off fairly quickly due to the intense heat of the firebox and smokebox).
Thus the appearance of the Big Boy with all that silver isn't "wrong" but it is,in my opinion, overdone and too bright. Kato makes nice models but it's been my experience that they tend to follow only their own research and ignore the advice that's available from Railroad historians and well-informed modelers.
I asked Ed about the color changes as well. He mentioned that when they do a repainting application, UP gives them whatever shade they have available. Sometimes it was more silver than it is currently looking today. It is more of a darker gray than silver and the heat over time will darken it up. The original color was gray in 1941. So the paint on the smokebox is variable along with a section of steam tube below it. I guess it is what it looks like at the time they took their pictures.
Not to impress with it...I have one DC......to light weight in pulling..I did a review on all three ....kato at 5.4 oz bli at 8.5 oz and athearn at 7.7 oz.....know a guy who went to the n scale nats...said it couldn't pull 30 cars on the s curve...only on the straits with tons of wheel slippage.....could only do close to 20.....draw bar comes apart...and other issues guys complained to kato and there taking notes and will fix it .there doing a second run of them said it will be a fox ....friend suspects they may do a metal body........so I'm not wasting time on my DC till this second one comes out ....hope they fix the issues on the first run ..... Don't care for esu . Why?... Because there not wright with the sounds ..... athearn with tsunami 2 was on the money...the bell the whistle and duel Dynamos sounds that esu don't have let alone the crew talk....even have them talking to Ed on that crew talk ...if I kato another kato it will get the athearn tsunami 2.. ..ps that pull test video kato did with it pulling 15 pounds weight is false advertising......
I didn't do a pull test of 15 pounds, I did it with the same set of cars as the other two brands and added more and then pulled it up a 2% grade. I haven't heard anything about Kato making it in metal or the draw bar coming apart. But I agree with you on the ESU part that they have the wrong sounds, they are using 844 sounds because they didn't get permission to record the BigBoy sounds, Soundtraxx did and have the officially recorded sounds.
The reason kato big boy pulls more than other bigboys is because I know that in the athearn version the tender includes a huge heavy and unnecessary tower shaped lead weight.
I took the huge weight out of the tender and it had no effect on it tracking ability but a noticeable increase in traction...howbeit the additional traction tires on kato probly contribute to no more than 20% increase over athearn and broadway, also the kato drive wheels all track evenly with the kato suspension system, they are genius!
I'm sorry I'm taking youreview at face value. Because some of the stuff that you're saying is nit picky. As for the horn, you do realize that. Many steam locomotives had fog horns on them, right? Decent review but wish you could have left out some of the Lesser complaints.
I actually did not know that they had a fog horn on some locomotives. The BigBoy has an air horn as well but I don't think it is just like a deep base foghorn would sound. But then again I haven't heard the air horn other than the steam whistle. Well I have an opinion just like everyone else and I gave this my first impression, good and or bad. Thanks for watching.
Ah so this decoder was installed aftermarket. Just got my big boy with soundtraxx tsunami2 factory install and not impressed at all! To digital!!! Nothing like ESU 😡
If you got the Kobo Shops DCC and sound version, it isn't as well done as this one was. Kato only installed one speaker and didn't replace the headlight or put in a tail light in the tender. Here is something good about the Tsunami sound files; they are the only manufacturer authorized to record 4014's actual sound while onboard the engine and in a crowdless environment. ESU was not allowed to record because they didn't ask for permission. ESU sound files are of 844 instead of the BigBoy. So, if a custom Soundtraxx install was done to have 2 speakers and the better decoder, it may sound a lot better.
Did they make it any easier to replace the traction tires? Or hopefully did they make them last longer?
Thank you for the review.
I have 4 of the Big Boys from Athena and all of them have lost their traction tires.
I haven't tried to do that yet, I do have a loose one on my Kato 844 that I need to fix. Still have to figure that out.
Not your best review
Ok, by chance would you happen to know what my best review was? I can strive to be better than that one? Did I miss anything you were looking for?