Loose Athearn BigBoy detail part - anyone know what it is?

[RBrodzinsky]

I was opening the clam shell case for my BigBoy recently, to put it back on the layout, and noticed this loose detail part in the case. It was sitting approximately at the cab or front of tender.

Does anyone know what it is or where it goes? I cannot figure out where it might have detached from

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[Lemosteam]

Driver axle spring either side up inside under the boiler maybe behind a driver?

[peteski]

Yeah, like John said, it is a leaf spring (part of the loco's suspension).  Probably over or under one of the driver axles.  When modeled in N scale, those are usually molded with the frame or with the bottom gear cover. This looks like a separate part.  Unusual.  Sometimes these are also present in between axles of a 2-axle leading truck but I don't think that Big Boy had one of those.

[RBrodzinsky]

Thanks guys. Turns out it was the spring for the lead right driver on the second set of 4.  Yep, all 16 of these are separate parts, don't ask me why.  Press fit holes.  Since this fell out, I went ahead and put dabs of CA on the prongs.

Knew it was a spring of some sort, but kept looking towards "the surface" - never thought there would be those types of separate detailed parts BEHIND the drivers!