Rayman4449

Yes. The main PS2 or PS3 board does keep track of total time the engine has been 'started up' and then the number of scale miles it has been run. These numbers are tracked over the engine's lifetime and then there are the same figures you can get for the current run time since last started up. The same is true for engines where I do installs of PS2 / PS3 in non-MTH engines, they keep track of the same.

Trains (Kalmbach publishing) has 2 DVDs they will be publishing on the Big Boy: https://kalmbachhobbystore.com/product/dvd/15209 https://kalmbachhobbystore.com/product/dvd/15109

Photos of 4014 taken on Jan 1, 1962 as it passed through Salt Lake City, UT on its way to Pomona, CA.

Update 2/6/19: Big Boy has passed its hydrostatic tests.

Sure thing. I generally tell people to be prepared for any newly announced engine to take up to 2 years from official catalog announcement till actual delivery (especially brand new never before made model). That said, it is important to get pre-orders in early as possible to 1) help MTH gauge proper demand and adjust production numbers accordingly and 2) to make sure you don't miss out in the case they sell out in pre-order phase before they actually ship (as is happened with the last MTH Big Boy production of 4014 and 4012 engines). For anyone that decides they want one, DON'T WAIT. I look forward to seeing this model and think this engine will be a good addition to the product set.

Still waiting on the 2019 catalog to be released. If question is on SD70ACe, the date I currently have is July 2019 but expect it will be longer than that before they actually ship to customers.

Thank you on sharing, I can see this being very useful for custom projects

Latest update: https://www.up.com/aboutup/community/inside_track/steam-update-1-29-2019.htm

Hi Dan, I just replied to your private message. I dont have any USA Hudsons available for sale but I can outfit with the modded smoke and sound as you have seen in my videos if you find one. Thank you and welcome to the forums Raymond

Recently taken image that will be published with soon to be released formal UP update:

Welcome to the forums Yves. To add to what has been said, the major issue would be that first the G scale market is already very small and then add on top of that the price point for an item like that would significantly reduce down the number of potential buyers. (I'm guessing that engine would have sold for $8000?) As was already noted, originally most of the market was 1:29 and the only 1:32 was higher end brass (so much more limited customer base). Fast forward to today and with Aristocraft out business, 1:32 has a larger customer base and better market penetration due to MTH producing at lower non-brass price points (and included features). The next item from my view would be popularity of the engine design/prototype... The Big Boy for instance is very popular and is probably MTH's best selling steam engine despite its large size. (I think for steam the Big Boy is probably the most popular steam locomotive produced in G scale) In this scale, a good number of the customers I know only own a limited number of engines due to cost and storage space restrictions so they are very selective on what they will buy, and in this scenario the most popular prototypes are what is sold and the further you get away from that the more quickly the demand tapers off.

A Railfan's update video. Big Boy is apparently mostly together and in primer. From what I have read they will be using the 3985's tender for the trip in May with restoration of 4014's tender to be done afterwards.

Hi, do you mean the original real Big Boy? (If so then 68" in Diameter) Model?(If model which one)

I can check to see if I have some MTH versions in-stock if they meet your criteria. How many are you needing, what colors and do you need power pickup brushes/assemblies. Here is a side view: If interested please PM or send email (email address listed on my website). Thanks. Raymond

My replies in-line above

Cool deal Jerry! You only just moved there and you are in the paper

Hi Stephen, I will Private Message you to get more clarification.

Very good information to know, thank you for sharing.

The 5003/100 is a power supply that has a rating of 7va (7 watts) and is just too weak to run what you have. In fact 7va isn't really sufficient to run anything in Largescale. (I realize for some reason LGB made this power supply, but find it shocking they would make something this weak.) You really need to get something that has much larger power output and would be looking for something that would output 100va(100watts)(example: 20v @ 5amps). 20v x 5amp=100watts) to make sure you could drive anything you needed to. (100watts is likely a bit overkill for what you are probably doing but it gives you some extra capacity) You could perhaps get something rated at 3amps but I wouldnt get something smaller than that or you run the risk of what you have happening now. Unfortunately I don't see any way to around what you have going on now unless you can turn off the lights and smoke on the engine and still have the motors work. That might conserve enough power to keep the power supply from going into thermal overload which is what is happening now as you are exceeding the capabilities of what the power supply can handle.

