One requirement on the SYVRRy is that folks who bring engines and cars to run are required to oil and clean and electrical rollers so trains run nicely. If we find a bad set of wheels on a car/engine that is taken off the layout until it is fixed. Our Chief Maintenance Officer (CMO) is responsible for fixing the issue, or removing it from operation. Graffiti and weathering is permitted.
This needs to be in the Guinness Book of World Records. A train great run conducted on a great permanent outdoor O Gauge rail layout winding through a grove of real redwood trees. Was it serious or was it fun??? Yes!
My grandfather was a coal miner, and I can vividly remember watching the coal trains riding by the house, at 2 am in the morning, headed to Virginia Beach with coal headed for Europe. I get a thrill viewing this video. This is enormously emotional for me.
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻Bin völlig begeistert Sie haben tolle Arbeit geleistet. Eine sehr schöne Eisenbahnanlage. Viele Grüße aus Lübeck von der Ostseeküste, GERMANY. Torsten Wilcken.
Thanks for picking my 64th birthday to achieve this feat. I see that there may have been a few more 60ish young boys enjoying the trains also. I love the layout and the location. I know that there's many hours of work and love placed into its construction and I only wish that I could run my vintage trains there just once. I was given my extensive set of Lionel trains in 1956 and have lovingly cared for them ever since. They were always placed back in their boxes and the multitude of lengths of track disassembled with care when the time came for my "layout" to be put away. I would have track running all through the house. I found the receipt for my trains in one of the boxes. It was from a hobby store in Chicago IL, dated 1953. My dad had purchased me my train set when I was a year old, probably in hopes that I would also become a train fan. Was he ever right. Thanks for the video experience it was very well done and congratulations.
Very nice comment. As a 53 year old guy, I do not even know who I will donate my collection too. I will be doing my layout within the next year or two max as I am retiring soon. Plan for all out future when the scepter of the prince and the staff of the beggar lie side by side when all things are equal and line up an heir for your precious cargo.
Glad I came across this video. My parents moved out to the country and the property they bought had a Gauge 1 track and shed the previous owner put up with love and care. There’s 270 yards of track they had removed by an enthusiast who knew the previous owners d showed me the gas powered engines they used on there. Amazing things. I never knew these garden miniature railways were so popular 👍🍻
I still remember when the Museum of Transportation in St.Louis County got a Big Boy . My dad dabbled in Model Railroading when I was a kid and we spent a lot of time at the museum and driving around to towns to measure Railroad buildings . I was lucky , I grew up playing with Cool Trains , what you have is Amazing !! Thank you for sharing your passion !
Several questions have come up asking about the freight cars used for this event. Here are some answers: Of the 114 freight cars, a majority of them (86) were extruded aluminum tank and one Caboose made by K-Line. Reefers and Milk cars (16) made by Lionel. Hopper cars (6) made by Atlas. Big Boy Box cars (6) made be MTH. Generally, all well made freight cars have steel wheels, several had needle bearings, and all had excellent couplers. Our crew went through all of them to give a sparing dose of oil to minimize friction.
You have managed to capture that horrible feeling of sitting at a crossing waiting for a very long train to pass. That's is the hardest thing to do! Makes your set the most realistic I've ever seen.
Seeing that young fella at 17:40 made me wonder if he would be a future railway engineer or modeller himself as he gets older, having built several 00 and N gauge layouts in the past, all indoors within a 12’ x 9’ space, I would just have loved to have something like this close by and to think it all had to be dismantled, such a shame, nowadays I don’t have a model railway but fond memories, thanks for sharing this lovely video, Mike West Bromwich, UK
"Ach du lieber, mein schatz"!!! I'm not into model steam trains, but get GREAT PLEASURE seeing them in action! The wonderful DETAIL on these steamers really "turns me on"! HOW do you "syncronize" all these engines??? I love to see "Eric'sTrains" videos as much as I can as he goes into great detail when reviewing these wonderful model steamers (you diesel guys stay at home!!!). This is one very very wonderful hobby for sure! "Gesundheit"!!!
With Lionel's Legacy command control you are able to Lash-up multiple engines so they run the same speed, You can do this with TMCC controllers but not as well as Legacy with different vintage engines.
Man...those three model Big Boy locomotives are powerful little trains aren't they? I've hear how expansive just one of them cost. But from what I see here, you're getting your money's worth.
I used to love to visit the model railroad museum in San Diego, CA when I was young. I'm now 36 and still love watching these tiny locomotives chug along!
I really enjoyed your video of the train layout. I am not a model train person but have ridden all the AMTRAK routes west of St. Louis as a great way to see The West. Several years ago I saw a Union Pacific Big Boy pulling its business passenger cars speeding past the Kirkwood train station, which is a suburb of St. Louis. The loud noise of the locomotive as it neared and went by was deafening. What a sight! I sure enjoy looking at train layouts such as yours. It's incredible.
