As a 13 year old I stood in front of 4017 in Green Bay, WI. and asked the tour guide at the train museum if the Big Boy would ever run again. The answer was, "No". In July of 2019 as a 57 year old, I stood in Clyman, WI. and watched 4014 steam under the old coal tower that still stands there. My eyes were watering. It is a beautiful Locomotive. It also helped win WWll by burning coal and saving diesel for the war over seas. I thank Union Pacific for restoring one of these locomotives. It was always a dream of mine to see one operate.
That must have been a sight to be hold ... from a young man, being told to she will never run again, to being middle-aged, and seeing her moving, once more, under her own power ... Many may not get why it was such a emotional moment, but many of us, whom have been in preservation, conservation, and restoration, that getting a historical peice of engineering working again, is an incredible feat ...
Yes, the use of coal was a big deal in WW2 to save oil. The Brits preferred coal burning lend-lease ships from the USA, as they had plenty of that and no native oil supply.
As a boy living on a farm in rural Iowa, I remember the steam locomotives hurtling past carrying passengers and freight. You could hear them coming, then the ground shaking as they approached the lower field bound by the tracks. I would find an excuse for me and my dog, Brownie an Australian Sheepdog, to get close and marvel. Not certain if Brownie appreciated it as he would answer the train's whistle with his own howls. Everything is gone now; Brownie, the farm, the trains, even the rails. It's just me (old man) and my memories.
@@badgerlife9541 as someone who lives in Waycross ga a major rail hub I disagree trains are not going anywhere they are still used heavily to move stuff to and from harbors or manufacturing centers they can transport more than planes or trucks but can go more places than boats so they will still be used for a long time to come It is very annoying when trying to get to work but I love them
My grandfather was a boilermaker in Cheyenne. He was skinney enough to crawl inside the boilers to buck the rivets. He lost most of his hearing, ear protection was stuffing cotton in the ears. He retired in the late forties or early 50's. The smile on his face when we took him to a locomotive display was heartwarming. What an era to have grown up in. Steam locomotives are amazing.
I knew a woman who work there, probably around that same time or a little later in the boiler shop helping one of the machinists. She had many interesting things to tell about.
My grandfather was a BigBoy engineer, he said it was the Saturn V of its day: 604 tons of weight, 1.3 million pounds on 16 driving wheels. All during WW2 carrying goods over the continental divide. They helped win the war in "spades".
Oak_meadow.... he must've been hogging one of the first group of 4000's.... the 2nd & 3rd groups were heavier, especially the last five (4020 - 4024), which weighed in at 1,232,000 lbs (616 tons). The UP & ALCO actually had blueprints on the board for an even larger "Big Boy" (Five of them), and had the war lasted another two or three years, there would have been at least Three of them built.
saturn v of its day? are you kidding? xD using tested technology to do a little bit bigger thing is the same as inventing an industry and doing things that were literally though impossible a few years before? xD For the big boy to be the saturn v of it's time it would need to come with its own railway system and being the 1st practical, working locomotive of its range xd
@@wujekcientariposta I hope you either have seen, or will see a Big Boy Locomotive in your lifetime. I also hope you see or have seen the Saturn V rocket, how about ships? the battleship New Jersey, Massachusetts among many others not the biggest, but I hope you get to see them. Oak_meadow's grandfather one of a very small number of Locomotive engineers to run the Big Boy and you xD the guy. On the drawing board in 1938 (about the same time Wernher von Braun was developing the v-2 for Germany) with nothing but paper, pencils, slide rules, and brains, the Big Boy was the Saturn V of it's time. Many steam locomotives led to the development of the Big Boy, many rockets led to the development of the Saturn V
One thing many might not know but the Society that looked after the Big Boy in retirement did such a fantastic job of maintaining her (keeping her wheels and joints oiled) that when the head of UP's Steam restoration shops, Ed Dickens was interviewed and asked what shape she was in when the the UP crew started to work on her, he said something to the effect that they were all shocked at how she was in SUCH GOOD SHAPE! Kudos to the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society for helping the Big Boy to come back to life!
Finally, California did something right. The 4014 was on static display at the LA county fairgrounds, and I would visit 4014 every year during the LA County Fair. Have plenty of photos of myself and later on my then young son standing on the front end of “our” Big Boy. It was a bittersweet day when they moved it out of the railway museum onto the UP main line to bring him back to life up in Cheyenne. It was sad to see big boy leave, but yet I’d rather see it in operation on the rails, then just sitting there and not unleashing the incredible power and overall magic that it had for that relatively brief 20 year period of time.
When you think about trains, you don't picture a diesel-electric or a high speed one. You think of ones like this. With all moving parts on the outside, billowing smoke, chug a-chug a (steam whistle). That's what makes these things timeless.
The older ones, at least, could be repaired in any town with a blacksmith and a carpenter. I'm not so sure about the later ones after the age of steam.
Being 70 and living square in the Big Boy's environment, the Intermountain West, I have had the privilege of seeing the Big Boy Engine both as a very impressed small child and last year as 4014 visited my city.
I'm not a railfan, but my pulse would be raised by seeing this! I can only imagine the feeling of pure raw power and the heat of one of those rumbling past at slow speed. This is steam engineering taken to the absolute limits and the functionality breeds beauty!
a classmate in college told me he liked watching trains and knew their schedules and could recognize individual cars from their rust patterns. i hadn't known such people existed :-)
"Working on it"... ? ... As in running or just making her look all spiffy? I have two pictures of my son standing in front of 4012. One when he is 4 or 5 and another when he was heading off to college.
Very glad to hear it! Scranton is the only place I've ever seen a big boy in the flesh but at that time (2009 or 2010?) it was a static exhibit and there was no mention of plans to get it moving again. PS enjoyed the rest of the museum too.
@@tomo9126 There's a bunch of easy to find content on their web site. But I think we should be very pleased with a good cosmetic and preservation-oriented restoration. There's no practical opportunity to run that equipment near their site. But if you've got a few tens of millions of $ burning a hole in your pocket - I'm sure they would love to hear from you!
Simon, I realize the cultural differences across the pond, but in 2019, the tour of the restored Big Boy was Huge news as the engine went up to Minneapolis, came down to Chicago, went south into Texas and went as far as the west coast breaking all attendence estimates. In West Chicago, I met fans from Japan and from Europe. Union Pacific also engineered a solution so that the engine is an oil burner and patented the design.
@EmperorJuliusCaesar Thousands of model train and real train enthusiast like me followed every step of its restoration. Any Hobby shop that sold model trains had news about it. By the same token news that is big in one area may never be known in another like aircraft, cars, boats, fishing what have you. Within those parameters it was huge. Tens of thousands showed up to see the Big Boy under its own power. Along the route when news came out about a Big Boy even the merely curious came out in droves to see it. They are planning to go even further on the next tour, if you can go see the Big Boy it is awesome.
Finally got to see Bog Boy 4014 this afternoon; first time in my memory that I can ever recall seeing a functioning steam locomotive. Needless to say... it was absolutely awe-inspiring. The thing that took me aback the most was the sheer amount and force of the heat radiating off of him in all directions, regardless of wind direction. The ground-shaking was another crazy cool experience, especially when he went directly underneath a bridge I was standing on. It's really cool to see just how many people turned out all along the route to see him, and also the dozens and dozens of cars that followed him on the nearby roads everywhere. I saw him in the middle of Kansas, and the sheer volume of people that turned up to witness and follow him astounded me, and I was born and raised in this area. I've never seen such crowds before, and 4014 caused a traffic jam EVERYWHERE he went! The energy in the air at these gatherings was something very unique. Everyone was very respectful and courteous not only to the railroad staff, 4014, but also to each other. The air was alive with energy, people were non-stop gaping at the behemoth iron machine, and were all very excited. I've never even seen such enthusiasm from people at air shows with old planes. There's just something about the world's largest steam locomotive running I guess, especially after he sat for the better part of half a century! AMAZING experience, I'm so happy I got to see him on tour this year. I missed him on his first tour in 2019, but I didn't this time!
Great subject but it was obvious throughout the video that the presenter couldn't care less about the subject. He read what he was supposed to but with an air of disdain he didn't even try to hide. Check out the UA-cam video of 4014 pulling 163 double stacked container cars by itself. It would take 3 diesels to do the same job!
Bravo well done documentary and presentation on the Big Boy. The return of Big Boy 4014 was huge news in America. It's excursions on the UP railroad brought out thousands of people. It really helped to bring our country together - we could sure use a little of that right now. In May 2019 there was a grand event in Ogden, Utah that celebrated both the return of Big Boy 4014 and the 150 years since the completion of the transcontinental railroad. We were honored to have our song and video "Ballad of the Big Boy" literally open up this fantastic celebration and to perform live in downtown Ogden. It was just amazing to be a part of this event and equally wonderful to see the awe on people's faces when they fixed their gaze on the Big Boy for the first time. Anything that brings people together, is positive and builds community is a win-win for everyone. Long Live Big Boy 4014, and many thanks to Union Pacific and Ed Dickens and the steam team for keeping the dream alive! Steam on my friend!! Mike Stand
This behemoth has no dynamic braking. The brakes were only the steam actuated clasp brakes. When one sees this big guy on the rails, there is usually a diesel locomotive after the water car. That locomotive is not there to help pull the train. It is there to provide dynamic braking and generate power for the cars. The later steam locomotives do have steam driven generators on them but used a considerable amount of steam to drive the small generators.
I saw 4014 when it went through Tucson last year. First in line behind it was a diesel electric that the engineer said was just there for the dynamic braking. Said UP's rules require all trains on their tracks to have dynamic braking. He also said that it had been converted to oil for ease of refueling out on the line. The restoration job was amazing. Was quite a sight to see.
your statement's first two sentences are accurate, the rest is misleading. Every single car in a train has air brakes since that technology was put into law. Two regular and straight air. All steam engines and modern diesels are equipped this way. The diesel is there to meet UP's requirement for dynamic braking not because the trains ran with no brakes. And since it is there and makes loads of electricity, run the cars power needs. Dynamic brakes are great foe mountain descents, having a whole separate system for braking is sound reasoning.
