USA Trains UNION PACIFIC “BIG BOY” User manual

UNION ACIFIC “BIG BOY”
4-8-8-4 STEAM LOCOMOTIVE
OWNERS MANUAL
1:29 Scale
USA TRAINS
.O. BOX 100
MALDEN, MA 02148
USA
www.usatrains.com

Dear Customer,
Congratulations on your purchase of the world’s
largest die-cast Big Boy steam locomotive.
The Engineering and Design staff at USA Trains
has spent many hours reviewing blueprints
and developing a steam locomotive that looks
authentic and will provide you with many hours
of operating enjoyment. We believe that our
customers deserve the high level of detail of this die-cast model and
strive every day to provide you with the latest technologies that give more
“realism” at a reasonable price. This locomotive will enhance the
appearance of any modeler’s railroad.
Please read the following instructions which will help you understand and
operate the numerous features of this locomotive.
Happy Railroading
USA TRAINS
A total of 25 of these behemoths were built by the Alco shops
between 1941 and 1944. All were built exclusively for the Union Pacific
Railroad Engineering Department. These engines were designed to elimi-
nate helpers and to pull heavy tonnage over the 1.55% continuous grade
up Shermon Hill in the Wasatch mountain region east of Ogden, Utah. With
the end of the Steam Era came an end to “the Largest and most magnifi-
cent steam locomotives ever built.” any survive today in Railroad
useums across the country.
The accurate reproduction of this locomotive in its original body
style by USA Trains will allow the modeler to have an authentic Big Boy oper-
ating on their model railroad.
HISTORY OF THE UNION ACIFIC “BIG BOY” 4-8-8-4 LOCOMOTIVE
This USA Trains locomotive is warranted for one year from the date of
purchase against defects in material or workmanship. We will repair or
replace (at our option) the defective part without charge for parts or
labor within one year of the original date of purchase provided the
warranty registration card has been received by USA Trains. This warranty
does not cover items that have been abused or damaged by careless
handling or improper operation such as a train derailment, modification
or repair by non-factory technicians. Parts that “wear out” due to
excessive use are also not covered under warranty. USA Trains reserves
the right to determine “excessive use”. Transportation costs incurred by
the customer are not covered under this warranty.
This locomotive is built with pride by USA Trains and is covered by
a limited warranty. (See limited warranty terms). Please follow these
instructions carefully before sending your locomotive for service:
1. Return locomotive in its original wooden box with the proper foam
inserts and then pack the original box in a proper shipping carton so it is
well protected in shipment. The package must be fully insured and pre-
paid. USA Trains is not responsible for damage or loss during shipment.
2. Include a note explaining the problem and servicing you need
performed. Be sure to include your name, street address, (NO P.O. BOXES
PLEASE) City, State, Country (if outside U.S.A) and zip code along with a
daytime phone number including area code. If the locomotive service is
not covered by warranty, a reasonable service fee will be charged. For
any locomotives to be returned outside the continental U.S.A., please
include $300.00 U.S. currency to cover return postage.
3. Ship your item to:
USA TRAINS
662 CROSS STREET
ALDEN, A. 02148
SERVICING
LIMITED ONE YEAR WARRANTY
2 7

Big Boy Locomotive Features:
• Highly detailed die-cast metal construction
• Factory installed Phoenix Sound system
• “DCC Ready” for easy DCC installation
• Operating dual smoke stacks
• Delay start feature to allow sound system and smoke units to operate
before movement of locomotive
• Operating headlight & cab light
• Illuminated marker lights
• Illuminated work lights under running boards
• Lighted firebox and ash pan glow
• Hidden front scale coupler that rotates open
• Die-cast drivers with stainless steel rims
• Roller bearing drive axles
• etal drive rods
• Drawbar coupling between locomotive and tender
• Highly detailed metal piping
• “Real” operating smoke deflectors on stack area
• Separately cast metal detail parts
• etal hand rails
• Brass bell
• Brass whistle
• Detailed builders plate
• Wooden box
Big Boy Tender Features:
• Highly detailed die-cast metal construction
• “Real” coal load
• Operating back-up light on tender
• Illuminated marker lights
• Separately cast metal parts
• Detailed coal bin with stoker
• Operating coupler lift bar
• Opening water hatches
FEATURES
LUBRICATION
Your locomotive was lubricated at the factory and under normal operat-
ing conditions will not need to be lubricated during the first 50 hours of
operation. The locomotive has three lubrication points. (See
diagram below)
1. Siderod/valve gear lubrication.
Periodically apply a few drops of light oil such as Hob-e-lube (#HL653) to
each of the pivot points of each siderods. (See diagram below) Also,
apply a light coat of oil to the valve gear so it slides back and forth freely.
This should be appliied to both sets of drivers.
2. Axle lubrication.
Two drops of oil should be placed on all eight contact points where drive
wheel axles enter each gearbox. The same should be done for the loco-
motive pilot truck and trailing truck axles, as well as the tender truck axles.
3. Gearbox lubrication.
Under normal operating conditions, the gearbox should be lubricated
after each 100 hours of operation by first removing the screw in the bot-
tom of the gearbox (see diagram below for location of screw) and then
applying moly grease by Hob-e-lube into the hole. As you apply grease
into the hole, rotate the wheels to spread the grease onto all the gears.
This should be appliied to both gear boxes.
MAINTAINING AND SERVICING
6 3
Tender
Locomotive
Overall length of Locomotive & Tender is 57 inches