Welcome Steve. I would add oil to the axles to ensure they are lubricated at the bearings (on all wheels especially on the drivers). I'd also add oil on all the side rods. Outside of that you should be good.

Here is what they UP model will look like: (except will be cab number #9096) REMINDER: Each MTH One Gauge diesel engine ships with floating pilots (as shown below to take very tight curves) and also Fixed pilots (that bolt direct to the frame for a more prototypical look). Example of how engine would look with Fixed pilots: (Stock photo of HO scale model)

Good job with the lights and the layout walls look very nicely done

You won't be able to escape the potential problems created by PWM so the issue isn't to look for some other manufacturer of trains or electronics. It doesn't matter what sound/control system you are looking at, you don't want to use PWM/PWC power with sound/control electronics, period. You are opening yourself up to potential problems if you do. You might be able to find some that are more tolerant of PWM but the point is, if you plan to run trains with sound/control electronics, just dont use PWM/PWC. In fact, Aristocraft made two versions of their base stations, a PWM/PWC version and a Linear version. Why? Because of this very issue. PWM can get better performance on straight analog engines, that's why it exists, but it can create havoc on engines with complicated electronics. The way to avoid problems is, when you buy trains from any manufacturer (Especially ones that have sound and control installed), confirm with your dealer/the manufacturer/people in the know, what good power supplies are to use and go with what they recommend. The only reason this particular case drew out longer than it should was I didn't realize there was something else being used between the power supply and the TIU. All I knew was something was outputting PWM power and the user didn't realize their Aristocraft Base Station was changing their power supply power from Linear to PWM.

Larry, thank you for sending one of your USA Trains Power 10 power supplies. Based on what I see on the oscilloscope, the USA power supply has Linear output, not PWM so it should be safe to use with MTH electronics and engines. I tested the power supply on my layout with a Protosound 3 engine and got excellent track signal tests, solid 10s all the way around my loop and ramp. My opinion is this power supply is safe to use and can be considered a good option to consider. Do note that I haven't put the power supply under heavy load with numerous engines and lighted passenger trains. I still recommend Bridgewerks first and foremost for running MTH trains under DC power in G scale. One note: the N, HO, G knob on the USA power supply appears to just be a Voltage limiter so that you don't over-volt lower scale engines like N and HO. Max voltage under N=10v, HO=14v, G=24v. Regarding MTH Service's comments about the AC sine-wave attached to the DC, I suspect that may be more of a concern about track signal communication rather than any risk to the TIU itself. Note: We have to keep in mind that at the time of MTH Service's comments, it was clear something (a power supply) was causing damage to the TIU but wasn't understood then exactly what as MTH didn't know about the Revo Base Station PWM output). It is possible they advised to not use the USA power supply thinking it may have had something to do with it. We now know it didn't.)

I confirmed with Tom via text message that he was in fact using the Aristocraft Revolution CRE-57005S base station which outputs PWM power. That is what was damaging his and his friend's TIUs and causing all the control and likely issues with his Big Boy engine. Now that it has been removed from the system, assuming his other power supplies are ok then should get ok results. To provide background, Tom originally inquired with me directly if he could still run his engines using Aristocraft Revolution. What I understood that to mean was Aristocraft Revolution equipped engines (where each engine has a Revo control board inside where the Revo wireless handheld communicates to each engine individually, wirelessly and the engines run off constant voltage set to the track). What was actually meant included to still have an Aristocraft Revo Base station between the power supply and TIU. In this case because his Revo base station was a model that output PWM power, that is what was causing all the problems and damage. If he was using a model that output Linear power he would have been ok. I have added notes on the recommended power supply page specifically noting out the Revo base stations so hopefully will avoid something like this in the future.