That's really a neat layout. Steam powered? Wow! It runs real smooth. I've always wanted to build something like that but never had the time or money. My interest is in lighted tunnels and overhead lines. Congratulations to the builders!!
Just to set the record straight... The big Boy engines are Lionel and that are models of steam engines, but run with electric motors. I love that we modelers have different interest!
WOW This is an Outstanding Layout and I am totally blown away by the attention to detail. My Hometown Railroad is Reading PA and I as well have the distinction of being one of those lucky kids born between 1959 to 1964 to be known as a "rambler baby". Looking forward to seeing one of the last remaining T-1's back in steam this year! Keep those engines on schedule my friends!
This was so neat. A very good job by all that worked on the project. I love railroading. The Tehachapi Loop is on the Union Pacific Mojave Subdivision. begins near the West Colton Yard in Bloomington California from both the Alhambra Sub to the west and the Yuma Sub to the east, to just east of Bakersfield California where it connects to the Fresno Sub to the northwest and the Bakersfield Sub to the west. I was a quality assurance auditor for Progress Rail in Little Rock Arkansas from 1998 to 2008. We reconditioned rail car and locomotive bearings for all the Class 1 railroads in North America and Australia. We did bearings for Norfolk Southern, CSX, BNSF, UPRR, KCS, Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, and rail companies in Mexico. Where our shop was located was across the street on Pratt Remmel Road near the Little Rock National Airport. The closest subs were the White Bluff, the Little Rock, The Hoxie, and the Van Buren of UPRR. I currently live in Northeast Oklahoma near Grand Lake. My current closest subs are the BNSF Cherokee, Afton, the UPRR Cherokee, Wagoner, Coffeyville, and the KCS Heavener.
Great video, great layout. I have seen Union Pacific Big Boy number 4012 at Steamtown in Scranton, PA on 9/24//2012, I had to take 2 pictures of Big Boy 4012 that I have displayed on my dining room table.
Pretty cool. Far cry from the Lionel set up my dad built and set up for XMas back in 1953 or 54. It had two switches and two ovals, my brother and I would race around a locomotive and blue switcher, trying not to to crash into each other, but it happened. They were very durable and I don't recall them breaking down. My dad built a town and airport with a twirling tower light, he even installed lights in the buildings. I wish I still had it, but for sure it was one thing I vividly remember growing up.
What a fantastic layout! Thank you for sharing this event. Seeing the young ones there with the older folks and everyone in between, well, thats the best part. I live in Arizona, U.S. and have seriously put thought into doing an outside layout. Im by the Mohave desert and it gets kinda warm at times, 🤣 yeah, kinda warm😉. So im thinking I would have melting plastics to contend with. Anyway, an inspirational, just downright beautiful layout you all have there and I thank you for sharing.
A little history of the Big Boy Locomotives. A total of 25 were built by ALCO at Schenectady, NY. 20 in 1941 (Nos. 4000-4019) and 5 in 1944 (Nos. 4020-4024). Their primary early route was between Ogden, UT to Green River, WY used for WW-II to replace the requirement for double heading long freights over the Wasatch Mountains. The last revenue train using a Big Boy was in 1962. Only eight (non-operating) still exist, which are located generally at museums with the one (No. 4014) which was located at the Pomona, Los Angeles Fairgrounds. No. 4014 was selected by Union Pacific during 2013 as being in the best shape for restoration (thanks to The Railway and Locomotive Historical Society, Southern California Chapter who maintained it during it's stay at Pomona). It is the only Big Boy that will likely be restored to operating condition after a five year re-work at Cheyenne, WY as it becomes part of Union Pacific's Heritage Steam Locomotive Fleet.
I got to see number 4023 in Nebraska on my trip to Council Bluffs. When they say Big Boy, these beasts truly are big. The driver wheels were taller than my dad who's a little under 6 feet. I currently reside in Frisco, Texas where number 4018 resides but I have yet to see it. I can't wait to see one of these finally operating again.
I am wondering just what the actual pulling load is? Even a hundred and ten feet of model railroad cars has got to be a substantial amount of weight. Nice job Y'all.
Absolutely wonderful. The effort to construct the track and locomotives plus rolling stock is very impressive. Really enjoyed watching, thanks for posting. The Big Boy was such an impressive engine, would have loved to have seen one in real life.
I don't have a real interest in trains but if I ever visit the States its these sort of places I want to visit. I don't wanna go and look at a load of stupid stars on a sidewalk. I wanna see the weird and wonderful, filled with eccentrics and real characters with big beards and funny nicknames; like Hobo Mike, I bet he has a few stories to tell, nobody gets called Hobo Mike without having some stories! :D
come visit us dj shades wes got pleanty ta be showin yalls people aren't as bad as no stereotypes make us out ta be wes all nice peoples up in these hollers of saint louis
Amazing! Just wonderful! Such a lay out and the craftsmanship of it's construction. Impressive. The great tanker run. TY worthy to be seen...TV is Dead!
