An advance production sample of the new Lionel American Flyer Big Boy was shown at the Toy Train Museum presentation by Lionel on Wednesday afternoon and was to be seen running continuously on the Lionel display layout in Orange Hall during the TCA Eastern Division meeting at York. The final version of the engine is equipped with Legacy TMCC, Odyssey cruise, Railsounds 5, 4 chuffs/revolution, an electrocoupler fitted on the tender, wireless IR tether, variable smoke level, etc. -- in other words, the full complement of Lionel Legacy features and much more than was originally promised when it was first offered in the catalog. It will negotiate traditional Gilbert curved track. In my view, the engine has a handsome appearance, albeit with some compromises as a model as related to its K-Line “Little Boy” origins. The new Big Boy will have the most operational features ever offered in an S gauge engine, which should please those who enjoy operating S gauge trains. I was told that we should have them in hand by December.

Bob Bubeck

I can't wait! I don't konw if I'll get one, as I put in my pre-order pretty late in the game (a couple months ago).

I wish Lionel would post some detailed pics or video of the actual thing on their website for those of us who could not make it to York.

Bob,

One of the most noticeable design compromises to O31 operation on the K-Line Big Boy was the "monster truck" appearance caused by mounting the boiler about 1 scale foot too high on the running gear (this was done to provide swing clearance for the rear drivers under the firebox). Did it look like the Lionel guys lowered the boiler to improve this appearance? At one point, I think I read somewhere that this was being considered for the AF version.

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Did it look like the Lionel guys lowered the boiler to improve this appearance? At one point, I think I read somewhere that this was being considered for the AF version.

My feeling by memory is that the space between the boiler casting and the drive train is a bit greater than some might prefer. However, I thought that the engine's overall appearance is very good, given this piece's mission in the hobby. Use the link below to get to TCA's net vision where you can see some views of the L-AF Big Boy towards the end of Part 3 of the Lionel presentation. Unfortunately, J Don's hands often partially block the view you wish to make.

http://www.tcamembers.org/netvision/

Take a look and see what your impressions are. The list of operational features is impressive, especially given where things first started out in the catalog.

You can also view a presentation of some of the newest decoration schemes for SHS rolling stock, as well.

Bob Bubeck

Bob,

Thanks very much for taking the time to reply, and for providing the link to the video. A picture is worth a thousand words. I'm anxious to get my "4000", hopefully before year end!