Kato BigBoy pic - large screen cap for detail

[MK]

Yeah, Train World is showing pre-order prices of $279/$349/$499.

[dem34]

A video of the Big Boy running for anyone interested. Starts at 12:50.

[robert3985]

A video of the Big Boy running for anyone interested. Starts at 12:50.

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It's a pilot model with incomplete paint and no lettering.  But, looks like it runs nice and smooth with no boiler rocking.  Absolutely hate the cab overhang on the small curves, but oh well...an obvious marketing necessity.

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[nickelplate759]

It's a pilot model with incomplete paint and no lettering.  But, looks like it runs nice and smooth with no boiler rocking.  Absolutely hate the cab overhang on the small curves, but oh well...an obvious marketing necessity.

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

That's some impressive model train engineering.

[sundowner]

This guys have more pictures

https://aat-net.de/product/new-product-4/

[up1950s]

Outstanding . I am in favor of the double articulation for huge locomotives . Further , I would like to see a N Scale 4-12-2 with articulation like what was done in a larger scale .

[robertjohndavis]

Pretty neat. Visually it’s what I expected.

I will reserve any concern for videos of the Kato Big Boy production model, but hopefully they will do something about the combination levers which flop around like a rubber duck in the video. It’s not just the flopping, but the whole motion of the combination levers is odd. They also look to be plastic, which is disappointing. - Rob

[peteski]

Pretty neat. Visually it’s what I expected.

I will reserve any concern for videos of the Kato Big Boy production model, but hopefully they will do something about the combination levers which flop around like a rubber duck in the video. It’s not just the flopping, but the whole motion of the combination levers is odd. They also look to be plastic, which is disappointing. - Rob

Part of the valve gear is plastic on all Kato steam locos.  Same goes for many other manufacturers,.  What bugs me about Kato could be very easily solved. The plastic they use to mold those parts is  bluish metallic color  (like aluminum, not steel).  Adding some gold metallic powder or orange dye to the mix would make the color better matched to the rest of the metal valve gear.  Companies like Fleischmann do just that, and it is difficult to distinguish which parts of the valve gear are plastic. 

[Jbub]

Here she is pulling 15 pounds and 4 HO well cars. Pretty impressive and check out the drivers slipping independently from each other.

[thomasjmdavis]

Reminds me of the Ford commercial where they pull 10 loaded train cars with their electric pick up.

Anytime Kato feels the urge to produce a Santa Fe 4-8-4, I'm in.

[sundowner]

Here is one from instagram chasing its tail.

https://www.instagram.com/reels/audio/114765211612371

[Ed Kapuscinski]

It'd be even funnier if they had it pulling pallets of the other Big Boys available in N scale.

[nscaler711]

Reminds me of the Ford commercial where they pull 10 loaded train cars with their electric pick up.

Anytime Kato feels the urge to produce a Santa Fe 4-8-4, I'm in.

Especially now that 2926 is under her own steam again.

[Chris333]

Here is a video showing the Kato Big Boy development:

 

[peteski]

That was an interesting video. Thanks Chris! 
Now I know the purpose of those two flat discs molded into the "ceiling"of every Kato passenger car body.  I had no idea what was their purpose.
Also funny how they called smoke box a "smoke room".

Anyway, the Big Boy is as I expected. The power to each engine's chassis halves (and the motor) is fed from the boiler frame halves through the contacts on the sides of the engines plastic pivot pins.  Also unusual are the cone-shaped flywheels (those were clearly shown in the cutaway diagram earlier).



It will be interesting how to handle DCC installs with 2 separate "power units" where the motor is connected directly to the frame halves.  Doesn't  appear like the model is DCC-friendly at all, but Kato will have them available with DCC.  Then again, Kato often surprises up with innovative designs.
There are also some unconventional things like movable cylinders.

My Big Boy is in the mail.