OT: UP to restore Big Boy 4014 to Operation

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2013: OT: UP to restore Big Boy 4014 to Operation
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Dewey, N. California on Tuesday, July 23, 2013 - 07:58 pm:

For those of us that are train nuts here, UP has just announced that they have acquired UP 4014 from the historical Society that owns it and will move it from Southern California to their Steam shop in Cheyenne.
http://www.uprr.com/newsinfo/releases/heritage_and_steam/2013/0723_4014.shtml

Now to get the Steamboat Delta Queen running again!
www.save-the-delta-queen.org


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Jelf, Parkerfield KS on Tuesday, July 23, 2013 - 08:17 pm:


An articulated 4-8-8-4; Big Boy is a good name for it.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kenneth W DeLong on Tuesday, July 23, 2013 - 09:07 pm:

Wonderful news! I can see a trip to Cheyenne!Bud.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By ex trooper on Tuesday, July 23, 2013 - 09:30 pm:

ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING NEWS! Got a cab ride dead heading on a CHALLENGER in 2000 and a BIG BOY is #1 on my bucket list! ws

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8f9VFlNyDQ


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dave Hjortnaes, Men Falls, WI on Tuesday, July 23, 2013 - 09:37 pm:

Hey. I've got that video.

Missed the Challenger when she was in Milwaukee a few years ago. It was my weekend to work.

Wonder how many years they think will take to get it running again.

Need to make a T tour out of this occasion. Start at Dave Huson's place and ride up to Cheyenne.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kenneth W DeLong on Tuesday, July 23, 2013 - 09:50 pm:

Dave,That sounds like a tour i would like to attend!Bud.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Jelf, Parkerfield KS on Tuesday, July 23, 2013 - 10:24 pm:

UP expects restoration to take three to five years.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Craig Anderson, central Wisconsin on Tuesday, July 23, 2013 - 11:16 pm:

And I wonder how many millions.......?
It's not only the money but the tracks need to be in top shape to handle THAT baby.......


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Paul Mikeska, Denver CO on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 12:05 am:

That is good news. We have a Big Boy here in Denver at the Forney Museum. It is difficult to understand just how big they are without actually standing next to one!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Sheldon, Grass Valley, CA on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 12:26 am:

I don't think I have ever seen one of those in person! I know I would be in heaven for few minutes to be up close to one.
What years were those built during?
Drive carefully, and enjoy, W2


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Dewey, N. California on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 12:33 am:

Paul,
I've stood beside that one, before the Forney moved (when they were in the streetcar powerhouse) What I'm wondering is why they didn't take the one in Cheyenne that spent most of its retired life in the roundhouse (and in more recent years siting next to 3985)?
I have an S gauge model of one, and it looms over my other engines, even, to some extent, my S Gauge Challenger engine. (For those nit-picker who might be lurking, yes my Big Boy is a tad over scale, but not my much (1/16" or so)).


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By George Clipner-Los Angeles on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 01:09 am:

I remember in the early 60s, my grandfather took me down to the UP Yards in KC,MO to see a BigBoy that was being driven to the museum in St.Louis. This monster was warm and breathing. I was 10/11 at the time and was overwhelmed at the power of this behemoth. This thing was alive.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Jelf, Parkerfield KS on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 01:50 am:

Wayne, that one was built in 1941 and retired in 1961. The Big Boys normally operated between Ogden and Cheyenne.

George, I was ten when my dad took my mom and little brother and me out to Fullerton to catch the train for Kansas. I don't know what locomotive it was but it was big enough for me to feel the ground shake when it rolled into the station.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By George Clipner-Los Angeles on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 02:04 am:

Steve, I remember that feeling too.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Craig Anderson, central Wisconsin on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 03:20 am:

The National Railroad Museum at Green Bay, WI, has one on display........there really aren't words to describe the enormity of it......HOLY CRAP that thing is HUGE.......