@@mikeeuritt4396 There's multiple reasons why diesel locomotives are used, but the diesel locomotives that Union Pacific uses behind their steam locomotives do not generate power for the passenger cars behind them, this is accomplished by a dedicated car that carries a diesel powered generator. Other railroads or steam locomotive operators do occasionally include an actual passenger locomotive like one from Amtrak to supply the electrical power, but this is speaking specifically in reference to Union Pacific's practices. The diesel locomotives are used for their dynamic braking capabilities to lessen the use of the air brakes on the passenger cars. The passenger cars have disc brakes, which are unique in a fleet of millions of freight cars, and they are not interchangeable. It's a painful task to change passenger car brakes in the line of road, since they are not stocked across the system, therefore they try to avoid this by not using them as much. The steam locomotive itself is also not used for braking very often, as it too has uniquely sized brake shoes that aren't in wide supply across the system. As a matter of fact, the brake shoes on a locomotive of any type are rarely used for anything other than during switching or moving locomotives by themselves. In normal operating circumstances, the brakes on the train are used to slow or stop the entire train, leaving the brakes on the locomotives released until the train is below 10 MPH. In addition to slowing, stopping, and controlling the train's speed, the diesels are also used for additional power on occasion to accelerate the train at a faster rate, and they are used to keep the train at a constant "cruising speed" to lessen the use of the steam locomotive. This isn't because the steam engine is incapable of doing the job, nor to "baby" it, but rather to lengthen the range the engine can travel without replenishing water and fuel oil, a task that is time consuming and logistically impractical on a modern freight railroad that would be impacted by those delays. If the steam locomotive runs out of either en route, this is crippling to a freight network while a contingency plan is enacted to fuel the steam locomotive, not to mention it's not exactly best practice for a machine of that type. The idea of this is completely circumvented by carefully planning where the train will take fuel and water, and is almost always done during overnight stops via a strategically located water hydrant in proximity to where the train will layover, and a fuel truck that shadows the train's route. It's always better to arrive with extra water and oil than it is to run out en route. Very rarely does this ever become an issue, but when it does, it's an unnecessary challenge that shouldn't have to be dealt with.
You can actually brake a steam locomotive without physically using brakes. By throwing the valve gear into reverse, steam entering the cylinder is now being compressed and absorbing work as opposed to being expanded and performing work. This provides a pretty powerful braking effect.
My grandfather was a Union Pacific Engineer and eventually became a regional supervisor for the railroad based in Ogden, UT. This video made me feel a little closer to him. Your videos bring our history to life. Thanks for that.
Not mentioned is why these locomotives need to be so heavy. That’s in order to generate sufficient traction between the wheels and rail to actually transfer all that power successfully. In the case of locomotives, heavier is actually better for tractive effort
kind of a good point. however it falls down a little bit when the replacement 4 unit f3's had the samish HP, double the tractive effort and half the weight. But (the big but) is of course the 16 driven axles of the unit as opposed to the 4000's 8, and just as important the consistently smooth traction motors as opposed to any big steamer having many tons of side rods thrashing around (hence duplexes of course, and why S2 could get to good speed with small drivers)
Steam locomotives developed their power in pulses... Each piston provided two power strokes, and since there was a piston on either side, set at 90° to each other, this provided four power pulses per wheel revolution. It was the tonnage of the engine that kept the wheels from breaking free of adhesion and just spinning the drivers without pulling the train. Look up "steam locomotives slipping" on UA-cam to see what happens when the adhesion is broken. Because a diesel engine's power is first converted to electricity, then converted back to mechanical at the axle, it's power is delivered nearly smooth and continuously. This requires less weight to hold the adhesion you the rail. Modern 4400hp diesels have MORE pulling power than the big boys, yet weigh a third of the tonnage... Because their AC traction motors provide smooth continuous torque.
The Big Boy made more tractive effort at low speeds, where the drawbar pull was measured for starting the train. Newer AC locomotives have essentially removed those limits on diesel locomotives.
The weight mentioned for the big boy does also include the weight of the massive tender itself, plus 25,000 gallons (95m³) water and 28 tons of coal, a fully loaded tender weighed over 200 tons which is just dead weight and adds to the train load. So its weight has to be subtracted from the total to get the weight of the engine itself. So the engine weighed around 400 tons, resting on 24 wheels in total of which 16 driven, so around 2/3th of the 400 tons was on the driven axles. That's the adhesive weight of this locomotive, and is approximately 265-270 tons. A set of 3 F3 diesels had a total weight of between 330-360 tons, and all that weight was on driven axles, so the diesels had an advantage in adhesive weight over the Big Boy despite their total weight just being a little more than half that of the Big Boy locomotive. An advantage of the steam locomotive is that it can slug at a very low speed and maximum tractive effort forever as long as the boiler pressure keeps up, the DC motors in older diesels have their limitations, having to pull at low speed and maximum power for too long will make them burn out, and that's why diesels have hourly and 5 minute ratings, depicted by green, yellow and red sectors on the amp meters in the cab, green is safe for continuous operation, yellow means for max one hour and red is for short periods (like starting the train) only.
This thing came through my town on the rail line across the street from my house. Me and my family watched it go by sitting about 30ft from the rails. It shook the ground and sounded like thunder as it went by. Its an awsome peice of American industrial might.
That's awesome! My dad is a railway enthusiast. My mother gave him a model "Big Boy" as his wedding gift, it's worth quite a bit. Their wedding trip was to the Durango-Silverton line in Colorado. He took me there too in 2006 and it was an experience I'll never forget. All the people from the neighbouring villages came running towards the train and waved at us passangers as the train drove by. That was really heartwarming. I think about that every time someone badmouths Americans. I saw a Challenger in a nearby railway museum (I think it was in Arizona) and that train was simply MASSIVE. I can't imagine how big a "Big Boy" must be. Kind Regards from Germany!
I'm not a big train person, but I got to see this Big Boy come roaring by, and my lord it is a sight to behold. These sheer power of those beasts is unmistakable. It does leave all who see in awe and wonder. If you get the chance to see one, go. I promise you won't regret it.
I remember 15 years ago, *NOBODY* thought Union Pacific would ever revive any of the 4000 Series locomotives, given the massive undertaking it took to maintain the smaller (if that's the right word to use!) UP 844 and UP 3985 steam locomotives. But Union Pacific actually did it, and when it ran for the first time at the beginning of May 2019, it attracted worldwide attention.
UP had an anonymous donor willing to match all other donations,including $$$ spent by UP. basically UP paid for half of the rebuild. that is why they went all out in replacing/rebuilding as much as they could.
I think, though I'm not exactly a train fanatic, what I do like about trains is that they're such a pure machine. They aren't made to kill or destroy. They just convert fuel into raw motive force. The purest idea of what machines do.
Rockets, particularly the kind for launching spacecraft, facinate me for much the same reasons, raw, earth rumbling machines that make their presence known for miles around, weilding awe inspiring power that's hard to comprehend
4014 is an abolutely amazing testement to Union Pacific and Ed Dickens' vision and effort to preserve the railroads history. After seeing her up close and personal in Pottsboro TX last year I have to say that if an mechanical beast such as this can be viewed as alive, 4014 has a soul. She is a much larger sum of all her parts and the work and ingenuity of the crew that brough her back to life lives within her. Absolutely amazing! Thank you UP!
When it came to Kansas City, no matter where it went, everyone would line the rails just to see it pass I was there. It had so much power that you could hear it for miles and it literally made the ground shake like an earthquake as it went by. It was funny because some people didn't expect it. They would bring out their phones, ready to take a picture, and the shaking would cause them to drop it.
I have a video on my channel of it passing me in Altoona, WI. I’m one of the goofs that wasn’t prepared for the earth shaking! It was an otherworldly experience!
The exhaust steam from the cylinders is directed into a eductor which creates a low pressure in the soot box at the front of the boiler. This low pressure causes the air entering the firebox to push the flame and heat through the firetubes in the boiler to heat the water to steam. The reason the smoke chuffs and puffs out the stack is that the steam exhausting from the cylinders is intermittent, timed with the opening of the exhaust valve of each cylinder, which, by-the-way, are timed at a quarter rotation of the drivers. Reciprocating steam engines develop maximum torque at stall.
@@F-Man Steam engines lose out to Diesels in efficiency. The Grand Canyon Railroad had a diesel and a steam engine converted to burn diesel. When I rode them, they listed the drawbar tonnage pulled and diesel burned per hour on both in their literature. I did a quick calculation of tons pulled per gallon and the "internal combustion" diesel engine was 4 times more efficient than the "external combustion" steam engine.
So the fire itself is pushed through the tubes, or just the hot gases? I did wonder how the tubes worked in steam locomotives - whether the water was actually in the tubes and was then heated to steam, or whether the tubes run through a big tank of water that is heated by the tubes. And do all locomotive boilers have some kind of forced air draft to evenly heat the tubes, or would some just rely on having a huge bed of coal that runs all the way under the tubes?
@@dreammachine86 The contents of the firetubes of the boiler vary according to the rate of firing which is proportional to the load on the locomotive. Some newer steam locomotives had watertube boilers, but there were few of them built due to the advent of the Diesel types. The firetube boilers have a firebox at the rear of the boiler which is separated from the water surrounding the tubes by a tube support plate. This plate is a water-tight partition. Try to find a copy of volume I of the Locomotive Encyclopedia to get the full picture of these boilers.
Saw this up close and personal when she ran the UP line though Texas. Got some bad ass footage of this thing steaming by. An amazing piece of engineering.
This exact train came to my town in Jefferson City about ten years ago, and so I got to see it and to walk it. It's so ridiculously huge, like some demented steampunk train of the 21st century. And it leaked oil everywhere. It was an oil spill wherever it stopped.
The video clip you show at 3:15 was shot in 1991. It shows the Union Pacific Challenger puliing 135 econo-stack cars up Sherman Hill by itself. It takes 8 modern diesels, at 4,000 HP each, to pull the same number of cars up that hill!
It isn't the HP that gets it up the hill. It's the weight that gives the traction necessary, and the one thing the Big Boy has over any diesel locomotive is the weight necessary to give that traction - exactly why they were built as big an heavy as they are.
@@willhooke The average diesel locomotive weighs about 480,000 pounds, whereas the Big Boy's were about a million and a half. Big difference in the tractive potential!
I saw 4014 pass through Cedar Rapids, IA on her journey and it was truly a sight to see for my son and I. We're not even rail buffs but to see something so raw and primitive and smoky compared to today's diesel electrics was pretty damn cool.
When I first heard of and saw this locomotive I figure that they were oil fired. Because no way you could shovel or move that much coal into locomotive this size an even if you did the coal would all be bunched up on one end of a very huge firebox. Then I saw a video on how it has a screw drive that moves the coal from the tender to the engine and at the same time grinds the coal to smaller pieces just as your ice maker in your fridge does. Then an oscillating jet of steam shoots the chucks of coal evenly all through out the firebox.
That screw is called a mechanical stoker. It would be extremely difficult for a person or persons to hand fire a large locomotive, especially while under loads. The mechanical stoker pretty much took over in the US after 1910 in most applications on most railroads. Big Boy 4014 was converted to oil burning when it was restored in 2015-2019. The stoker and all related equipment was removed.
