Posted on 07/24/2025 9:44:27 AM PDT by Morgana
Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 articulated, massive, steam giant, from a much better by gone era
I think it’s stationed out in Cheyenne; there’s a round house there with a bunch of classic Union Pacific locomotives under restoration and care.
https://www.up.com/about-us/history/steam/big-boy-4014
Someday, hopefully, I will go to the Daddy of em all on Cheyenne
And they designed and built those really complicated machines without the aid of a CAD computer, just pencils and paper.............
And slide rule
The Big Boy sports four cylinders that are 24” in diameter. That is 452.5 square inches. It operates at 250 PSI, giving a thrust of 113,097 pounds per cylinder. That works out to 452,389 pounds, or 226 tons of traction at stall. It will get the job done.
Would lo e to see that one day.
Amen. My father was a railroader. Stared firing a yard locomotive in Denver for the D&SL (Moffat line) Worked his way up to engineer and then Division Superintendent, becoming friends with the same on the UP and Burlington and Santa Fe.
I should keep my damn trap shut. For a while he was ‘train master’ in Helper, Utah. One day he and my mother handed me up to a fireman in a Big Boy in Cheyenne WY, and drove alongside the right-of-way in the ‘53 Chevy wagon to Laramie. the next division point west.
Why not brag? Family lore says I bawled my head off most of the trip! I’ve tried to make it up. Worked track gang and apprentice diesel loco mechanic during my two undergrad summers. Since then I’ve traveled railroads all over the world - firing locos in India, riding the cab in Wales and Scotland, even getting an engineers’ (biomed/biophysics) tour of the Shinkansen motive power between Nagoya and Tokyo.
“And slide rule”
I own a slide rule!
Darlings, if you’re interested in the Big Boy 4014 and other steam locos here is the website from Union Pacific to track:
https://www.up.com/about-us/history/steam
I have a great railroad friend that helped restore and get 4014 back on the tracks and still works in Cheyenne where Big Boy goes to sleep at night. Along with the fabulous, and slimmer, 844.
These machines are magnificent examples of building, casting, and machining. Right down to the last bolt and rivet. Thanks to Union Pacific (headquarters in Omaha) for spending a bit to keep these beasts on the rails! If any among you has any interest or influence, Please drop a post card or letter to UP to encourage them to continue support. Contact me privately and I can provide the address.
UP is very sensitive to customer relations when they hear from people. Their steam program only costs about $2-3 million a year. Just guessing. If they upped it to $4-5M/yr we could really see some great things. Ask for the return of passenger cars.
The Steam Program did announce that they would be on the rails more in 2026 to celebrate the Nation’s 250th anniversary. No more info. With enough support from the public, UP might just show up in your town. Maybe I’ll see you there. I’ll be volunteering.
Meanwhile, if you have an hour to spare, here is the Jay Leno Garage show about the Big Boy. Ed is still driving the train and Austin and others are there too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YMAqqCYe00
“The Lincoln locomotive is also nicely done, and I consider the dark trucks and underframe to be more tasteful.”
Kind of a letdown for me. A better Lincoln tribute would be a 4-4-0 steam locomotive, the ubiquitous engine for his day. Oh well, I guess the cost to operate it would be to high.
Much obliged. Thank you!
Thank you! Will do.
Thanks for posting! The Jay Leno video is is the best 👍
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