There is always one in the group. You are set up for the most perfect shot. someone will walk in front of the camera. I was at a "G" scale meet in Portland, OR. There was only me and a group of 4 in this huge back yard layout. I was standing there shooting the trains doing yard work. This guy J. Watson walked in front of my camera to shoot the grassy yard behind me. His excuse, " I did not know you were shooting. From there I traveled to Alaska. I spent two weeks railroading Alaska. I had tickets for the last run of the year for the W,P.& Y. RR steam run. There was thirty cars on the run. Me and 3 others were on the open platform. I was jumping side to side shooting stream engines. Mr J. Watson happened to be on the same run. He decided to see the scenery form this very special platform. He said, "it was a clearer view", than the big windows or the platform in front of this car.
Wow!! I am forced to believe what I have a hard time believing. That is astounding !! I didn't know that model railways could achieve this length. This is an eye-opener.
It was a challenge! Good equipment and persistence. If you follow our video, we had a failure a few years ago to try and run a mile long diesel train with 7 powered engines.
I live in Cheyenne WY, and I've touched the old Girl that is being restored, she still has life left in her. And when they got her all the way down to the cast iron frame, it was in perfect shape. Cant wait to see her run under her own power.
Just love the music."Freight Train" if my memory serves me correct. Long time no hear. The locomotives are just super. If I had the chance to see this layout when I was a boy it would have changed my life for sure. Thanks a million for the video.
Gese what a cool video, amid a GREAT Group of guys. I myself, used to love (and still do occ.), pulling long consists, in "O" scale, pulling nearly 2 hundred freight cars, and very seldom, dids I have a consist under 100 cars ... *The key is a nice, sweeping, very broad turn, (like yours). Combine that with today's needle-point bearings, and that's a win-win. Some of the K-Line "aluminum cars", are like "liquid ball bearings" on wheels ! ANYWAY: "a BEAUTIFUL RUN Guys" !
It would be helpful to indicate that you are talking " scale miles " versus miles. It is a wonderful video. Thanks for capturing, preserving & sharing. If you folks are up in the hills east of Oakland, it's a beautiful place. I was fortunate to visit back in 2009.
I was thinking the same thing. How can 115 one foot cars equal a mile .... the later hearing him say 6 miles of track and puttin out the scale miles at the end.
The most that my dad and I ever made it was 55 cars on out oof line we had in o gauge, which we used a QSI SD 90 Mac to pull them all. Occasionally we’d use his old postwar Santa Fe locomotive with magnetraction. That thing would pull like nobody’s business. Other times we’d run 4 old Lionel Chicago Northwestern FM train masters to that consist. We’d run her wide open on a ZW with nothing else connected to the ZW because they would draw a lot of current and we didn’t want to melt down the old transformer.
Just fantastic.....well done folks.......Greetings from the Far East........ I had the Hornby "O" gauge collection but is not compatible to what I saw in this video.........!
G'day and greetings from Tasmania Australia, well bloody fantastic! I suppose the rolling stock and engines are Lionel a great American Company that has survived. Thank you for showing the video kind regards John PS have subscribed and it's great to see the articulation on the front leading engine as it tackles the track radius, by the way lovely grounds and how you rounded the track though the trees. One day I'm going to get over to the States I would love to see it.
I love watching this video. My husband has the HO trains in a large layout, but this one is huge and outdoors making it look even nicer. The only thing that looks unreal is that center rail on the tracks....probably a required characteristic of the O-gage scale specs.
The third rail is a result of Lionel’s design, there is a little metal connector on the bottom of the train that connects to the middle rail and it’s how the locomotive gets its electricity. To my knowledge HO locomotives have wheels designed to act as those connectors making the middle rail unnecessary.
Reading the comments, I think it's funny you can break couplers on a model train. It just never occurred to me. I work for Rio Tinto Iron Ore in Western Australia and our trains are 2,300 m long and weigh 33,000 tons and we break couplers on a regular basis. I've never broken one myself (touch wood) but I've seen plenty of them lying on the side of the track. Breaking couplers on a model, so funny.
It's not funny when you have 50 - 75 folks visiting to watch a mile long model train stop due to several cars have broken lose. However, that happens with real trains only supports that model trains can react just like a real trains. It's all part of the challenge to run model trains like the real ones. One of the aspects of starting a mile long model train is just like a real train that you need to back-up a bit before starting to move forward so not to experience the full load al at once (called taking the slack out of the load). Thank you for your comment David.
Where is this? I'd love to visit the next time I'm in the US. BTW, you're right about taking up the slack on starting. Nothing worse than thinking you have it all and then - JOLT.
