Thomas verses Big Boy

It would be nice to have a good, small, British tank engine.  I have a Darsted 2-6-2 T but it is tinplate, has a very noisy drivetrain (gear whine like a coffee grinder) and no other sound, no smoke, etc.  Makes a lovely  display model, not much else.  A Legacy, or even good quality conventional, scale Lionel UK tank engine with diecast metal body, etc., would be something I'd buy, for certain.  

At his age, the Big Boy is black and boring to him and the Thomas is colorful and has a face.  It won't be too long before the Big Boy starts grabbing his attention.

My son is three years old. He loves to watch Thomas on TV, but on the layout, he wants the real looking trains.

When I fired up the Vision Line Big Boy for him the first time back in December, he was literally shaking with excitement and anticipation waiting for it to come around the bend so he could see it.

After four or five laps around the layout, I'll stop it in front of him for a few minutes. He looks at every detail. After a while he tells me to blow down and fill it with water. 

I got him hooked real good!

I tend to agree with the little 3 year old guy, the tea kettles are a lot more fun than the oversized behemoths. LOL

I rember my first set was a lionel 2037 steam engine, and I wanted a diesel, but my Dad loved the steam. My Daddy first train was a 752 and he want a steam.

Hmm, maybe he needs to watch this, it might get him into engines like your Big Boy:

I want to buy "SAM"  Great movie.  Maybe I can that the face off Thomas and put it on the BIg Boy

Lets face it as heralded as the Lionel BB was this past Christmas, THOMAS has a lot more friends around the world!!!!

Sweet...looks like an Allegheny!

I had a loop of FasTrack on my floor for a while.  My 2 year old loves when I run trains.  After a while it seemed his favorite was a MTH DL-109 in RI livery.  He would mostly pick that one if I asked which we wanted.  He loved to lay on the floor and poke the doors open.  Then I got the VL BB.  He loved it.  It was loud and big and makes lots of smoke.  It talks and goes fast.  When I put smoke in the stacks then blew, he'd come over as soon as I moved my head and blew in the stack too.  He figured out that the windows on the cab move so he slides them around.  The coal load moved and he pokes it.  He opens and closes the hatch covers on the tender.  He loves 'racing' it.  Needless to say, he's nearly as smitten with it as I am.  I do plan on getting him a Thomas set for Christmas this year so that he has his own remote.  They are cheap and colorful, so it should go over well.  If not, then I guess I need to get something more real.

Considering his road name and number, Sam IS an Allegheny!

Thanks, and who knows? Many people use clay or other art material to make their own Thomas faces for their models.

So when are they going to come out with Thomas in Legacy or prot sound???

Not needed.  Buy the one with LionChief.  Put 18 volts on the track and run the Big Boy and Thomas together on the same track at the same time.

Thomas was my sons first train, followed by the Polar Express.  The GG-1 was next, followed by a short love affair with a BNSF SD-70 MAC.  His fifth engine was the Big Boy.  He loves them all.

Have Fun!

Ron

Why did they call him Sam? It says "The Virginian" right there on the tender. He even looks a bit like James Drury!   LOL

Lionel really need to invest in some more Thomas and Friends tooling. Time for some completely new items guys. 

Thomas was the little lads first Lionel Train. Followed by Percy and later James and the Polar Express. Since he discovered TM Videos and from visiting a few train shows and the NJ highrailers he has turned into a train connoisseur. Acela, Hiawatha and Baby Blue Comet have followed as favourite trains. 

 He has a real interest in LNER A4 Mallard and requests Lionel should make one please. i don't think my bank balance would like that though...

Nick

I grew up with the original Thomas, yes the one many children know today is a vary different engine. He is not a cheeky little engine, with a long tongue. try reenacting some of the older stories with big boy, like the time Thomas got stuck behind Gordon and had to go with him for the whole trip. that should be safe for both engines, and is mostly them just pacing each other around an oval. it may perk up his interest a bit. I knew Thomas of the railway series from Shinning Time Station a long off the air TV show, I think that was on the first episode.

HUmm guess I am going to have to paint up my old K-Line semi scale engine from black to dark green and ad a Sam face now why could they not have released it in black then would not have to repaint.

Yes would be nice if Lionel would add a few more engines.

But with a little work you can modify and add your own engines.

I used Hogwarts engines to create Gordon and Henry the kids love those!

I was thinking about making some more Thomas locos, including a "Sam" etc.  I made a Chugginton Wilson out of a RMT BEEF for my grandkids, and frankly it is not as easy as one might think to get the "face" right.  The eyes in the front windows and the mouth took a long time.  

But before I could do any more, the grandkids grew into more of the Polar Express age now.  Maybe in the future my other two boys will produce some youngsters and it will be back to Thomas again, for for now, he and his buddies are behind me. 

Just picked up a new "thomas" engine today, its Diesel. I just had to put it next to the big boy