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By ex trooper on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 07:09 am:

4017 in Green Bay last summer. ws

[IMG]http://i42.tinypic.com/28mhl0.jpg[/IMG]


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Seth from NC on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 07:23 am:

That's cool trooper. I like how wheels are light on the outside, almost like white-wall tires. =) In my mind when I see the pictures of the Big Boys, I think they have to have a BRUTAL, deep, ridiculous whistle - really more like a fog horn to do justice to their size. Anything else would just seem silly.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bill Alexander in Albion, Maine on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 07:27 am:

Check out the one up on the hill in Omaha. One of the biggest issues will be turning it at the end of the run. Cheyenne has a turntable that will do it. There is a wye at the yard in Laramie and I think it can be done in Green River, WY as well. To the east, I don't know. You can be sure UP has the ROW that can support it in many areas. Bridges will need careful consideration as well. # 3985 is about 900,000 lbs, engine & tender. # 4014 will be around 1,300,000 lbs ready to go. Can't wait !


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By William L Vanderburg on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 07:33 am:

They picked this one, because out of the 8 preserved, the 4014 is the best preserved one. The Southern California Chapter of the RLHS maintains it practically as though it were in running condition: painting, rust-abatement, oiling, greasing, etc. They actually took care of it instead of allowing nature to play with it.

I think UP's biggest hurdle will be how to convert it to oil firing. They tried that before they were retired, and it was unsuccessful. That is, unless they have decided to keep it as a coal firing engine.

The only one I've seen was the one from F. Nelson Blount's collection now owned by the National Park Service at Steamtown; Scranton, PA.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob from Nova Scotia on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 09:00 am:

http://m.youtube.com/index?&desktop_uri=%2F

Its not as big as big boy but it shows a fascinating view on how these monsters were created


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob from Nova Scotia on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 09:03 am:

http://m.youtube.com/results?q=3685%20horsepower%20steam%20locomotive&oq=3685&gs _l=youtube-reduced.1.0.41j0l2.3269.4544.0.5881.4.4.0.0.0.0.93.190.4.4.0...0.0... 1ac.1.5.youtube-reduced.SMhcO5c0-GA

Sorry. Technologically impaired. Try that link


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob from Nova Scotia on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 09:05 am:

Its the 3685 hp video. Shows CP3101 being built


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Joe Van on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 09:14 am:

#4006 is here at the Museum of Transportation in Saint Louis. It is a lot of fun to climb up into the cab and see all those valves and gauges.
Really looking forward to seeing all the T's and other early cars out at the annual Brass and Nickel show in October.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Seth from NC on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 09:16 am:

Lol, I thought sometimes Model T controls felt a bit complicated. I saw a picture of the controls for a Big Boy and just busted out laughing. There are valves EVERYWHERE.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Robert Scott Owens on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 11:36 am:

Do we know when they are going to move 4014? I would like to go by and see it before it leaves. Thanks, Scott


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Fred Miller, Sequim WA on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 01:44 pm:

I grew up with this beast next to the Pomona Fairgrounds in Lavern CA. It was off limits for so many years just sitting next to an empty parking lot.
I studied this Lokey some years back and it is very possible that the 4014 moved lots of Model T's to the West Coast.

train


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Fred Miller, Sequim WA on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 05:55 pm:

BIG BOY #4014 NEWS



http://www.railgiants.org/union-pacific-big-boy-4014.htm


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve in Tennessee on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 06:11 pm:

Only one I have ever seen was in Old Town Sacramento at the museum there. There was a man there as sort of a guide answering questions. I think he was in his youth be involved in their operation. Fascinating machine and was a real treat to speak with the guy about it. And yes - you cannot appreciate the size until you stand next to one.

Is the rail in use these days heavy enough for one of these to run on?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ken Lauderback, Milwaukie Oregon on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 07:59 pm:

Unless the museum in Sacramento has acquired a "Big Boy" recently, the articulated engine there is a Southern Pacific cab-forward engine and while large, it is quite a bit smaller than the UP 4000 class engines.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By William L Vanderburg on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 07:59 pm:

to answer your question, yes it is heavy enough.
Rail for mainline service can run anywhere from 115 to 141 pounds per yard. The Pennsylvania RR manufactured the heaviest rail ever at 155 lbs/yd.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By William L Vanderburg on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 08:02 pm:

There is no Big Boy in Sacramento. Unless they have been moved, their last known locations were: Cheyenne, Denver, St. Louis, Scranton, Pomona, Green Bay, Dallas, Omaha.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Dewey, N. California on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 08:09 pm:

Steve,
Hate to mention this, but Sacramento doesn't have one. They do have the Cab-Forward, which is large, but not as large as the Big Boy.
Most of us railroad nuts are still in shock at this news!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob McDonald-Federal Way, Wa. on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 09:45 pm:

This is what the cab forward looks like


This is one of UP power still in operation running doubled with City of Portland daylight.
Doing about 70 through Auburn Wa. a couple of years ago.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Dewey, N. California on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 09:51 pm:

You can't tell from the picture, but the Daylight engine (that red/orange streak behind the 844 is just as big as the 844! It's just prettier! :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Sheldon, Grass Valley, CA on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 11:38 pm:

I like black. Maybe why I like model Ts so much.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Spaziano, Bellflower, CA. on Thursday, July 25, 2013 - 12:11 am:

I started working on my A.A. degree in Machine Tool at Cerritos College in Norwalk, CA. back in '79-'80.

I remember that in one of my morning Beginning Machine Shop classes there was an elderly retired gent named Willie that was taking shop classes solely for the purpose of using the machines to work on parts of the "Big Boy" he was helping to restore at the time. He had photos to prove it.

I can't remember for sure but, I believe it was the one that had been at the L.A. County Fairgrounds that had recently (at that time) been
moved to the U.P. shops in San Bernardino.

This may have been the same "Big Boy" that steamed into L.A.'s Union Station for their fiftieth anniversary celebration.

Then again, my memory could be completely off.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Spaziano, Bellflower, CA. on Thursday, July 25, 2013 - 12:22 am:

Well, I just read the news article at the link posted above by Fred Miller.

It appears that the "Big Boy" at the Pomona Fairgrounds has never left.

"Open mouth-insert foot".


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Robert Scott Owens on Thursday, July 25, 2013 - 01:24 am:

So where at the fairgrounds is this monster?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Dewey, N. California on Thursday, July 25, 2013 - 02:56 am:

Mike,
Your classmate may be one of the reasons 4014 was chosen; apparently she has been very well cared for down there! One reason the SP449 (that red-orange streak you see above)was so restorable was because one guy would oil and clean the running gear voluntarily. Unfortunately, he did not live to see her run again.
Not a great pic, but the only one I could find to post. I need to scan in my old pics!
4449


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Frank Harris from Long Beach & Big Bear on Thursday, July 25, 2013 - 04:22 am:

when I was a little boy in the 1930's we used to go to Mojave on the way to visit my uncle Atholstan and aunt Maud Jeffery in Trona. Those big engines were always working there and we loved to hear them roar. Uncle Athol was an important guy and there is still a street there in Trona named after him.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Jelf, Parkerfield KS on Thursday, July 25, 2013 - 08:52 am:

Here are a few shots of UP 844 when it stopped at Caldwell a few years ago.






Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve in Tennessee on Thursday, July 25, 2013 - 09:13 am:

sorry - long time ago. I guess it was the cab forward I saw. I do remember walking into the mercantile store there (sort of a museum) and the friend I was with challenged me to take their test identifying objects. I was about 30 at the time. I got 10 out of 10, recognizing a spoke shave as the first item. The lady gave me a certificate and said I was the first person under 60 that had ever gotten one and the only person who knew what a spoke shave was.

I am a bastion of useless knowledge it seems, although not in the area of locomotives.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Chuck Hoffman - Gold Country of Calif. on Thursday, July 25, 2013 - 01:08 pm:

Got to see 844 and 4449 at Sacramento railfair '99.
Quite a thrill. Hope they do this again.
844


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By George Clipner-Los Angeles on Thursday, July 25, 2013 - 03:44 pm:

I wonder what the criteria was for choosing any of the Locos to restore ?? I read that they almost got the BBoy from Texas but a bridge wasn't strong enough.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jerry VanOoteghem on Thursday, July 25, 2013 - 04:02 pm:

How will they move it? I assume by pushing or pulling it but will they have to remove the side rods and disconnect the valve linkages? I can't believe you would want the pistons and valves operating in unknown, possibly rusty conditions with no oiler operating.