@Sean Embry yes. I've read similar details. I really wish that Ed Dickens would post details on the oil conversion. It has obviously been successful. I'd like to know if he used computer modeling to get the combustion and draft right or just increased the sizes from the 3985. Maybe this is to avoid scrutiny. Lots of trolls and naysayers in the online railfanning world.
@@joshuajordan8574 I just now saw a video on UA-cam with Ed Dickens talking about the conversion of coal burning fuel to fuel oil burning. Search Union Pacific. Then it's video features Ed Dickens commentary.
I had the opportunity for a Cab ride in the 4014 on a test run. She sits welcoming travelers on I-80 just over the border from Iowa. A massive piece of history.
What a nasty job maintaining the boilers. The scale build-up was VERY time-intensive to clean out, and all the moving parts had to be a devil to regularly lubricate. So glad we're done with all that hellish work. But, I love to watch the few that remain. Bigly!
You are definitely right about that! It is an unforgettable experience to see her live in under steam! 4014 is truly in well a Marvel! When people say it cannot be done and it’s too expensive to do just look at 4014 today!
Simon missed 2 big events with these massive engines, one being the derailment of the 4005 when it went over a set of open switch points. The other being that during the test runs of the 4014 after the restoration it was used to pull a train of covered hoppers, just over 60 years from its last run.
Yeah im surprised the 4005 was not mentioned because the account of it is super haunting, plus the huge ordeal it was to move them to places after service. But I'm still happy we got a video!
@@camojoe83 i mean, to be fair that isnt really his job? Hes the presenter. Not an enthousiast. If your channels pump out content this frequently minor errors and sorta incomplete stories can be expected.
I grew up in Evanston, WY. I remember going to the old railyard, machine shop and roundhouse as a kid. The whole thing was in shambles and abandoned. I remember there was a train that was inside the roundhouse though. It was one of these Big Boys if I'm not mistaken. It sat there for years. I never knew what happened to it, but in the last 20 years they have completely restored both the machine shop and the roundhouse, and refurbished the turntable. Lots of towns popped up when the railways were being completed, but the only towns that survived were the ones with roundhouses like Evanston, Green River, Rock Springs and Cheyenne. That's why towns are 100 miles apart along the southern part of Wyoming. So glad to see that some history is preserved.
My grandfather was an avid model railroad enthusiast. The top engine in his roundhouse was a shiny brass versioned the Big Boy. It was a rare treat to see that gleaming locomotive traverse the layout. When he sold all his MRR kit he got a tidy sum for that beautiful trophy.
Beautiful and heart warming review as a north of 70 baby boomer steam locomotives along with the old GM F and G series diesel electrics have a special place in my heart. My first exposure to a "Big Boy" was at the Ford museum in Dearborn and when I first started hearing of U & P's restoration of 4014 I was ecstatic. I was aware of number 844 but she paled beside the smoke and steam belching behemoth 4014. Thank you for this wonderful review. All the best.
For all the mechanical fury, these types of locomotives are surprisingly smooth. When I was younger a rail fan trip was coming through our town. My dad and I stood on the platform of an abandoned interlocking tower attached to a long trestle. A few diesel powered freight trains went by and the vibration was terrifying. When the rail fan special went by pulling the grade out of town, it was smooth as silk. Truly a sight to behold. I was hooked on anything mechanical after that.
Many are commenting about the use of the term "train" in place of "locomotive." Although it is true that rail aficionados seem passionate about that point the railroads define a "train" as a locomotive with or without cars displaying flags or markers. If I had a book of operating rules handy I'd check the exact wording. Anyone here quibbling the use of the term "train" instead of "locomotive" should keep that in mind. It was clear that the narrator/author of this presentation was not deeply familiar with the subject, but despite that as ex railroader and someone familiar with locomotives both steam and diesel, I found this presentation to be pretty darn good.
It was good. Found it funny they argued that smaller wheels provide better traction tho. Probably just needed the space for a bigger firebox or a thicker boiler.
@@MatsNorway The main effect of wheel size is top speed of the locomotive. Larger wheels give higher speed. Smaller wheels give tonnage and grade pulling power at lower speeds, like lower gear in a car or truck, which is what they likely meant by better traction. I like Simon Whistler. He is making a good and informative effort about a subject he knows nothing about.
@@MatsNorway the confusion on the part of the writers here was between "Traction" and "Tractive effort", smaller diameter wheels do in fact provide superior pulling power in a locomotive.
Fun fact, when the Big Boy goes between passenger/display stops, it pulls real cargo to pay for the fuel to move it. So while it doesn't have a cargo route, it still pulls freight.
The freight cars it sometimes pulls are there to provide braking. The brakes on the locomotive and the train operate independently. They prefer to avoid using the locomotive brakes as little as possible to prevent wearing the drive wheels. The few cars that move with the 4014 do not provide enough braking force by themselves.
You can't truly appreciate the scale of these until you've seen them up close in person. It's insane. Same with the DD40X, behemoths on rails. Good episode.
4014 was kept overnight at union pacific just a few miles from my house in iowa on its 2019 trip , you cant even imagine the size unless your standing next to it
4023 is on static display over in Omaha. I saw it last February and it is indeed a monster to behold. Also stationed next to it is 6900, the first 'Centennial' DDA-40X diesel electric. You can see them here on Google Maps. goo.gl/maps/UVBLrqehr9ztMg196
My father was a steam fitter in UP's shops in Cheyenne. We lived on west 10th street, right next to the railroad yards. When he worked over time during the mid 40s to mid 50s as a little boy I would walked across the railroad viaduct to the Roundhouse to deliver his evening dinner to him. Not unusual to see 10-12 4000s and Challengers being worked on. Don't ask me about the cinders. During the war the Cheyenne yards were jammed with engines, freight and passenger trains. Most of my uncles, cousins, neighbors were all employed by the UP. Pretty special time.
I didn't know about it until like 3 days before it was suppose to go through our town. Being that we lived by the tracks, and every time a regular freight train went by, my boy would run to the front window and watch it go by, we decided to take him to see it go by. It stopped in the town north of us, and was due to stop in a town to the south. Not knowing how excited my boy would be, we just went to see it go by. After I saw his grin, we ran to the car, and hit the road to the next town! It was so hot, but worth it.
A nice surprise when I went on UA-cam this morning! I followed the restoration via the videos from Union Pacific from when they first arrived in California to get 4014 ready to be removed from the museum (that alone was a feat I wish had been covered in this video), anticipating every next video. The meticulous work the UP team did was wonderful, not taking any shortcuts, making sure everything was done very well. The same with the restoration of UP 844, the only UP steam locomotive to never be retired, and deserving of its own Megaprojects video. The UP 3985 Challenger was slated to be restored as well, sadly UP management decided not to do it, even after new parts had already been acquired.
Bryan Noga They both needed many of the same parts, luckily a lot of them are the same between the two locomotives. When those shared parts were sourced from an outside vendor for the 4014, enough were ordered for both engines. They’ve said the 3985 is retired, but being they have a lot of the parts on hand, who knows if it’s permanently retired. It may be a budgetary thing at this time because the U.P. has been going through a major restructuring program for the last few years. Some of the 3985 is already disassembled inside the shop, but it needs the same kind of overhaul the 4014 went through, especially to the front engine and the frame. It wasn’t tracking straight when it was removed from service for boiler problems. There might come a day in the future when we see a Challenger and a Big Boy double heading again, don’t give up hope, all that needs to happen is for leadership to decide they’ve got a lot of the parts and the people to make the rest and turn the money loose to do the rest of the work to get it going again.
One can not simply understand these engines by reading or watching a video, one has to experience them in person. The massive size, the weight of the steel, the smell, the oil, the radiant heat, the smoke, the startling sounds you hear with your whole body, the fear of moving parts, the monumental manual labor, the unstoppable force barreling through nature and civilization alike. The experience will leave you with more understanding than anything else.
Big Boy stopped overnight in Alpine, TX on its tour. My brother, his wife, their daughter and her son saw it both days. My brother said it was awesome to see the Big Boy, it is HUGE, and to see it start off again with stream and smoke. That engine is alive, not a brunch of iron.
I saw the Big Boy rush by the Kirkwood train station, which is a suburb of St. Louis, several years ago. The thing most amazing for me was the noise. It was like thunder slowly approaching as it neared and kept getting louder and louder as it passed. It pulled the Union Pacific business car train.
Technical facts can often make a viewer's eyes glaze over, but this narrative is very good and respectful. We have one of those Iron Giants here at Kenefick Park in Omaha, Nebraska. It is #4023, and train fans in the neighborhood come to the park and wash it and keep it looking clean for tourists. It's a colossal piece of train equipment if you ever get a chance to size one up in person. It's probably one of the few in decent shape that could be restored as 4014 has been.
Please give equal time to the ACTUAL largest, heaviest, most powerful, but less glamorized Chesapeake and Ohio H8 Allegheny 2-6-6-6 built by Lima Locomotive from 1941-1948. Lima built 60 of these monsters for the C&O (#s 1600-1659), and 8 for The Virginian railroad. C&O #1601 and 1604 still exist, in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI, and the B&O RR Museum in Baltimore (The C&O took over the B&O to form the Chessie System in the mid 60s. The railroad now operates under the name CSX, since 1981.) The C&O versions hauled huge coal trains over the Allegheny mountains from WV and VA to the port of Newport News, VA. This locomotive generated 7,500 drawbar horsepower, and engine and tender far outweighed any locomotive in its class. The firebox of a "Big Boy" would literally fit inside of the firebox of an Allegheny. The firebox was so heavy, that it was the only locomotive to require a six-wheel trailing truck (hence, the exclusive 2-6-6-6 config). They represented the ultimate and pinnacle of steam engine technology. The "Big Boy" that we so often hear about could not hold a candle to the Allegheny in terms of sheer size and power, as well as in beauty; symmetry of proportions, and aesthetics. And yes, I am an expert in this little-known niche in railroad history, and a model railroader. My enthusiasm for the Allegheny was handed down from my father, who was a C&O officer for 40+ years. I can provide many links to prove my statements here, but I'm sure you would prefer to do your own research. Please do a video on the Allegheny, the TRUE largest, most powerful locomotive ever built.
Yes, I agree. The Allegheny locomotives also had an interesting history. When they were delivered by Lima locomotive works to the C&O, Lima lied about how heavy they were. It wasn't until many years later that the C&O found out. The C&O sued Lima and Lima almost lost money on building the locomotives because of it. The C&O didn't realize howw powerful and fast these locomotives were until the mid 1950s when they were transferred form the coal fields of WV to the lines west of Russell KY. Once on the lines to Columbus OH and Toledo OH, the C&O was able to see how powerful and fast they actually were. Check out the book Allegheny: Lima's finest.
