Union Pacific has released a schedule for the western leg of stops. Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and California. Cities are available on their website. I hope it comes to Tennessee or a surrounding state!
BIG BOY IS COMING!!
- Thread starter Joey
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I saw one of them at Steam Town. It is a huge train. I would love to see it running.
bigbillyboy
Hunter
I want to see it . Conflicting info all over the net about the route. Some say it's coming to the East coast , others say the rail system can't support the weight . So who knows......
OP
I don't like trains. Where did you get an idea like that? Actually, I LOVE"EM!! I got in trouble in elementary school for drawing a steam locomotive!! But I also got in trouble for drawing airplanes, trucks............
Thanks much for the site info, 41dude. I will pull it up.
Neon Vernon
Single-Sixer
I saw Big Boy on the last steam tour before Covid, definitely worth it. The whistle is Apocalyptic, huge!
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Rat76
Blackhawk
If anything, this is an understatement. I don't use the word awesome very often, if at all, but 4014 is awe inspiring.
bobski
Hunter
1 million pounds....how do the rails not bend on that weight!!!!!!!!
I remember going to see the locomotives at Steam town in Bellows Falls
OP
To put that into perspective, 4014 weighs as much as 17 semis loaded to 60000 lbs each!! Massive doesn't begin to describe it!
I'd love to see that!
I have a story about a similar locomotive. (slightly bigger)
I live not far from The Henry Ford Museum/Greenfield village. I had an Aunt from West Virginia. She came up with her father and we took them to the museum. (late 70's?) Her father asked about any trains in the museum and we told him roughly where they were. He said he was going over that way and we could catch up. About a 1/2 hour later we found him, face covered in tears standing in front of the Allegheny. We asked what was wrong. he said "Nothing. I worked on her for years. I love this train."
I have a story about a similar locomotive. (slightly bigger)
I live not far from The Henry Ford Museum/Greenfield village. I had an Aunt from West Virginia. She came up with her father and we took them to the museum. (late 70's?) Her father asked about any trains in the museum and we told him roughly where they were. He said he was going over that way and we could catch up. About a 1/2 hour later we found him, face covered in tears standing in front of the Allegheny. We asked what was wrong. he said "Nothing. I worked on her for years. I love this train."
Rat76
Blackhawk
This is from my latest UP Steam Club email;
The Eastern leg begins May 25 and will include display days in Omaha, Nebraska; Chicago, Illinois; Buffalo, New York; and Scranton, Pennsylvania, before Big Boy's arrival in Philadelphia for Independence Day. Additional display days are anticipated in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri, before the tour concludes July 29.
A detailed schedule for the East Coast leg, including whistlestop locations, will be released at a later date. Anyone interested in learning more is invited to join Union Pacific's Steam Club at upsteam.com.
The Eastern leg begins May 25 and will include display days in Omaha, Nebraska; Chicago, Illinois; Buffalo, New York; and Scranton, Pennsylvania, before Big Boy's arrival in Philadelphia for Independence Day. Additional display days are anticipated in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri, before the tour concludes July 29.
A detailed schedule for the East Coast leg, including whistlestop locations, will be released at a later date. Anyone interested in learning more is invited to join Union Pacific's Steam Club at upsteam.com.
Yea, after they stole it from California. And just to kick us in the teeth, they can't even bring it back on its tour.
It was one of my playgrounds as a kid. The firebox on that things is HUGE. Plenty of room for a handful of YMCA Indian Guides.
It was one of my playgrounds as a kid. The firebox on that things is HUGE. Plenty of room for a handful of YMCA Indian Guides.
bobski
Hunter
wonder how many cars it pulled?
100 to 120 cars unassisted in the mountains of Wyoming. It was named "Big Boy" because someone wrote that in soapstone on the smoke box while they were being built at ALCO in Schenectady NY.
I've run some huge boilers in my time but I would love to be the Fireman on the Big Boy for an hour or so. Let the Engineer run it down the tracks. I just want to make it roar like a lion as I fire it!!
Stole it? From California? I thought they bought it from a railroad museum, not the state. If California owned it as you say, they did, like in everything else they do, a poor job of taking care of it.
No. 4014 was retired in Dec. 1961 after traveling 1,031,205 miles. Union Pacific reacquired it from the RailGiants Train Museum in Pomona, California, in 2013 and relocated it back to Cheyenne, Wyoming, for a multi-year restoration. It returned to service in May 2019
Watch the rails flex with the current trains. They’re moving.
Yes, they "reaquired" it. But there was considerable political hijinks involved. The Railway and Locomotive Society of Southern California was threatened with loosing their lease at the Fairplex after Union Pacific convinced L. A. County officials that they should get it back.
Just having some fun with you.
Touchy subject for those of us with a history with the locomotive.
It's all about pounds per square inch/foot. Notice how many wheels it has.
We saw BB when it stopped in Rosenberg. I have also seen the Allegany in the Ford Museum both are just outstanding.
.
Some train facts
The C&O Allegheny and Union Pacific Big Boy were two of the most powerful steam locomotives ever built, with the Allegheny optimized for steep coal routes and the Big Boy designed for long-haul freight over moderate grades.
Wheel
- C&O Allegheny (Class H-8): This locomotive has a 2-6-6-6 wheel arrangement, meaning two leading wheels, two sets of six driving wheels, and six trailing wheels. It was an articulated design built primarily for high-traction performance on steep grades in the coal fields of West Virginia.
- Union Pacific Big Boy: Featuring a 4-8-8-4 wheel arrangement, it has four leading wheels, two sets of eight driving wheels, and four trailing wheels. The Big Boy was built for long, fast freight runs on the relatively gentler grades of the Wasatch Mountains and transcontinental routes.
Size
- Allegheny: Approximately 510,000 lbs (locomotive) with a total engine and tender weight of about 808,000 lbs.
- Big Boy: Larger at roughly 762,000 lbs (locomotive) and total weight with tender about 1,250,000 lbs. This makes the Big Boy the heaviest full-size steam locomotive ever used in the United States.
Speed
- Allegheny: Top speeds were lower, around 35–45 mph, as steep grades demanded slow, powerful pulls.
- Big Boy: Could reach higher speeds, often up to 80 mph on level track, suited for long mainline hauls.**
Me too! Would love to see it running on the Norfolk and Southern tracks through N/E TN.
I'm quite certain this would not meet CA emision standards
It came through Texas near our house a couple years ago…. very cool
Cool stuff! I wish it were coming close to SW Ohio! Love to see it. Great videos!!!
But DO NOT plug it in until 3:00am.
We do not want the grid to explode.
The Baldwin 2-8-8-4 "Yellowstone" locomotives used by the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railroad also ranked right up there with the "Big Boys", being larger in some categories (tractive effort, axle load, etc.) and smaller in others ( top speed was lower, and total weight was slightly smaller at 'only' 1,133,040 pounds ;^). They were used by the DM&IR to haul long strings of cars loaded with iron ore (heavy stuff). There's one on display in Two Harbors, MN - for scale the drive wheels are 5' 3" in diameter (a few inches less than the Big Boy):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2-8-8-4
Neon Vernon
Single-Sixer
I grew up around Duluth. The big Baldwins were known as "Mallets" (pronounced malley) by locals and the crews, it was a generic term for articulated locomotives. My mom remembers them climbing the hill back to The Range from the port, and although they were retired after I was born I was too young to remember them actually working. #225 is still at Carlson Park, we snuck into it and climbed into the firebox one time as kids, as already stated lots of room in there. 
Rat76
Blackhawk
Pulling into Fort Gibson in 2019. Turn up the volume.