Wouldn't it be cool if they towed it with 844 ?!?!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Dewey, N. California on Thursday, July 25, 2013 - 04:57 pm:

Chuck, the locomotive in the background in your picture is WP2001--I painted it!
Jerry, I have read that they will first do bearing work on it somewhere nearby (probably on Railroad Property). I would imagine that they will drop the rods for the move at the same time.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Michael Deichmann, Blistrup, Denmark on Thursday, July 25, 2013 - 05:59 pm:

How was it fed with fuel? I can hardly imagine one person shuffling in coal. It must be some sort of stoker. Or oil?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob McDonald-Federal Way, Wa. on Thursday, July 25, 2013 - 06:35 pm:

Michael
There was a screw type feeder for coal. Someone may have a picture of this system.

Bob


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mark Hamlin on Thursday, July 25, 2013 - 06:50 pm:

I've visited the Big Boys in Cheyenne and at the Forney Museum while it was at both locations.
It is truly impressive.
Just last week I had the opportunity to have my T professionally photographed at an intersection while the 844 went by for Cheyenne Frontier Days.
It shot past at about 50 MPH. What a thrill.
Mark


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By William L Vanderburg on Thursday, July 25, 2013 - 07:40 pm:

The coal feeder is based on the principle of the Archimedes' screw. It sits in a trough or tube in the bottom of the tender, and draws the coal to the firebox where it is then distributed to the heated grate surface.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Dewey, N. California on Thursday, July 25, 2013 - 08:30 pm:

But, UP intends on converting the Big Boy to Oil. It's not easy, as coal has a lot of BTUs in it. We'll see how that goes--it was tried once "back in the day" --didn't work out; and they did convert the Challenger--but that conversion was still being tweaked the last time she ran.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By George Clipner-Los Angeles on Friday, July 26, 2013 - 01:04 am:

I read the other day that one of the BBoys was converted to oil, but only one. UP did that to break a coal strike.
I went to Google maps and zoomed in on the LA Fair grounds where he loco is at. No tracks any where except 1.2 mile north. They would either have to build temp tracks or hoist onto a heavy-haul trailer to the nearest tracks. There are no UP Shops that I could find in L.A. Area. I would think they would first have to take it to a repair place to do pre-moving maint. Just a thought.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Dewey, N. California on Friday, July 26, 2013 - 03:21 am:

Having moved a much smaller steam locomotive out of a park, I know a lot of prep work can be done on site--especially at the site where it sits now. Snap track can be laid to slowly move the locomotive to live track. I'm sure these folks have a lot more money to spend on this effort than we had when we moved one. I'm not familiar with the area, but others have mentioned Metro-Link tracks nearby.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By William L Vanderburg on Friday, July 26, 2013 - 07:54 am:

I love all the miss-information out there. No Big Boy was ever converted to oil. They attempted to convert one to oil, but never completed it. Either it didn't work or the strike had something to do with it. Take your pick.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Jelf, Parkerfield KS on Friday, July 26, 2013 - 08:34 am:


ATSF #2542 in Wilson Park, Arkansas City, was driven there under its own power, using compressed air, in 1955. Temporary tracks were laid down Birch Avenue, for six blocks from the Santa Fe tracks and into the park.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Fred Miller, Sequim WA on Friday, July 26, 2013 - 03:25 pm:

Up here in the Northwest it was not uncommon to see a Lokey moved from one set of rails several miles to another. I have seen photo,s from the early 1900's with the Lokey coming down the main street right through town. The way they did this was simply to lay the rails and ties right down the street and to pull them up again from behind the machine and then bring them back around to the front. I bet with today's technology this would be pretty fast and easy.


Here's the Union Pacific Challenger #3985 at W. Riverside CA Jct, not more that 30 miles away from the 4014 in 1994.

lokey

Union Pacific #3985 east holds the UP main at West Riverside Jct. with the Santa Fe San Bernardino Subdivision during UPHS Convention excursions in 1994


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bill Harris on Friday, July 26, 2013 - 05:23 pm:

Here is info I received:


Big Boy, UP 4018, is currently at Fair Park in Dallas. This coming Sunday, July 28 after three attempts, it will be pulled about 40 miles north to the Transportation Museum in Frisco. It can't go on its own because the four piston rods have been cut in two. It will be pulled by a single diesel locomotive with four heavy box cars in front of and behind for breaking.


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