Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 Big Boy Live Steam Locomotive
An accurate scale live steam model of the Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 Big Boy can be built using our Challenger castings. The Big Boy is a logical extension of our Challenger model design, as demonstrated by these photographs.
Please note that we are modeling the Union Pacific 4-6-6-4 Challenger and that we are NOT modeling the Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 Big Boy. We have NOT performed the "reengineering" that is required in order to model the Big Boy
Historical Info
From a historical standpoint, the designs for the full size UP 4-6-6-4 Challenger and the UP 4-8-8-4 Big Boy were very, very similar since both locomotive types were designed by Union Pacific Vice President Otto Jabelmann and both types were built at the same time in the same shops by ALCO. Therefore, the same similarity would also exist between a model of Challenger and a model of a Big Boy.
Stretching the Design
Our Big Boy customers are "stretching" our design for our Challenger model into their own design for their Big Boy models.