@@CommieCat According to some sources, yes. Although, the Q2 was a "duplex" type loco, not an articulated like the Allegheny. The PRR rated the Q2 at 7,982 HP based on their own measurements at their Altoona shops. However, the Allegheny, at least early on, was used for mountainous coal drags which didn't fully utilize its potential. Its boilers were actually capable of producing 8,000 HP, which became more apparent when (as UA-cam commenter David Griffin points out in his reply), the C&O began to use them on their lines in Ohio. Here's a link to this info: web.archive.org/web/20080127121645/www.steamlocomotive.com/allegheny/
The standard railway definition of a train goes something like "A locomotive with or without cars displaying flags or markers." I am tapping old memory, but that should be close to accurate. Technically a locomotive can be a train by definition. This was a good presentation by someone I suspect is new to the train thing.
_It's a shame what the guy that now owns the SR 4501 2-8-2 did to it. It and it's sister locomotive were rescued from being cut up 60yrs ago, painted Green/Gold/Silver. You could spot the 4501 a mile away and crowds would form to see it. Then after it was retired, some mentality decided to paint the 4501 back to Freight Black. She was never popular as Freight Black like Big Boy was!!_ _Shame, the 4501 is unrecognizable now. She and the Big Boy were my favorites. What that new owner did was equal to buying a Richard Petty Daytona 500 winning racecar and painting it back Brown. WHICH WAS STUPID!!_ I'll always remember her like this ua-cam.com/video/D2VCoNDwOhs/v-deo.html
I was young I just remember bits but the awe is always there. It was Massive chunks of American Steel everywhere. 300psi of steam working to pull all that weight thru the Rockies is amazing to this day. In the early 70s I remember my grandfather taking me to the station and seeing the Huge diesel electric engines bellow out tons of black smoke (before the emissions hit) to power those gens to ease the load on down the track. I remember them being wayyyyy to loud for today's standards for sure, my kids don't like the radio loud. Those engines always were my favorite thing as a boy , even when BB Chevys and Hemis roamed everywhere , those engines were BIG POWER to this kid
Simon, if you EVER get a chance to ride on the train with the 4014 do so. It is truly a magnificent piece of machinery and history, and a thrill of a lifetime.
when i was little, my dad took me to see 4014 when it was on the fairgrounds in pomona, then we watched it get moved for the trip to wyoming for restoration, and i made sure to catch it when it finally returned to socal. always a wonderful sight to see.
Snoopy. You got lucky! I had to work the day they moved her across the Fairgrounds and I am damn well going to see her live in operation the first opportunity I get!
I stood next to the 4014 when it passed through SW Louisiana in 2021. You must stand near it to appreciate just how enormous and powerful it is. Videos just don't do it justice. It hisses, creaks, clanks, clunks, spurts hot steam and water, emits huge amounts of heat, groans, and just exudes power. Many kudos to the skilled men and women, the UP brass, and especially Ed Dickens - whose visions made this restoration possible for us railfans to enjoy. There's just nothing like it. It is mesmerizing. Hard to realize it was designed over eighty years ago without the help of computers, CAD-CAM, and/or CNC. I hope they restore more of these magnificent steam engines!
Thank you for sharing information about the Big Boy. My grandfather worked on the Big Boy. I was to young to remember. He died before I had a chance to ride on one. I am so proud of my Grandfather. So thanks again for enlightening me. I can watch this over and over with a smile and share it with my family.
Since they got Big Boy 4014 back on the rails, it just happens to go within short distance of our house west of Kansas City once or twice on every tour. It's an awe-inspiring machine.
BIG BOY 4017 at the NRRM in GB was the favorite exhibit when I Steven Solway, was the official tour guide, and full time paid employee from 1984 to 1989. Whether the groups were school children from kindergarten on a field trip, or then a group of senior citizens on a cross country bus tour. During the guided tour, the 4017 was still sitting outside, at first in front of the McCormick Train Pavillion on North track 1 and 4017 was pushed inside during the winter months to protect it from I've and snow. But in 1986 the former managers decided to Sandblast 4017, and use bright Yellow Paint as the primer coat. But those managers decided to switch some other engines and cars around to New spots, but sadly 4017 derailed the 4 middle drivers when the diesel switcher pulled it over the old rotted ties. Then we had to wait 5 days until the weekend, and the C&NW RR sent 2 of their GP-7 Diesels to pull 4017 back on track, and using a 50' Foot Gondola car as a spacer car. Finally after nearly 3 hours of dangerous work, they succeeded in getting the wheels back on top. The rails were repaired. And the 2 GP7's pushed 4017 backwards onto the new outside display track, and over the next 2 weeks, 4017 was finally repainted black with whitewalls on the drive wheels. The plan by the Board of Directors was to build a new Northside extension wall. But sadly that wall was Never Built. 4017 sat outside again for 14 years, and the new paint was completely destroyed. But in 2001 the new Exhibition Hall was built. 4017 was repainted black again, at even greater cost. Then shoved inside the framework of the new Exhibition Hall. And the walls built up around. And trapping 4017 permanently. It would be necessary to rip down the entire Southern wall to remove 4017 outside again !!
There’s a video on here of 4014 leaving the restoration shop in Las Vegas... the sound of the whistle sounds like it’s waking the dead... and it’s not until it’s right next to the camera that you realize just how massive this is.
fun fact, these engines were so big, and the parts were so big, they had a engineer the big boys own set of tools to service it, as the regular tools used on other engines were to small.
Got to see 4014 go through Nowata, OK during the grand tour in 2019 with my 2 year old son. Absolutely mind numbing how big this is in person. The video and pics don't do it justice. It's massive.
Simon and researchers. I think you miss understand the term "articulated" as it refers to the Big Boy. You see the Big Boy was built on the Mallet concept. The main frame did not bend or flex as you stated, it was in fact rigid. What articulated was the two engine units (and the leading and trailing trucks), such that you could have 16 wheels being driven by four pistons, for great power and traction, but in two rigid groupings of 8 making corners easier to navigate. The whole idea of articulated locomotives (of various designs) was to get the power of two regular rigid locos in one.
Since the rear engine unit is integral to the frame and the front unit pivots against it I think "hinged" is actually a pretty good laymen's description.
Just like bogies were invented to keep carriage straight whilst pivoting on track changes. Last rode a steamer pax train in 1968. The black loco had a big smile painted on the front boiler access plate! Me? A boomer getting old!
@@MegaBoilermaker Big Boy was a Mallet. So was the Challenger, so was the Y6B and most other North American articulated types. Beyer Garratts had a double articulation with both leading and trailing tenders and were popular in Africa (particularly South Africa and Zimbabwe/Rhodesia) and Australia.
@@twentysevenlitres very close. out of the locos mentioned only the y6b was a mallet, the others termed rather simply as just simple articulateds. mallets are compounds with the same articulation.
"Deemed acceptable to not aggravate the many rotating parts within the locomotive" is just a fancy way of saying *If this thiccccc boi went any faster it'd blow itself apart in a puff of smoke*
Eh...not really. From talking to people who actually worked on it back in its heyday, it COULD handle higher speeds with little issue, but this would’ve increased wear and tear on the moving parts and that meant more maintenance and more frequent replacement of said parts (not to mention cleaning of the boiler and firebox), which UP didn’t want to have to pay for if they could avoid it. The REAL limiter on the speed of the Big Boy (and all subsequent locomotives) are the rails. Most curved rails in the US, especially in cities, turn too sharp for a locomotive going faster than 60 mph/100 kmh at MOST - any faster and the train will jump the track and derail. This is part of why high speed rail for passenger service never really caught on in the US other than in a handful of places - mostly on the East Coast, because nobody wants to go through the hassle of laying new track for it (and in many cases, they CAN’T).
@@johnbockelie3899 Because it wasn't. The scrap drives and stuff like that? Mostly done for morale purposes by allowing civilians to feel like they're contributing to victory. Very little of the metal collected in scrap drives was even melted down until after the war. The reality is that the US just had so much resources and industrial capacity compared to everybody else (in 1945 we had as much industrial output as the rest of the world COMBINED, just to give you an idea of how utterly FUCKED the Axis was once they "woke the sleeping giant") that we could have a full-on war economy and still have resources to spare for other things.
@@z3r0_35....roughly 70 years after coming out of an almost apocalyptic civil war and we have the greatest industrial capacity the world had ever seen. Combine that with the 66 years between Kitty Hawk and the Moon...Well, how unbelieveably fucking fantastic is that! Damn, what an incredible bunch of do it or die trying Americans. My ancestors were a big part of it. Thank you America, past and present. I salute ya!
I live in Ogden Utah. I was able to volunteer for the sequesential and worked in the train yard and by the 4014 Big Boy and also the 844 steam engine. It was completed and came down from Cheyenne Wyoming to celebrate the occasion of the joining of the transcontinental railroad. It's an amazing engine and it was a wonderful experience meeting so many train lovers from around the world.
When I was a kid, dad would take us to that museum in Green Bay. Back then it was out where we could climb on it. If you think it's big, imagine being 6 or 7 years old & climbing all over it.
I saw one of these up close and in person in static display at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, CA. I now live in the Four Corners Region of the U.S. We have two operating narrow gauge railways in the area, the Durango & Silverton RR (which also operates vintage diesels as well as steam engines) and the Cumbres & Toltec RR, which operates steam locomotives exclusively. I recommend the latter of the two both for the rolling stock as well as superior scenery on the route from Chama, NM to Antonito, CO. A lot of the route of the Durango & Silverton is through developed areas while the Cumbres & Toltec route is much more natural landscapes.
If that happens, everyone, and I do mean everyone will be scurrying around trying to get enough food, to keep from starving to death, to worry about a loco. As much as I like it. Best wishes
@@carlthor91 Worrying about a locomotive is highly conducive to the survival of a civilized society. Trains deliver food, products, resources, labor and news/mail. Without a method of mass transport what you're left with is scattered, isolated villages and the odd local feudal warlord
You really need to see it to believe it, you can't get closer than maybe 10 to 15 feet to them when they roll in, the heat coming off them is incredible! The steel this beasts are amazing...seriously heavy-duty.
It's worth noting that there might be a possible error at 3:58-- The wheel highlighted is one of the smaller ~30" tender wheels vs. the 68" drivers located on the actual locomotive
They don't care. Just crank these out across multiple channels half the time not bothering to make their stock footage line up to the narration. It is what it is.
I noticed that too and found it somewhat amusing, but I still enjoyed. In 1978 I was working for GE in Schenectady. The ALCO facilities where these machines were manufactured were leased by GE for steam turbine manufacturing. ALCO was still painted on the glass windows. Wish I took a picture. All redeveloped now.
