Instead, this is a steam turbine, nothing like the 1920s and 30s experiments with conventional locomotives, nor even the Union Pacific’s oil-fired condensing turbo-electrics. The new idea here ...

Instead, this is a steam turbine, nothing like the 1920s and 30s experiments with conventional locomotives, nor even the Union Pacific’s oil-fired condensing turbo-electrics. The new idea here ...

There are steam locomotives, and then there’s “Big Boy.” At 604 tons and 132 feet long and with a 4-8-8-4-wheel arrangement, it is the largest, most powerful steam locomotive in the world.

This locomotive, the prototype for Lionel’s No. 41, was 24′-6″ long and had a 1-B-1 (2-4-2, in steam terms) wheel arrangement. There were only two turbines in the switcher, not three.