ON (FULL) MODE
The motor ON (FULL) position allows direct track voltage to the motors. The
locomotive will begin to move on the low voltage range of the power supply.
The sound and smoke units will begin to function after the locomotive is
moving. This mode also allows the motors to operate at the higher
voltage range which in turn will allow the locomotive to run at higher speeds.
OWER REQUIREMENTS
The locomotive is designed to operate on direct current (DC) with outputs
of 0-24 volts.
CONTROL SWITCHES
The locomotive contains switches to operate the ON/OFF motors,
ON/OFFf lights, and ON/OFF smoke generators. The control switches are
located under the roof hatches on side directly forward of the cab. (See
photo 1)
MOTOR SWITCH
The firemans side hatch contains a 3 position switch to control the motors
(center OFF, one side for ON (FULL) and the opposite side for DCC
(DELAY) mode).
DCC (DELAY) MODE
The locomotive is equipped with a “delay feature”. In the DCC mode
position the delay feature is activated. This allows the sound and smoke
units to start up before the locomotive begins to move. The loco begins to
move slowly at approximately 8 volts. At this point the sound and smoke
units are fully activated. The locomotive begins to move progressively
faster as the voltage is turned up higher. The locomotive is DCC ready. In
order to install a decoder you must remove the delay feature circuit.
There are four terminal screws that need to be released in order to
remove the four wires connecting the delay feature (see wiring diagram
in Phoenix sound instructions manual). You are now ready to install a
decoder of your choice to the locomotive. The circuit will allow the
decoder to operate the motors and lights only. The sound and smoke
units are connected to track power directly.
O ERATION O ERATION
CONTROL SWITCHES
Your locomotive is equipped with a Phoenix sound system from the
factory. The locomotive contains a momentary toggle switch (see digram
on page 4) to increase/decrease the volume. To turn off the sound simply
toggle the volume off. There is also a computer interface which allows
you to customize your train sounds. Please refer to the Phoenix Sound
owners manual for more information.
WHISTLE AND BELL O ERATION
The whistle and bell are activated by magnetic reed switches which are
triggered by magnets placed along your track. These reed switches are
located on the bottom of the locomotive near the rear driver. agnets
must be positioned inside the two rails of your track to line up with these
reed switches to activate the bell or whistle. The whistle can also be actvated
by fluctuating the track voltage which will cause the whistle to blow.
STEAM SOUNDS
The sound of steam is automatically turned on upon movement of the
locomotive and is synchronized to the axle rotation of the drive wheels.
For complete operating instructions and additional features, please refer
to the Phoenix Sound handbook provided with your locomotive.
HOENIX SOUND SYSTEM
SMOKE GENERATOR SWITCH
The locomotive is equipped with two Sync-Ro-nized fan driven smoke
generators that produce steam exhaust synchronized to the axle rotation
of the driving wheels. The smoke generator requires periodic addition of
smoke fluid in order to operate properly. To add smoke fluid, add approxi-
mately 20 drops of USA Trains smoke fluid (part number R50001) into each
of the smoke stacks. Remember less is better - do not overfill the smoke
unit and promptly wipe up any excess smoke fluid that may have spilled
onto any painted surfaces. You can now begin operation. Smoke pro-
duction will begin when the fluid becomes heated. It may take longer to
generate the smoke if the unit is full. When the smoke chamber is empty,
the smoke unit will shut down automatically until more fluid is added.
CAUTION! To prevent smoke generator burnout and to extend its life,
never run the locomotive without smoke fluid in the smoke generator. If
no smoke fluid is in the smoke generator, switch the smoke switch to the
“OFF” position.
Photo 1
4 5
FOR SLOW S EED O ERATION ONLY-DO NOT EXCEED 24 VOLTS DC.
FOR NORMAL S EED O ERATION ONLY-DO NOT EXCEED 24 VOLTS DC.
DO NOT EXCEED 24 VOLTS DC.