It does happen on model trains... just view the mile long "Big Haul" video with seven powered diesel engines pulling 110 plus feet of Double Stacks. It comes apart on the first attempt.
I suppose everything that can happen to a real one can happen to a model but I'd just never thought about it. For example, if you had the train running at speed and shut off the power to the locos very quickly while a long string of empties was around a bend, I'd imagine they would derail. We have limits on how much dynamic brake we can use on empty cars.
The TURNING Radius makes a nice difference Dave, ... *I've done almost 200 car long consists, (and "Chi-Town" Trains: "over 300 car long consists"). For me: "pusher's" are cheating ... so, (with almost "O2OO" turns): THAT'S the big difference. < MY Opinion >. I too break couplers, but: after the Trains "up to speed", that rarely happens. I pull "nice heavy cars" (Like SYVRRy), *and this video is AMAZING in that endeavor.
The way those articulated locos - and all those cars - went around those insanely tight bends was amazing. Fantastic.
@Stephen Lawrence
hello
how are you doing
What is just as impresive is just how clean it is all being kept; let alone just having that much stock. Magic.
One requirement on the SYVRRy is that folks who bring engines and cars to run are required to oil and clean and electrical rollers so trains run nicely. If we find a bad set of wheels on a car/engine that is taken off the layout until it is fixed. Our Chief Maintenance Officer (CMO) is responsible for fixing the issue, or removing it from operation. Graffiti and weathering is permitted.
When people say :”I like to collect O-gauge trains” I have a big layout in my basement. This guy right here- Hold my beer 🍺
so true
More like- Hold my keg. I have a feeling he's a "Go big or go home vibe" guy.
@@ramonalfaro3252
).
Lmao
@@ramonalfaro3252 yesss 😂
This needs to be in the Guinness Book of World Records. A train great run conducted on a great permanent outdoor O Gauge rail layout winding through a grove of real redwood trees. Was it serious or was it fun??? Yes!
Stormtrooper1488 bummer
@Stormtrooper1488 no!! It's never been scrapped has it???
@Stormtrooper1488 whaaaa???
Fantastic!!! To run a train that long without any problems is a testament to the quality of construction
My grandfather was a coal miner, and I can vividly remember watching the coal trains riding by the house, at 2 am in the morning, headed to Virginia Beach with coal headed for Europe. I get a thrill viewing this video. This is enormously emotional for me.
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻Bin völlig begeistert
Sie haben tolle Arbeit geleistet. Eine sehr schöne Eisenbahnanlage. Viele Grüße aus Lübeck von der Ostseeküste, GERMANY. Torsten Wilcken.
What a wonderful video. 4-8-8-4. Sort of a holy grail. I will watch this again.
Very nice O gauge set up. Enjoyable. Still have my Lionel from about 1956 in their boxes. One of my prize possessions.
I LOVE this long freight train! This is like the most amazing long train I have ever seen on a model layout.
Thanks for picking my 64th birthday to achieve this feat. I see that there may have been a few more 60ish young boys enjoying the trains also. I love the layout and the location. I know that there's many hours of work and love placed into its construction and I only wish that I could run my vintage trains there just once. I was given my extensive set of Lionel trains in 1956 and have lovingly cared for them ever since. They were always placed back in their boxes and the multitude of lengths of track disassembled with care when the time came for my "layout" to be put away. I would have track running all through the house. I found the receipt for my trains in one of the boxes. It was from a hobby store in Chicago IL, dated 1953. My dad had purchased me my train set when I was a year old, probably in hopes that I would also become a train fan. Was he ever right. Thanks for the video experience it was very well done and congratulations.
Very nice comment. As a 53 year old guy, I do not even know who I will donate my collection too. I will be doing my layout within the next year or two max as I am retiring soon. Plan for all out future when the scepter of the prince and the staff of the beggar lie side by side when all things are equal and line up an heir for your precious cargo.
Glad I came across this video. My parents moved out to the country and the property they bought had a Gauge 1 track and shed the previous owner put up with love and care. There’s 270 yards of track they had removed by an enthusiast who knew the previous owners d showed me the gas powered engines they used on there. Amazing things.
I never knew these garden miniature railways were so popular 👍🍻
Has to be one of the most fascinating things I've seen in a very long time!
The smaller redwood trees really give it a real-world view!
I still remember when the Museum of Transportation in St.Louis County got a Big Boy . My dad dabbled in Model Railroading when I was a kid and we spent a lot of time at the museum and driving around to towns to measure Railroad buildings . I was lucky , I grew up playing with Cool Trains , what you have is Amazing !! Thank you for sharing your passion !
What a festival of trains with tiny miniatures, elegantly firing up running!