Not to mention that Simon mentions the frame being articulated. To my knowledge, the frame was rigid the length of the loco, the front engine unit is what was articulated.
@@jaysecure The way i understand it, The frame has the job of holding the bearings for the axles, the cylinders, and the leading/trailing trucks. The rigidity of the boiler means that, besides a HUGE slinding bearing that supports the boiler in one spot over the front wheel assembly, there is no frame that stays with the boiler as the wheelset articulates.
We have one in our city. It's unbelievable when you stand next to it. You can't imagine what it might be like to actually ride in it. It's truly awesome.
My great grandfather drove one of these. Still to this day I am inspired by this beast of an engine. Fell in love with trains when I was young. Though they aren’t my passion anymore. They still hold a special place. Steam locomotives are a wonder. The Inyo is my favorite.
As I watch this I’m listening to a diesel freight, moving through on the old D&H line, which these big engines were moved through from New York to the west. There’s one statically displayed about, oh 75 miles away from me.....and just to stand next to it is amazing! Thanks for covering one of the American mastodons!
Having lived on the wasatch front my whole life, and being in love with trains sine a kid, never knew the big boy was created to haul through the mountains I grew up near. That’s awesome!
Hey Simon, could you look into the Canadian trans-continental railway, or the Rogers Pass tunnel in British Columbia. It would be cool to learn how the northern Rockies were tamed. Love the channel!!
I've driven through Rogers Pass but have never taken the train through it. I live close to the Canadian Pacific main line in Kamloops BC and the number of locomotives on the biggest trains are clearly not for decoration.
@@marsgal42 Since Via discontinued the Canadian over the CPR route in 1989, it costs big bucks now to ride through Roger's Pass on a passenger train. It's free if you hop a freight and don't get caught trespassing, though. UA-cam "Stobe the Hobo Canada by Cargo Train" and "Brave Dave's Big Fat Freight Hop", part 4....
Seen the BigBoy in person here in Houston,TX last year! The Union Pacific 4014 Bigboy well worth seeing under steam. The Hancock 3 Chime whistle shook the Amtrak station my friend and I were standing by the wall when they blew the whistle and we both had to wear ear plugs because it was so loud. Shook the whole ground and the walls. Also with the BigBoy the UP 4141 President Bush Sr. Presidential Locomotive was also with 4014 heading up to College Station. Was a well treated to see both In person.
The "Big Boy" is a locomotive, not a train. A train is a consist; meaning a locomotive with rolling stock in tow. Additionally, a locomotive is not a steam engine or a diesel engine. In the case of a steam locomotive, the engines are the cylinders, pistons and rods that are located usually at the level of the wheels at the front of locomotive. In the case of a diesel locomotive, the engine(s) is/are located within the locomotive's steel sheathed housing to which the cab is connected.
According to the railroads I worked for a train is a locomotive with or without cars. Railfans should become acquainted with a railroad book of operating rules. Train is defined near the beginning.
@@jasonandrew5707 Is that the definition in the book of operating rules which all railroads, at least in my time, published? Maybe it's different now or I might be misremembering, but a locomotive was defined as a train. I should look for a copy among my stuff, keeping in mind it will be 30 or 40 years old. I am reasonably certain of my memory of the definition of "train" found in my copies of both the B and O and Burlington Northern books of operating rules. I am citing my source. Cite yours.
Probably the last holdout for steam on a Class 1 railroad was Norfolk &Western. They tried to keep steam and did competing experiments with diesel. For tonnage pulled versus fuel ( apparently coal was cheap then), steam was the winner. But diesels beat them at the maintenance shops. Steam locomotives require a lot of maintenance and downtime.
The benefit is personel . Each steam locomotive requires its own crew. You can hook up an infinite number of diesel electrics and run them with only one crew.
@@kurtvonfricken6829 not to mention the fact that unless kept hot all night, steam locos required a lengthy warmup period before they could even move under their own power where diesel locos can move once their air tanks are pressurized (although you still have to let them warm up before pulling any serious weight)
it wasn't just that coal was cheap, N&W was literally surrounded by it. N&W's biggest source of revenue was coal (even up to NS, it still was), so they had an abundant fuel source for their engines. N&W saw no added benefit of the diesel, except make maintenance costs, but even then, they built their own engines anyways. Tractive power was another reason too, the Y6a/Y6b were the kings of the Blue Ridge Mountains, they rivaled C&O's Allegheny and the A-Class had a balance of speed and power that was "superior" over EMD's F. Then you had the J-class, which were considered the Pinnacle of Steam that could out perform E-units. Also the fact that N&W was still building new steam after the "Big Three" (ALCo, Baldwin, and Lima) switched to diesels.
@@kurtvonfricken6829 OK. So who is going to drive and who is going to shovel? The Diesels didn't require anybody to shovel. That eliminated one nasty job right there.
Thirty-five years ago, I answered a burglary call (one of many) in Las Vegas. The victim was an executive of Union Pacific Railroad. Being a sensitive sort, while talking to him I rambled on about the wonderful age of steam, and how I missed the old locomotives. The man looked at me like I was out of my mind. "What we lost, when we went away from steam, "he said, "was inefficiency." Solid, no nonsense railroad man...
i live about two hours south of Promontory Point (Tremonton, Utah) where the golden spike was driven connecting the two railroads. About two years ago the big boy arrived in town unbeknownst to us. about a half mile from my house theres a major rail yard an we could hear the distinct shrill whistle of a steam train. we searched around and finally found it. it was incredible to see in person.
I'VE BEEN IN ONE OF THESE at the St.Louis Transportation Museum -- I have a picture but I couldn't find it -- truly massive but the actual compartment where the engineer would be is still relatively small.
That museum is the reason I got into trains as a hobby and that locomotive specifically. I have a working ho scale model of it and its one of my favorite things in the world.
Been there myself, even went in the cab and sat in the engineer's seat. Felt like a little kid and it was great!!! And yes, these things are truly massive.
The skill needed to operate any steam locomotive is incredible. But four sets of piston drivers, steam pressure, boiler temp, water level, speed, tube pressure everything the engineer and fireman had to watch all at once was just incredible.
@@ramblinman77 While the Big Boy (4006) was the cherry on the top the Snow Clearing Locomotive was impressive for different reasons. My wife loves trains so next time we travel there that is a must stop location.
Many years ago I had an encyclopedia about trains and I remember a quote: "The first Big Boy No. 4000 entered service on 5th September 1941." Well today is exactly *80 years!*
In the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn MI there is an Alleghany steam locomotive. While only a static display one can stand right next to it and touch it. Its sheer size is quite impressive to say the least. This is the most impressive machine in a building full of impressive machinery. This museum is HIGHLY recommended!
These giants are a perfect example of what makes a railfan become a railfan. They absolutely embody the brute strength of trains. There's no other human creation that demonstrates the same personality and power of these beasts. Shy of a sonic boom from a supersonic jet, there's no other piece of equipment that can literally shake the earth with such force.
I'm a huge fan of TBBT and this video just made episode 15 of season 7, The Locomotive Manipulation, that much better. Thanks to all involved.... such a good topic
The Big Boy is an amazing engineering masterpiece. I don't think there are enough words in the English language to properly string together to prove how amazing this locomotive is!
As a 13 year old I stood in front of 4017 in Green Bay, WI. and asked the tour guide at the train museum if the Big Boy would ever run again. The answer was, "No". In July of 2019 as a 57 year old, I stood in Clyman, WI. and watched 4014 steam under the old coal tower that still stands there. My eyes were watering. It is a beautiful Locomotive. It also helped win WWll by burning coal and saving diesel for the war over seas. I thank Union Pacific for restoring one of these locomotives. It was always a dream of mine to see one operate.
That must have been a sight to be hold ... from a young man, being told to she will never run again, to being middle-aged, and seeing her moving, once more, under her own power ...
Many may not get why it was such a emotional moment, but many of us, whom have been in preservation, conservation, and restoration, that getting a historical peice of engineering working again, is an incredible feat ...
Its a childhood dream come true to see a Big Boy back on the rails!
I seent it in Mineola, Texas
trains like this have the habit of bringing out the little boy in grown men,
Yes, the use of coal was a big deal in WW2 to save oil. The Brits preferred coal burning lend-lease ships from the USA, as they had plenty of that and no native oil supply.
As a boy living on a farm in rural Iowa, I remember the steam locomotives hurtling past carrying passengers and freight. You could hear them coming, then the ground shaking as they approached the lower field bound by the tracks. I would find an excuse for me and my dog, Brownie an Australian Sheepdog, to get close and marvel. Not certain if Brownie appreciated it as he would answer the train's whistle with his own howls. Everything is gone now; Brownie, the farm, the trains, even the rails. It's just me (old man) and my memories.
Well Dale....you wrote down one of those "..memories." and added a delightful "experience" to my life. Thanks.
We are our memories. Without them we are nothing. Thanks for sharing mate
All the manufacturers and factories are in China now 🇨🇳 The rail and freight service is no longer needed. Very sad for our country.
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@@badgerlife9541 as someone who lives in Waycross ga a major rail hub I disagree trains are not going anywhere they are still used heavily to move stuff to and from harbors or manufacturing centers they can transport more than planes or trucks but can go more places than boats so they will still be used for a long time to come
It is very annoying when trying to get to work but I love them
My grandfather was a boilermaker in Cheyenne. He was skinney enough to crawl inside the boilers to buck the rivets. He lost most of his hearing, ear protection was stuffing cotton in the ears. He retired in the late forties or early 50's. The smile on his face when we took him to a locomotive display was heartwarming. What an era to have grown up in. Steam locomotives are amazing.
@John Hanes - Very cool personal story - thanks!
I knew a woman who work there, probably around that same time or a little later in the boiler shop helping one of the machinists. She had many interesting things to tell about.
My great grandfather or something like that worked for L n' N in the shops.
“My grandfather lost his hearing due to working in steam locomotives. Steam locomotives are amazing.”
Idk what's more astonishing, the fact that this weighs as much as 2 747s or that there's a plane half the weight of this flying.
Quick wikipedia search shows the weight given in the video was with the tender EMPTY. Fuel was another 25 Tons
great point, really the plane is although most every one for the most part will agree the loco is the coolest.
Designer ." I'm gonna build the world's biggest train !!! Bbbwwwaaaa haa haha haa !!!!,"
Two 747s? Hmm, I need some perspective - how many football pitches would that be. ;)
Grass or clay?
My grandfather was a BigBoy engineer, he said it was the Saturn V of its day: 604 tons of weight, 1.3 million pounds on 16 driving wheels. All during WW2 carrying goods over the continental divide. They helped win the war in "spades".
