Now, that is a locomotive!

Posted on August 6, 2013 by KG

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Courtesy The Woodpile Report
‘Union Pacific Railroad is undertaking the movement and restoration of one of the world’s largest steam locomotives – the Big Boy No. 4014. Twenty-five Big Boys were built exclusively for Union Pacific Railroad, the first of which was delivered in 1941. The locomotives were 132 feet long and weighed 1.2 million pounds..’

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37 Responses to Now, that is a locomotive!

  1. James Stephenson says:
    August 6, 2013 at 11:23

    “and weighed 1.2 million pounds”

    Please, someone American enlighten me, what the f is wrong with the ‘ton’ as a unit of measurement?

    • Findalis says:
      August 6, 2013 at 12:17

      Nothing in my book.

      • KG says:
        August 6, 2013 at 12:43

        It seems to be something of a convention to give the weight of steam locomotives in pounds, I’ve seen it lots of times.

        • Darin says:
          August 6, 2013 at 22:48

          It’s done because drawbar pull and tractive effort are both in pounds so it’s easy to calculate effective horsepower.
          That and a US Ton is 2,000lbs where a British,or Long Ton is 2,240lbs.

          Doncha just love standards,there are so many to choose fromhttp://falfn.com/CrusaderRabbit/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_yahoo.gif

  2. Brown says:
    August 6, 2013 at 12:09

    I gather that someone wants one and is paying them to restore it. The problem arisng will be where it can be run – Big Boys are so long and heavy that it will face all sorts of issues when it comes to being driven. Its original range was quite limited for that reason – it was designed to run over a specific route to avoid double heading and never really strayed far from its back yard. I think its nice to see one back in steam but sometimes getting what you want is not that sensible.

    • KG says:
      August 6, 2013 at 12:44

      I’d love to see and hear one run, even if over just ten miles of track, Brown. :grin:

      • MvL says:
        August 6, 2013 at 14:08

        Save the word “sensible” as a prefix for ‘shoes’, ‘clothing’ or ‘hat’.
        And be thankful that it doesn’t seem to exist in the world of locomotive restoration. Be thankful also that there are still people out there willing to honour your American industrial roots with a project like this.http://falfn.com/CrusaderRabbit/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_good.gif
        I reckon turning the bugger around will be the biggest problem :mrgreen:
        Maybe a “wye”is needed?
        Photo to show its true majesty….
        http://www.uprr.com/newsinfo/releases/graphics/2013/historical_4014_big_boy.jpg

        • KG says:
          August 6, 2013 at 14:17

          Wow! What a magnificent beast! http://falfn.com/CrusaderRabbit/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_yahoo.gif

          • Darin says:
            August 6, 2013 at 23:10

            It will run anywhere in the central US,the railroads spent a good deal of money straightening lines and lowering elevations.

            It also doesn’t matter where it runs,rail fans from the world over will pilgrimage to go see it myself included.
            Think of it as a Mechanical Meccahttp://falfn.com/CrusaderRabbit/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_yahoo.gif

    • Findalis says:
      August 7, 2013 at 12:36

      I think a few American railroads still have a few working ones. They use them when the diesel locomotives conk out.

  3. KG says:
    August 6, 2013 at 13:09

    I forget why this is important:
    ‘Alzheimer’s research breakthrough’
    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/9007969/Alzheimers-research-breakthrough

  5. thor42 says:
    August 7, 2013 at 16:03

    Beauuuuuutiful.

    When I was in Canada and the States back in 2002, I *loved* the sound of the massive diesel locomotives over there.
    I often ran on a trail alongside the Bow River in Calgary, and that has a railway track alongside it. You’d hear a growl in the distance, growing to a big throaty roar (and the **wonderful** horn!).

    Oh, what it must be like growing up on the prairies there and being able to hear the loco horns in the distance……

    • KG says:
      August 7, 2013 at 17:07

      Out here in Western Queensland it’s somewhat similar, thor. Huge trains and vast empty spaces. :grin:

      • thor42 says:
        August 7, 2013 at 17:21

        Great!

        • Darin says:
          August 7, 2013 at 21:45

          I used to work at the foot of the Huey Long bridge over the Mississippi River.It’s the main rail crossing south of Vicksburg,Ms and I believe the steepest incline of any trestle bridge in North America.
          It would take 4 engines running at nearly 100% to get a 100 car consist over the bridge.The noise was awesome,standing several blocks away you would feel the rumble in your rib cage.

          From the cab :cool:
          http://youtu.be/c32oroNMQEc?t=4m20s

          At around 7:20 you can just see the derrick of the Huges Glomar Explorer,the underwater recovery ship built by the CIA to covertly recover the sunken Russian submarine K-129 :cool:

          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Azorian

  6. Remus Marsilvia says:
    August 8, 2013 at 05:05

    Reader Brown is right about restricted routes, the Big Boys swung so wide on curves they’d take out an opposing train. Which brings up a question. They were built at Alco in Schenectady NY, how’d they ever get them to the UP? The old Erie maybe, as far as Chicago. When they converted to standard gauge from wide gauge in the mid-1800s, they moved the inside rails outward and so had generous track separation. This made them the go-to route for oversize loads later. Just guessing here. But, Erie aside, the question stands.

  7. MvL says:
    August 8, 2013 at 12:26

    Here’s 4018 excising in Dallas not so long ago. Prior to an aborted move I think.
    Piston rods are cut and it looks as though they have run a brake air hose to bypass the engine’s brakes. Wagons hooked on are probably for braking as it would be a handful to stop even at these low speeds. :mrgreen:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ki5h8-5hiHE

    • Darin says:
      August 8, 2013 at 14:28

      At least they cut the easy parts to replace.If they had cut the conrods or the crosshead rods that would have deserved a swift kick in the nuts.

  10. Darin says:
    August 8, 2013 at 23:03

    COOL! :cool:

    I noticed several of these –
    http://australiansteam.com/sa/409a.jpg

    Very interesting configuration,also noticed that many locomotives had oversized tenders and tag along water tanks.I take it certain routes must have had long breaks between fuel bunks and water supplies?

  11. Remus Marsilvia says:
    August 9, 2013 at 13:48

    Just so it gets said, my opinion, the Allegheny is a tossup for the most appealing steam locomotive, the other being the Berkshire, both products of Lima. The implications of the Allegheny’s six-wheel trailing truck were never developed, more’s the pity.