Several questions have come up asking about the freight cars used for this event. Here are some answers: Of the 114 freight cars, a majority of them (86) were extruded aluminum tank and one Caboose made by K-Line. Reefers and Milk cars (16) made by Lionel. Hopper cars (6) made by Atlas. Big Boy Box cars (6) made be MTH. Generally, all well made freight cars have steel wheels, several had needle bearings, and all had excellent couplers. Our crew went through all of them to give a sparing dose of oil to minimize friction.
OK are we talking 1:1 scale miles or 1:43.5 scale miles here...? I'm confused.
Wow
I would not have believed it if I hadn’t seen it for myself!
An Arkansas railroad fan.
Long live the UP.
jack is repass by
And Each car had the appropriate weight in it that an actual to scale train car used for freight would have?
Where is this
I'm overwhelmed! This is like a hobbyist " I've died and gone to heaven" system. Yeah, I'm gushing. Fantastic!
im a hobbiest and i realized ho espensive this would be
You have managed to capture that horrible feeling of sitting at a crossing waiting for a very long train to pass. That's is the hardest thing to do! Makes your set the most realistic I've ever seen.
Just A Great Feet Of The Power Of The Locomotives. Wonderful Set Up And Completion Of The Run Loved It Thanks👍👍👍👍
Seeing that young fella at 17:40 made me wonder if he would be a future railway engineer or modeller himself as he gets older, having built several 00 and N gauge layouts in the past, all indoors within a 12’ x 9’ space, I would just have loved to have something like this close by and to think it all had to be dismantled, such a shame, nowadays I don’t have a model railway but fond memories, thanks for sharing this lovely video, Mike West Bromwich, UK
What an amazing minature railway.
A lot of effort gone to creating the layout and rolling stock.
Would like to visit one day.
"Ach du lieber, mein schatz"!!! I'm not into model steam trains, but get GREAT PLEASURE seeing them in action! The wonderful DETAIL on these steamers really "turns me on"! HOW do you "syncronize" all these engines??? I love to see "Eric'sTrains" videos as much as I can as he goes into great detail when reviewing these wonderful model steamers (you diesel guys stay at home!!!). This is one very very wonderful hobby for sure! "Gesundheit"!!!
With Lionel's Legacy command control you are able to Lash-up multiple engines so they run the same speed, You can do this with TMCC controllers but not as well as Legacy with different vintage engines.
Man...those three model Big Boy locomotives are powerful little trains aren't they? I've hear how expansive just one of them cost. But from what I see here, you're getting your money's worth.
I used to love to visit the model railroad museum in San Diego, CA when I was young. I'm now 36 and still love watching these tiny locomotives chug along!
After watching this video,i only saw 1 old man and a bunch of young boys/girls enjoying watching train
I really enjoyed your video of the train layout. I am not a model train person but have ridden all the AMTRAK routes west of St. Louis as a great way to see The West. Several years ago I saw a Union Pacific Big Boy pulling its business passenger cars speeding past the Kirkwood train station, which is a suburb of St. Louis. The loud noise of the locomotive as it neared and went by was deafening. What a sight! I sure enjoy looking at train layouts such as yours. It's incredible.
Wow, that was very impressive! Jawtooth Approved!!
I love the articulateds! One day I will have one. But, I think the commentary at the end was best. Reminds me of my grandparents. 👍🇺🇸
I must say though, Lionell has some pretty good looking stuff. And the Soundsystem is beautiful. Sounds great!
That's really a neat layout. Steam powered? Wow! It runs real smooth. I've always wanted to build something like that but never had the time or money. My interest is in lighted tunnels and overhead lines. Congratulations to the builders!!
Just to set the record straight... The big Boy engines are Lionel and that are models of steam engines, but run with electric motors. I love that we modelers have different interest!
That layout is amazing! Thanks for sharing and NEVER GROW OLD!
Mike Gross ksak
Mike Gross ai
Old? Ha!
WOW This is an Outstanding Layout and I am totally blown away by the attention to detail. My Hometown Railroad is Reading PA and I as well have the distinction of being one of those lucky kids born between 1959 to 1964 to be known as a "rambler baby". Looking forward to seeing one of the last remaining T-1's back in steam this year! Keep those engines on schedule my friends!
Just found your video, and I am very impressed. So glad you had a successful run.
So are we!!! Thanks for your comment.
A dream come true for everyone to see! Thank you for the video!
Amazing! The capital outlay for the rolling stock and engines alone must be in the stratosphere.
This is one of the coolest things I have ever seen!!!!
This is a wonderful layout! Congratulations on your achievements and great success on this historic run!
0,
This was so neat. A very good job by all that worked on the project. I love railroading. The Tehachapi Loop is on the Union Pacific Mojave Subdivision. begins near the West Colton Yard in Bloomington California from both the Alhambra Sub to the west and the Yuma Sub to the east, to just east of Bakersfield California where it connects to the Fresno Sub to the northwest and the Bakersfield Sub to the west.