1.2 million pounds not 1.3
Oak_meadow.... he must've been hogging one of the first group of 4000's.... the 2nd & 3rd groups were heavier, especially the last five (4020 - 4024), which weighed in at 1,232,000 lbs (616 tons). The UP & ALCO actually had blueprints on the board for an even larger "Big Boy" (Five of them), and had the war lasted another two or three years, there would have been at least Three of them built.
saturn v of its day? are you kidding? xD using tested technology to do a little bit bigger thing is the same as inventing an industry and doing things that were literally though impossible a few years before? xD
For the big boy to be the saturn v of it's time it would need to come with its own railway system and being the 1st practical, working locomotive of its range xd
@@wujekcientariposta I hope you either have seen, or will see a Big Boy Locomotive in your lifetime. I also hope you see or have seen the Saturn V rocket, how about ships? the battleship New Jersey, Massachusetts among many others not the biggest, but I hope you get to see them. Oak_meadow's grandfather one of a very small number of Locomotive engineers to run the Big Boy and you xD the guy. On the drawing board in 1938 (about the same time Wernher von Braun was developing the v-2 for Germany) with nothing but paper, pencils, slide rules, and brains, the Big Boy was the Saturn V of it's time. Many steam locomotives led to the development of the Big Boy, many rockets led to the development of the Saturn V
One thing many might not know but the Society that looked after the Big Boy in retirement did such a fantastic job of maintaining her (keeping her wheels and joints oiled) that when the head of UP's Steam restoration shops, Ed Dickens was interviewed and asked what shape she was in when the the UP crew started to work on her, he said something to the effect that they were all shocked at how she was in SUCH GOOD SHAPE! Kudos to the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society for helping the Big Boy to come back to life!
😊😊😊
Never underestimate the dedication of railfans.
Finally, California did something right. The 4014 was on static display at the LA county fairgrounds, and I would visit 4014 every year during the LA County Fair. Have plenty of photos of myself and later on my then young son standing on the front end of “our” Big Boy.
It was a bittersweet day when they moved it out of the railway museum onto the UP main line to bring him back to life up in Cheyenne. It was sad to see big boy leave, but yet I’d rather see it in operation on the rails, then just sitting there and not unleashing the incredible power and overall magic that it had for that relatively brief 20 year period of time.
When you think about trains, you don't picture a diesel-electric or a high speed one. You think of ones like this. With all moving parts on the outside, billowing smoke, chug a-chug a (steam whistle). That's what makes these things timeless.
Intercity 125 for me (diesel). Too young to have seen steam in production, whereas I treasure the trips our family took on the 125s back in the day.
i got to see her live here... it was amazing!
wait 10 more years and your comment's premise will be wrong;)
The older ones, at least, could be repaired in any town with a blacksmith and a carpenter. I'm not so sure about the later ones after the age of steam.
@@YeeSoest or its the only train left running after the emp puts all the diesel ones out
Being 70 and living square in the Big Boy's environment, the Intermountain West, I have had the privilege of seeing the Big Boy Engine both as a very impressed small child and last year as 4014 visited my city.
I remember it too as a small child. You felt the ground shake
10:33 "Freight transportation is rarely something that gets the pulse going"
Clearly, you've never met a railfan.
Apparently not.
I'm not a railfan, but my pulse would be raised by seeing this! I can only imagine the feeling of pure raw power and the heat of one of those rumbling past at slow speed. This is steam engineering taken to the absolute limits and the functionality breeds beauty!
I remember getting a lecture on "its a locomotive not a train" that was rather aggressive
a classmate in college told me he liked watching trains and knew their schedules and could recognize individual cars from their rust patterns. i hadn't known such people existed :-)
m m
Some people refer to them as "foamers"
The Big Boy 4012 is being restored at the Steamtown Historical Museum at Scranton...we are working on it very hard so it can be in display very soon.
"Working on it"... ? ... As in running or just making her look all spiffy?
I have two pictures of my son standing in front of 4012. One when he is 4 or 5 and another when he was heading off to college.
Very glad to hear it! Scranton is the only place I've ever seen a big boy in the flesh but at that time (2009 or 2010?) it was a static exhibit and there was no mention of plans to get it moving again. PS enjoyed the rest of the museum too.
@@tomo9126 There's a bunch of easy to find content on their web site. But I think we should be very pleased with a good cosmetic and preservation-oriented restoration. There's no practical opportunity to run that equipment near their site. But if you've got a few tens of millions of $ burning a hole in your pocket - I'm sure they would love to hear from you!
@@tomo9126 Not run just look nice on display
In other words they're giving it a "DuPont Overhaul".
Simon, I realize the cultural differences across the pond, but in 2019, the tour of the restored Big Boy was Huge news as the engine went up to Minneapolis, came down to Chicago, went south into Texas and went as far as the west coast breaking all attendence estimates. In West Chicago, I met fans from Japan and from Europe. Union Pacific also engineered a solution so that the engine is an oil burner and patented the design.
Went right by our house. Was the most impressive machine I’ve ever seen.
I saw at static one in Dallas. I am an Australian and thought to go back to the US just to watch this beast in action.
@EmperorJuliusCaesar huge for the locomotive community. I haven't heard of it either, but I'm sure it was amazing news for them :)
@EmperorJuliusCaesar Yep, big news. I live way up in WA and they talked about it here.
@EmperorJuliusCaesar Thousands of model train and real train enthusiast like me followed every step of its restoration. Any Hobby shop that sold model trains had news about it. By the same token news that is big in one area may never be known in another like aircraft, cars, boats, fishing what have you. Within those parameters it was huge. Tens of thousands showed up to see the Big Boy under its own power. Along the route when news came out about a Big Boy even the merely curious came out in droves to see it. They are planning to go even further on the next tour, if you can go see the Big Boy it is awesome.
Finally got to see Bog Boy 4014 this afternoon; first time in my memory that I can ever recall seeing a functioning steam locomotive. Needless to say... it was absolutely awe-inspiring.
The thing that took me aback the most was the sheer amount and force of the heat radiating off of him in all directions, regardless of wind direction. The ground-shaking was another crazy cool experience, especially when he went directly underneath a bridge I was standing on.
It's really cool to see just how many people turned out all along the route to see him, and also the dozens and dozens of cars that followed him on the nearby roads everywhere. I saw him in the middle of Kansas, and the sheer volume of people that turned up to witness and follow him astounded me, and I was born and raised in this area. I've never seen such crowds before, and 4014 caused a traffic jam EVERYWHERE he went!
The energy in the air at these gatherings was something very unique. Everyone was very respectful and courteous not only to the railroad staff, 4014, but also to each other. The air was alive with energy, people were non-stop gaping at the behemoth iron machine, and were all very excited. I've never even seen such enthusiasm from people at air shows with old planes. There's just something about the world's largest steam locomotive running I guess, especially after he sat for the better part of half a century!
AMAZING experience, I'm so happy I got to see him on tour this year. I missed him on his first tour in 2019, but I didn't this time!
We did it boys. We got him to cover the big boy. Thank you.
Great subject but it was obvious throughout the video that the presenter couldn't care less about the subject. He read what he was supposed to but with an air of disdain he didn't even try to hide. Check out the UA-cam video of 4014 pulling 163 double stacked container cars by itself. It would take 3 diesels to do the same job!
@@jimschauer37 I'm afraid it is the normal way the Brits speak. I talk about my wife in the same way.
@@tincoffin We should all talk about our spouses like train nerds talk about Big Boys.
@@HeadbuttWarlock I don't think that is possible
He didn't even mention the Englishman that invented steam locomotives.
Bravo well done documentary and presentation on the Big Boy. The return of Big Boy 4014 was huge news in America. It's excursions on the UP railroad brought out thousands of people. It really helped to bring our country together - we could sure use a little of that right now. In May 2019 there was a grand event in Ogden, Utah that celebrated both the return of Big Boy 4014 and the 150 years since the completion of the transcontinental railroad. We were honored to have our song and video "Ballad of the Big Boy" literally open up this fantastic celebration and to perform live in downtown Ogden. It was just amazing to be a part of this event and equally wonderful to see the awe on people's faces when they fixed their gaze on the Big Boy for the first time. Anything that brings people together, is positive and builds community is a win-win for everyone. Long Live Big Boy 4014, and many thanks to Union Pacific and Ed Dickens and the steam team for keeping the dream alive! Steam on my friend!! Mike Stand
And just recently, BigBoy 4014 pushed a stalled diesel freight train out of Bryce, Nebraska.
Crazy how it did it while pulling its own train. Damn things powerful
Is it filmed?
@@BobThomas123i think this may be it ua-cam.com/video/8vLWBP-ehOo/v-deo.htmlsi=cvj4LlfgNAGP6BOP
@@aircraftandmore9775 its own train isnt even exceeding 1000 tons, its as if it is not even pulling anything
@@BobThomas123 yes
This behemoth has no dynamic braking. The brakes were only the steam actuated clasp brakes. When one sees this big guy on the rails, there is usually a diesel locomotive after the water car. That locomotive is not there to help pull the train. It is there to provide dynamic braking and generate power for the cars. The later steam locomotives do have steam driven generators on them but used a considerable amount of steam to drive the small generators.
I saw 4014 when it went through Tucson last year. First in line behind it was a diesel electric that the engineer said was just there for the dynamic braking. Said UP's rules require all trains on their tracks to have dynamic braking. He also said that it had been converted to oil for ease of refueling out on the line. The restoration job was amazing. Was quite a sight to see.
your statement's first two sentences are accurate, the rest is misleading. Every single car in a train has air brakes since that technology was put into law. Two regular and straight air. All steam engines and modern diesels are equipped this way. The diesel is there to meet UP's requirement for dynamic braking not because the trains ran with no brakes. And since it is there and makes loads of electricity, run the cars power needs. Dynamic brakes are great foe mountain descents, having a whole separate system for braking is sound reasoning.
@@mikeeuritt4396 There's multiple reasons why diesel locomotives are used, but the diesel locomotives that Union Pacific uses behind their steam locomotives do not generate power for the passenger cars behind them, this is accomplished by a dedicated car that carries a diesel powered generator. Other railroads or steam locomotive operators do occasionally include an actual passenger locomotive like one from Amtrak to supply the electrical power, but this is speaking specifically in reference to Union Pacific's practices. The diesel locomotives are used for their dynamic braking capabilities to lessen the use of the air brakes on the passenger cars. The passenger cars have disc brakes, which are unique in a fleet of millions of freight cars, and they are not interchangeable.
It's a painful task to change passenger car brakes in the line of road, since they are not stocked across the system, therefore they try to avoid this by not using them as much. The steam locomotive itself is also not used for braking very often, as it too has uniquely sized brake shoes that aren't in wide supply across the system. As a matter of fact, the brake shoes on a locomotive of any type are rarely used for anything other than during switching or moving locomotives by themselves. In normal operating circumstances, the brakes on the train are used to slow or stop the entire train, leaving the brakes on the locomotives released until the train is below 10 MPH.
In addition to slowing, stopping, and controlling the train's speed, the diesels are also used for additional power on occasion to accelerate the train at a faster rate, and they are used to keep the train at a constant "cruising speed" to lessen the use of the steam locomotive. This isn't because the steam engine is incapable of doing the job, nor to "baby" it, but rather to lengthen the range the engine can travel without replenishing water and fuel oil, a task that is time consuming and logistically impractical on a modern freight railroad that would be impacted by those delays.
If the steam locomotive runs out of either en route, this is crippling to a freight network while a contingency plan is enacted to fuel the steam locomotive, not to mention it's not exactly best practice for a machine of that type. The idea of this is completely circumvented by carefully planning where the train will take fuel and water, and is almost always done during overnight stops via a strategically located water hydrant in proximity to where the train will layover, and a fuel truck that shadows the train's route. It's always better to arrive with extra water and oil than it is to run out en route. Very rarely does this ever become an issue, but when it does, it's an unnecessary challenge that shouldn't have to be dealt with.
Thanks for clearing that up. I always wondered why steam excursion trains almost have a EMD included.
You can actually brake a steam locomotive without physically using brakes. By throwing the valve gear into reverse, steam entering the cylinder is now being compressed and absorbing work as opposed to being expanded and performing work. This provides a pretty powerful braking effect.
Standing close to one of these things under steam is something you'll never forget. Those puppies are truly amazing!
Speaking from experience, even seeing it stationary and cold in a museum is quite unforgettable.
In fact, seeing a picture of the model of one for an HO train layout is barely forgettable, until the subject comes up and reminds one.
My grandfather was a Union Pacific Engineer and eventually became a regional supervisor for the railroad based in Ogden, UT. This video made me feel a little closer to him. Your videos bring our history to life. Thanks for that.
Not mentioned is why these locomotives need to be so heavy. That’s in order to generate sufficient traction between the wheels and rail to actually transfer all that power successfully.
In the case of locomotives, heavier is actually better for tractive effort
kind of a good point. however it falls down a little bit when the replacement 4 unit f3's had the samish HP, double the tractive effort and half the weight. But (the big but) is of course the 16 driven axles of the unit as opposed to the 4000's 8, and just as important the consistently smooth traction motors as opposed to any big steamer having many tons of side rods thrashing around (hence duplexes of course, and why S2 could get to good speed with small drivers)
Steam locomotives developed their power in pulses... Each piston provided two power strokes, and since there was a piston on either side, set at 90° to each other, this provided four power pulses per wheel revolution. It was the tonnage of the engine that kept the wheels from breaking free of adhesion and just spinning the drivers without pulling the train. Look up "steam locomotives slipping" on UA-cam to see what happens when the adhesion is broken.
Because a diesel engine's power is first converted to electricity, then converted back to mechanical at the axle, it's power is delivered nearly smooth and continuously. This requires less weight to hold the adhesion you the rail.
Modern 4400hp diesels have MORE pulling power than the big boys, yet weigh a third of the tonnage... Because their AC traction motors provide smooth continuous torque.
The Big Boy made more tractive effort at low speeds, where the drawbar pull was measured for starting the train. Newer AC locomotives have essentially removed those limits on diesel locomotives.
@@jdgindustries2734 When the adhesion is lost and the wheels spin, the tires become cold rolled and they loosen on the wheels.
The weight mentioned for the big boy does also include the weight of the massive tender itself, plus 25,000 gallons (95m³) water and 28 tons of coal, a fully loaded tender weighed over 200 tons which is just dead weight and adds to the train load.
So its weight has to be subtracted from the total to get the weight of the engine itself.
So the engine weighed around 400 tons, resting on 24 wheels in total of which 16 driven, so around 2/3th of the 400 tons was on the driven axles.
That's the adhesive weight of this locomotive, and is approximately 265-270 tons.
A set of 3 F3 diesels had a total weight of between 330-360 tons, and all that weight was on driven axles, so the diesels had an advantage in adhesive weight over the Big Boy despite their total weight just being a little more than half that of the Big Boy locomotive.
An advantage of the steam locomotive is that it can slug at a very low speed and maximum tractive effort forever as long as the boiler pressure keeps up, the DC motors in older diesels have their limitations, having to pull at low speed and maximum power for too long will make them burn out, and that's why diesels have hourly and 5 minute ratings, depicted by green, yellow and red sectors on the amp meters in the cab, green is safe for continuous operation, yellow means for max one hour and red is for short periods (like starting the train) only.
This thing came through my town on the rail line across the street from my house. Me and my family watched it go by sitting about 30ft from the rails. It shook the ground and sounded like thunder as it went by. Its an awsome peice of American industrial might.
That's awesome! My dad is a railway enthusiast. My mother gave him a model "Big Boy" as his wedding gift, it's worth quite a bit. Their wedding trip was to the Durango-Silverton line in Colorado. He took me there too in 2006 and it was an experience I'll never forget. All the people from the neighbouring villages came running towards the train and waved at us passangers as the train drove by. That was really heartwarming. I think about that every time someone badmouths Americans. I saw a Challenger in a nearby railway museum (I think it was in Arizona) and that train was simply MASSIVE. I can't imagine how big a "Big Boy" must be.
Kind Regards from Germany!
I watched it go by in Valley Nebraska, right outside where I work every day. Incredible machine.
I chased it down here in Texas from just south of College Station to about 60 miles north of there with one of my coworkers! What a Saturday that was!
30 ft from the rails? I can only imagine what a number that does on your foundations, brickwork, plaster and pipe fittings!
@@Davroz451 no sir my house isn't that close we walked across the road and sat.
I'm not a big train person, but I got to see this Big Boy come roaring by, and my lord it is a sight to behold. These sheer power of those beasts is unmistakable. It does leave all who see in awe and wonder. If you get the chance to see one, go. I promise you won't regret it.
Another big locomotive you could do is the Gas Turbine 8,500hp engine, which was a jet powered locomotive.
YES!
I second this!
Just cover UP devolvement program....
Actually the last versions were 10,000hp.
@@bernardk3437 Like the DD40s too!
I remember 15 years ago, *NOBODY* thought Union Pacific would ever revive any of the 4000 Series locomotives, given the massive undertaking it took to maintain the smaller (if that's the right word to use!) UP 844 and UP 3985 steam locomotives. But Union Pacific actually did it, and when it ran for the first time at the beginning of May 2019, it attracted worldwide attention.
UP had an anonymous donor willing to match all other donations,including $$$ spent by UP.
basically UP paid for half of the rebuild. that is why they went all out in replacing/rebuilding as much as they could.
jeffrey mcfadden
I didn’t know that. I remember people talking about restoring one and it seemed like a far out fantasy.
I think, though I'm not exactly a train fanatic, what I do like about trains is that they're such a pure machine. They aren't made to kill or destroy. They just convert fuel into raw motive force. The purest idea of what machines do.
Rockets, particularly the kind for launching spacecraft, facinate me for much the same reasons, raw, earth rumbling machines that make their presence known for miles around, weilding awe inspiring power that's hard to comprehend
someone needs to luck up the reason rockets are so advanced today@@UNSCPILOT
Tf kinda nonsense is this?
Thats because they banned assault trains in 1804, no train violence since
4014 is an abolutely amazing testement to Union Pacific and Ed Dickens' vision and effort to preserve the railroads history. After seeing her up close and personal in Pottsboro TX last year I have to say that if an mechanical beast such as this can be viewed as alive, 4014 has a soul. She is a much larger sum of all her parts and the work and ingenuity of the crew that brough her back to life lives within her. Absolutely amazing! Thank you UP!
Bro, it's a boy so its a he.... weird how you'd call Big Boy a she
When it came to Kansas City, no matter where it went, everyone would line the rails just to see it pass I was there. It had so much power that you could hear it for miles and it literally made the ground shake like an earthquake as it went by. It was funny because some people didn't expect it. They would bring out their phones, ready to take a picture, and the shaking would cause them to drop it.
Most people alive in 2020 never saw it.
I have a video on my channel of it passing me in Altoona, WI. I’m one of the goofs that wasn’t prepared for the earth shaking! It was an otherworldly experience!
@@dannydaw59 Once the Plains Indians saw it, they knew their days were numbered.
Thats a bit of an stretch. The ground did shake but not quite that violent
@@dannydaw59 nah, it was restored and ran the lines again recently
Train nerds: the most metal fandom ever.
Autistic fandom
@@lomoholga shut up little kid, we’re allowed to have hobbies
*railfans*
@@lomoholga as a matter of fact I do have autism
Do you have a problem with it
@@Leatherface123. y e s
The exhaust steam from the cylinders is directed into a eductor which creates a low pressure in the soot box at the front of the boiler. This low pressure causes the air entering the firebox to push the flame and heat through the firetubes in the boiler to heat the water to steam. The reason the smoke chuffs and puffs out the stack is that the steam exhausting from the cylinders is intermittent, timed with the opening of the exhaust valve of each cylinder, which,
by-the-way, are timed at a quarter rotation of the drivers. Reciprocating steam engines develop maximum torque at stall.
Just like a series wound motor.
Greater the load causes motor to be further out of phase equals Greater torque.
Still crazy efficient machines pound per pound.
@@F-Man Steam engines lose out to Diesels in efficiency. The Grand Canyon Railroad had a diesel and a steam engine converted to burn diesel. When I rode them, they listed the drawbar tonnage pulled and diesel burned per hour on both in their literature. I did a quick calculation of tons pulled per gallon and the "internal combustion" diesel engine was 4 times more efficient than the "external combustion" steam engine.
So the fire itself is pushed through the tubes, or just the hot gases? I did wonder how the tubes worked in steam locomotives - whether the water was actually in the tubes and was then heated to steam, or whether the tubes run through a big tank of water that is heated by the tubes. And do all locomotive boilers have some kind of forced air draft to evenly heat the tubes, or would some just rely on having a huge bed of coal that runs all the way under the tubes?
@@dreammachine86 The contents of the firetubes of the boiler vary according to the rate of firing which is proportional to the load on the locomotive. Some newer steam locomotives had watertube boilers, but there were few of them built due to the advent of the Diesel types. The firetube boilers have a firebox at the rear of the boiler which is separated from the water surrounding the tubes by a tube support plate. This plate is a water-tight partition.
Try to find a copy of volume I of the Locomotive Encyclopedia to get the full picture of these boilers.
Saw this up close and personal when she ran the UP line though Texas. Got some bad ass footage of this thing steaming by. An amazing piece of engineering.