I was a quality assurance auditor for Progress Rail in Little Rock Arkansas from 1998 to 2008. We reconditioned rail car and locomotive bearings for all the Class 1 railroads in North America and Australia. We did bearings for Norfolk Southern, CSX, BNSF, UPRR, KCS, Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, and rail companies in Mexico. Where our shop was located was across the street on Pratt Remmel Road near the Little Rock National Airport. The closest subs were the White Bluff, the Little Rock, The Hoxie, and the Van Buren of UPRR.
I currently live in Northeast Oklahoma near Grand Lake. My current closest subs are the BNSF Cherokee, Afton, the UPRR Cherokee, Wagoner, Coffeyville, and the KCS Heavener.
That was awsome! Love the outdoor layout and real trees. Great job.
Well done! Great show! I didn't think the train would make it round all those curves, but it did!
Great video, great layout. I have seen Union Pacific Big Boy number 4012 at Steamtown in Scranton, PA on 9/24//2012, I had to take 2 pictures of Big Boy 4012 that I have displayed on my dining room table.
You had me foold until I saw Hobo Mike--I thought it was the real thing! Excellent video and music. Definitely one for the records.
Loved this! Planning a small outdoor layout, can’t wait! 🚂
Make sure equipment is outdoor rated.
Such a wonderful reconstruction of miniscule train model , real memoir of the nostalgia of past. Quite a feat. Nice feelings to see it.
Pretty cool. Far cry from the Lionel set up my dad built and set up for XMas back in 1953 or 54. It had two switches and two ovals, my brother and I would race around a locomotive and blue switcher, trying not to to crash into each other, but it happened. They were very durable and I don't recall them breaking down. My dad built a town and airport with a twirling tower light, he even installed lights in the buildings. I wish I still had it, but for sure it was one thing I vividly remember growing up.
What a fantastic layout! Thank you for sharing this event. Seeing the young ones there with the older folks and everyone in between, well, thats the best part. I live in Arizona, U.S. and have seriously put thought into doing an outside layout. Im by the Mohave desert and it gets kinda warm at times, 🤣 yeah, kinda warm😉. So im thinking I would have melting plastics to contend with. Anyway, an inspirational, just downright beautiful layout you all have there and I thank you for sharing.
A little history of the Big Boy Locomotives. A total of 25 were built by ALCO at Schenectady, NY. 20 in 1941 (Nos. 4000-4019) and 5 in 1944 (Nos. 4020-4024). Their primary early route was between Ogden, UT to Green River, WY used for WW-II to replace the requirement for double heading long freights over the Wasatch Mountains. The last revenue train using a Big Boy was in 1962. Only eight (non-operating) still exist, which are located generally at museums with the one (No. 4014) which was located at the Pomona, Los Angeles Fairgrounds. No. 4014 was selected by Union Pacific during 2013 as being in the best shape for restoration (thanks to The Railway and Locomotive Historical Society, Southern California Chapter who maintained it during it's stay at Pomona). It is the only Big Boy that will likely be restored to operating condition after a five year re-work at Cheyenne, WY as it becomes part of Union Pacific's Heritage Steam Locomotive Fleet.
SYVRRy
SYVRRy thanks FOR the update AND history
I got to see number 4023 in Nebraska on my trip to Council Bluffs. When they say Big Boy, these beasts truly are big. The driver wheels were taller than my dad who's a little under 6 feet. I currently reside in Frisco, Texas where number 4018 resides but I have yet to see it. I can't wait to see one of these finally operating again.
Were they ever triple-headed like this? I've seen pictures of Big Boys double headed.
The train community hopes 4014 will run under it's own power in 2019.
WOW! A lot of effort was put into creating such a fantastic layout, thank you for sharing. Enjoyed watching this run.
I am wondering just what the actual pulling load is? Even a hundred and ten feet of model railroad cars has got to be a substantial amount of weight. Nice job Y'all.
Absolutely wonderful. The effort to construct the track and locomotives plus rolling stock is very impressive. Really enjoyed watching, thanks for posting. The Big Boy was such an impressive engine, would have loved to have seen one in real life.
I don't have a real interest in trains but if I ever visit the States its these sort of places I want to visit. I don't wanna go and look at a load of stupid stars on a sidewalk. I wanna see the weird and wonderful, filled with eccentrics and real characters with big beards and funny nicknames; like Hobo Mike, I bet he has a few stories to tell, nobody gets called Hobo Mike without having some stories! :D
I agree. There is so much more out there than the status quo.
Me too! And there's just no way I'm going to ignore Hobo Mike!
come visit us dj shades wes got pleanty ta be showin yalls people aren't as bad as no stereotypes make us out ta be wes all nice peoples up in these hollers of saint louis
November you can see all these trains at the convention center even buy some of yas own
WOLFSKANK HUNTRESS l
Amazing! Just wonderful! Such a lay out and the craftsmanship of it's construction. Impressive. The great tanker run. TY worthy to be seen...TV is Dead!
In reality, a bigboy locomotive could pull a five Mile long train from a complete stop on level ground
This is beautiful. I used to love train when I was little.
And Now
Mee too
Amazing video! Big thumbs up from me and new subs. Now got your back catalogue of videos to watch,deep joy! Thanks guys.
I love trains. Makes me feel like a little kid again.
Lovely train and really iconic music to go with it. Very nice to see and keep up the good work.
Wow, I had write a novel, bake an apple pie, and read 2 books. I came back and we are STILL going by this train!
Fantastic video ! Thanks very much. Colin ( England)
Way cool . Seen old pictures of the big boy doing all that solo .
There is always one in the group. You are set up for the most perfect shot. someone will walk in front of the camera.
I was at a "G" scale meet in Portland, OR. There was only me and a group of 4 in this huge back yard layout. I was standing there shooting the trains doing yard work. This guy J. Watson walked in front of my camera to shoot the grassy yard behind me. His excuse, " I did not know you were shooting.
From there I traveled to Alaska. I spent two weeks railroading Alaska. I had tickets for the last run of the year for the W,P.& Y. RR steam run. There was thirty cars on the run. Me and 3 others were on the open platform. I was jumping side to side shooting stream engines.
Mr J. Watson happened to be on the same run. He decided to see the scenery form this very special platform. He said, "it was a clearer view", than the big windows or the platform in front of this car.
Wow!! I am forced to believe what I have a hard time believing. That is astounding !! I didn't know that model railways could achieve this length. This is an eye-opener.
It was a challenge! Good equipment and persistence. If you follow our video, we had a failure a few years ago to try and run a mile long diesel train with 7 powered engines.
Beautiful layout. Legendary Locomotives. Great consist in tow. Thank you!
I estimate the cost of the locomotives and rolling stock alone in this video to be $12-14k. Very cool!
Approximately $2700.00 for one BIG BOY Dec.2019 on UA-cam video.
@William Kirkland My first car = $200.00 😅🤣😂
You can buy a narrow gauge locomotive for less than that.
I didn't think the vision line big boy's could pull that many freight cars. Nice work!!
I live in Cheyenne WY, and I've touched the old Girl that is being restored, she still has life left in her. And when they got her all the way down to the cast iron frame, it was in perfect shape. Cant wait to see her run under her own power.
James Hart I live in Casper and need to make the trip down.
You and about a thousand others will be there when 4014 comes out of the barn puffing smoke.
That'll be a glorious thing to see to be certain. :-) I haven't laid eye's on 4014 since it was located at the Pomona fairgrounds.
She’s back
Yep. My brother and I saw the Big Boy at West Chicago last year.
Wonderful! Takes me back to my childhood.
Keeping the layout clean must be a full time job, especially cleaning the tracks for good electrical contact.
I would say that hes using a dead rail system with the locomotives running on batteries. Although i could be wrong and probably am.
Nice to see a youngster interested in this hobby.
Your video was so fun to see. Thank you ! 👍👍👍👍👍
Just love the music."Freight Train" if my memory serves me correct. Long time no hear. The locomotives are just super. If I had the chance to see this layout when I was a boy it would have changed my life for sure. Thanks a million for the video.
Wow - I find myself singin' " Freight Train " and with this music playin' along with me, i sound petty dawg-gone good. - Thanks for the buzz !
Gese what a cool video, amid a GREAT Group of guys. I myself, used to love (and still do occ.), pulling long consists, in "O" scale, pulling nearly 2 hundred freight cars, and very seldom, dids I have a consist under 100 cars ... *The key is a nice, sweeping, very broad turn, (like yours). Combine that with today's needle-point bearings, and that's a win-win. Some of the K-Line "aluminum cars", are like "liquid ball bearings" on wheels !
ANYWAY: "a BEAUTIFUL RUN Guys" !
Amazing run!!
👍🏻👍🏻
Great video!! Love that Steam!!
Wonderful wonderful train layout. Awesome to watch the trains move on the track. I missed Santa Ynez, California.!
Interesting layout and nice job on the train.
It would be helpful to indicate that you are talking " scale miles " versus miles.
It is a wonderful video. Thanks for capturing, preserving & sharing. If you folks are up in the hills east of Oakland, it's a beautiful place. I was fortunate to visit back in 2009.
I was thinking the same thing. How can 115 one foot cars equal a mile .... the later hearing him say 6 miles of track and puttin out the scale miles at the end.
Bubbles of Trailer Park Boys would have tears in his eyes seeing this
Incredible detail and talent putting that together!
The most that my dad and I ever made it was 55 cars on out oof line we had in o gauge, which we used a QSI SD 90 Mac to pull them all. Occasionally we’d use his old postwar Santa Fe locomotive with magnetraction. That thing would pull like nobody’s business. Other times we’d run 4 old Lionel Chicago Northwestern FM train masters to that consist. We’d run her wide open on a ZW with nothing else connected to the ZW because they would draw a lot of current and we didn’t want to melt down the old transformer.
how such a amazing video .... thank so much !!! and congrats .... Henri from France. ....
great collection, ive never seen the union pacific tankers in yellow in person.
This is the result of PURE ART .. love, and D E V O T I ON 👏👏👏👏 Thanks for sharing this mind blowing experience 👏👍🙏
Whoa this is awesome. Also the Centurion tanks look awesome.
Well done, enjoyed watching. Props to conductor and crew.
Great , great stuff lots of love invested to get this job done !!
It takes a crew to get the track and accessories run for a run. The folks who run their own trains really like to be engineers on the layout.
Marvellous, I'm from Brazil! Congratulations for your big job!
Awesome, love it. Quite the accomplishment.
Also diggin' the irony of steam loco's pulling fuel tankers. Lmao. Thought only i did this
Seen this a couple times over the years and it amazes me every time!
Nobody:
UA-cam recommendations: Hey wanna see this mile long model train
Why no body 😡😡😡 ? 😡
Why no body 😡😡😡 ? 😡
This really cool, I took pictures Of Big Boy in Cheyenne Who. In 1985 it was on display in a park.
Even at 1/8 scale, I still cant tell which train is moving in the station. The one I'm on or the one beside me?
Just fantastic.....well done folks.......Greetings from the Far East........ I had the Hornby "O" gauge collection but is not compatible to what I saw in this video.........!
I LOVE THIS VIDEO. THANK YOU.
This is an excellent video, these type of videos brings child hood sweet memories. Thank you buddy, moreover back ground music is super.
Childhood?
G'day and greetings from Tasmania Australia, well bloody fantastic! I suppose the rolling stock and engines are Lionel a great American Company that has survived. Thank you for showing the video kind regards John PS have subscribed and it's great to see the articulation on the front leading engine as it tackles the track radius, by the way lovely grounds and how you rounded the track though the trees. One day I'm going to get over to the States I would love to see it.
the States are pretty cool but, sadly there arn't steam trains everywhere :/
Very, very, very impressive and enjoyable, to say well done is an understatement. My hat off to you.
Why all the horn blowing when there's no grade Crossings or anything just randomly blowing the horn?
Why not?
I love watching this video. My husband has the HO trains in a large layout, but this one is huge and outdoors making it look even nicer. The only thing that looks unreal is that center rail on the tracks....probably a required characteristic of the O-gage scale specs.
The third rail is a result of Lionel’s design, there is a little metal connector on the bottom of the train that connects to the middle rail and it’s how the locomotive gets its electricity. To my knowledge HO locomotives have wheels designed to act as those connectors making the middle rail unnecessary.
Reading the comments, I think it's funny you can break couplers on a model train. It just never occurred to me. I work for Rio Tinto Iron Ore in Western Australia and our trains are 2,300 m long and weigh 33,000 tons and we break couplers on a regular basis. I've never broken one myself (touch wood) but I've seen plenty of them lying on the side of the track. Breaking couplers on a model, so funny.
It's not funny when you have 50 - 75 folks visiting to watch a mile long model train stop due to several cars have broken lose. However, that happens with real trains only supports that model trains can react just like a real trains. It's all part of the challenge to run model trains like the real ones. One of the aspects of starting a mile long model train is just like a real train that you need to back-up a bit before starting to move forward so not to experience the full load al at once (called taking the slack out of the load). Thank you for your comment David.
Where is this? I'd love to visit the next time I'm in the US. BTW, you're right about taking up the slack on starting. Nothing worse than thinking you have it all and then - JOLT.
It does happen on model trains... just view the mile long "Big Haul" video with seven powered diesel engines pulling 110 plus feet of Double Stacks. It comes apart on the first attempt.
I suppose everything that can happen to a real one can happen to a model but I'd just never thought about it. For example, if you had the train running at speed and shut off the power to the locos very quickly while a long string of empties was around a bend, I'd imagine they would derail. We have limits on how much dynamic brake we can use on empty cars.
The TURNING Radius makes a nice difference Dave, ... *I've done almost 200 car long consists, (and "Chi-Town" Trains: "over 300 car long consists"). For me: "pusher's" are cheating ... so, (with almost "O2OO" turns): THAT'S the big difference. < MY Opinion >. I too break couplers, but: after the Trains "up to speed", that rarely happens.
I pull "nice heavy cars" (Like SYVRRy), *and this video is AMAZING in that endeavor.
good work on the detailing of each train car