I also got to see this beast as it passed over Amistad Lake. Truly a sight to see!
I Also saw this when it passed through Kansas. Pretty cool
Saw it while it was parked in Saint Paul, MN. Photographs DO NOT do these monsters justice.
@@windows404 4014. That's the one. Was it with UP 844?
This exact train came to my town in Jefferson City about ten years ago, and so I got to see it and to walk it. It's so ridiculously huge, like some demented steampunk train of the 21st century. And it leaked oil everywhere. It was an oil spill wherever it stopped.
The video clip you show at 3:15 was shot in 1991. It shows the Union Pacific Challenger puliing 135 econo-stack cars up Sherman Hill by itself. It takes 8 modern diesels, at 4,000 HP each, to pull the same number of cars up that hill!
It isn't the HP that gets it up the hill. It's the weight that gives the traction necessary, and the one thing the Big Boy has over any diesel locomotive is the weight necessary to give that traction - exactly why they were built as big an heavy as they are.
@@richardpare3538 that's very interesting
Thank you for sharing
A train's weakness - traction, especially on gradients!
@@willhooke The average diesel locomotive weighs about 480,000 pounds, whereas the Big Boy's were about a million and a half. Big difference in the tractive potential!
I saw 4014 pass through Cedar Rapids, IA on her journey and it was truly a sight to see for my son and I. We're not even rail buffs but to see something so raw and primitive and smoky compared to today's diesel electrics was pretty damn cool.
When I first heard of and saw this locomotive I figure that they were oil fired. Because no way you could shovel or move that much coal into locomotive this size an even if you did the coal would all be bunched up on one end of a very huge firebox. Then I saw a video on how it has a screw drive that moves the coal from the tender to the engine and at the same time grinds the coal to smaller pieces just as your ice maker in your fridge does. Then an oscillating jet of steam shoots the chucks of coal evenly all through out the firebox.
Thanks. I've shoveled coal and wondered how this was done.
It should be noted Big Boy UP 4014 has been restored in 2019, as an oil fired
That screw is called a mechanical stoker. It would be extremely difficult for a person or persons to hand fire a large locomotive, especially while under loads. The mechanical stoker pretty much took over in the US after 1910 in most applications on most railroads. Big Boy 4014 was converted to oil burning when it was restored in 2015-2019. The stoker and all related equipment was removed.
@Sean Embry yes. I've read similar details. I really wish that Ed Dickens would post details on the oil conversion. It has obviously been successful. I'd like to know if he used computer modeling to get the combustion and draft right or just increased the sizes from the 3985. Maybe this is to avoid scrutiny. Lots of trolls and naysayers in the online railfanning world.
@@joshuajordan8574 I just now saw a video on UA-cam with Ed Dickens talking about the conversion of coal burning fuel to fuel oil burning. Search Union Pacific. Then it's video features Ed Dickens commentary.
I had the opportunity for a Cab ride in the 4014 on a test run. She sits welcoming travelers on I-80 just over the border from Iowa. A massive piece of history.
Got to see 4014 in action last year. What an amazing experience.
That's awesome! I didnt get the chance or I would have..
Took the day off and saw it when it traveled through Wisconsin.
Me too! Over in Barstow, California!
What a nasty job maintaining the boilers. The scale build-up was VERY time-intensive to clean out, and all the moving parts had to be a devil to regularly lubricate. So glad we're done with all that hellish work. But, I love to watch the few that remain. Bigly!
You are definitely right about that! It is an unforgettable experience to see her live in under steam! 4014 is truly in well a Marvel! When people say it cannot be done and it’s too expensive to do just look at 4014 today!
Simon missed 2 big events with these massive engines, one being the derailment of the 4005 when it went over a set of open switch points. The other being that during the test runs of the 4014 after the restoration it was used to pull a train of covered hoppers, just over 60 years from its last run.
Yeah im surprised the 4005 was not mentioned because the account of it is super haunting, plus the huge ordeal it was to move them to places after service. But I'm still happy we got a video!
It was in the right place at the right time to get a paid run!
We have one in Pueblo Colorado
Thats because simon si lazy and stupid. He only reads what they put in front of him. He doesn't know anything about this sort of thing.
@@camojoe83 i mean, to be fair that isnt really his job? Hes the presenter. Not an enthousiast. If your channels pump out content this frequently minor errors and sorta incomplete stories can be expected.
I grew up in Evanston, WY. I remember going to the old railyard, machine shop and roundhouse as a kid. The whole thing was in shambles and abandoned. I remember there was a train that was inside the roundhouse though. It was one of these Big Boys if I'm not mistaken. It sat there for years. I never knew what happened to it, but in the last 20 years they have completely restored both the machine shop and the roundhouse, and refurbished the turntable. Lots of towns popped up when the railways were being completed, but the only towns that survived were the ones with roundhouses like Evanston, Green River, Rock Springs and Cheyenne. That's why towns are 100 miles apart along the southern part of Wyoming. So glad to see that some history is preserved.
How about Knock Nevis? Biggest ship ever built?
Good one!
Also known as the Seawise Giant
I’d love to see this
Good call!
Also maybe the oasis class cruise ships
My grandfather was an avid model railroad enthusiast. The top engine in his roundhouse was a shiny brass versioned the Big Boy. It was a rare treat to see that gleaming locomotive traverse the layout. When he sold all his MRR kit he got a tidy sum for that beautiful trophy.
Beautiful and heart warming review as a north of 70 baby boomer steam locomotives along with the old GM F and G series diesel electrics have a special place in my heart. My first exposure to a "Big Boy" was at the Ford museum in Dearborn and when I first started hearing of U & P's restoration of 4014 I was ecstatic. I was aware of number 844 but she paled beside the smoke and steam belching behemoth 4014. Thank you for this wonderful review. All the best.
For all the mechanical fury, these types of locomotives are surprisingly smooth. When I was younger a rail fan trip was coming through our town. My dad and I stood on the platform of an abandoned interlocking tower attached to a long trestle. A few diesel powered freight trains went by and the vibration was terrifying. When the rail fan special went by pulling the grade out of town, it was smooth as silk. Truly a sight to behold. I was hooked on anything mechanical after that.
Many are commenting about the use of the term "train" in place of "locomotive." Although it is true that rail aficionados seem passionate about that point the railroads define a "train" as a locomotive with or without cars displaying flags or markers. If I had a book of operating rules handy I'd check the exact wording. Anyone here quibbling the use of the term "train" instead of "locomotive" should keep that in mind.
It was clear that the narrator/author of this presentation was not deeply familiar with the subject, but despite that as ex railroader and someone familiar with locomotives both steam and diesel, I found this presentation to be pretty darn good.
He speaks the language of gods
It was good. Found it funny they argued that smaller wheels provide better traction tho. Probably just needed the space for a bigger firebox or a thicker boiler.
@@MatsNorway The main effect of wheel size is top speed of the locomotive. Larger wheels give higher speed. Smaller wheels give tonnage and grade pulling power at lower speeds, like lower gear in a car or truck, which is what they likely meant by better traction.
I like Simon Whistler. He is making a good and informative effort about a subject he knows nothing about.
@@MatsNorway the confusion on the part of the writers here was between "Traction" and "Tractive effort", smaller diameter wheels do in fact provide superior pulling power in a locomotive.
Fun fact, when the Big Boy goes between passenger/display stops, it pulls real cargo to pay for the fuel to move it. So while it doesn't have a cargo route, it still pulls freight.
That’s not true
The freight cars it sometimes pulls are there to provide braking. The brakes on the locomotive and the train operate independently. They prefer to avoid using the locomotive brakes as little as possible to prevent wearing the drive wheels. The few cars that move with the 4014 do not provide enough braking force by themselves.
Blasphemy!!!
Krieghandt.... While what you said may be a "Fun fact"..... it's Not true, at all.
No it doesn't. Why do you make shit up? Get a hobby.
You can't truly appreciate the scale of these until you've seen them up close in person. It's insane. Same with the DD40X, behemoths on rails. Good episode.
4014 was kept overnight at union pacific just a few miles from my house in iowa on its 2019 trip , you cant even imagine the size unless your standing next to it
4023 is on static display over in Omaha. I saw it last February and it is indeed a monster to behold.
Also stationed next to it is 6900, the first 'Centennial' DDA-40X diesel electric.
You can see them here on Google Maps.
goo.gl/maps/UVBLrqehr9ztMg196
@@jaymzx0 That's cool, thanks for sharing.
She stayed over night in Omaha as well.
Go Mowhawks!
My father was a steam fitter in UP's shops in Cheyenne. We lived on west 10th street, right next to the railroad yards. When he worked over time during the mid 40s to mid 50s as a little boy I would walked across the railroad viaduct to the Roundhouse to deliver his evening dinner to him. Not unusual to see 10-12 4000s and Challengers being worked on. Don't ask me about the cinders. During the war the Cheyenne yards were jammed with engines, freight and passenger trains. Most of my uncles, cousins, neighbors were all employed by the UP. Pretty special time.
I didn't know about it until like 3 days before it was suppose to go through our town. Being that we lived by the tracks, and every time a regular freight train went by, my boy would run to the front window and watch it go by, we decided to take him to see it go by. It stopped in the town north of us, and was due to stop in a town to the south. Not knowing how excited my boy would be, we just went to see it go by. After I saw his grin, we ran to the car, and hit the road to the next town! It was so hot, but worth it.
A nice surprise when I went on UA-cam this morning! I followed the restoration via the videos from Union Pacific from when they first arrived in California to get 4014 ready to be removed from the museum (that alone was a feat I wish had been covered in this video), anticipating every next video. The meticulous work the UP team did was wonderful, not taking any shortcuts, making sure everything was done very well. The same with the restoration of UP 844, the only UP steam locomotive to never be retired, and deserving of its own Megaprojects video. The UP 3985 Challenger was slated to be restored as well, sadly UP management decided not to do it, even after new parts had already been acquired.
Ed Dickens and his crew did an AMAZING job,
on the restoration.
steve
The 844 is the only steam locomotive from any class 1 railroad, not just U.P. to never be retired
Patrick Rieger - IIRC, 3985 needs a lot of major work, and UP decided to put those resources into 4014. Fair trade, I think.
Bryan Noga
They both needed many of the same parts, luckily a lot of them are the same between the two locomotives. When those shared parts were sourced from an outside vendor for the 4014, enough were ordered for both engines. They’ve said the 3985 is retired, but being they have a lot of the parts on hand, who knows if it’s permanently retired.
It may be a budgetary thing at this time because the U.P. has been going through a major restructuring program for the last few years. Some of the 3985 is already disassembled inside the shop, but it needs the same kind of overhaul the 4014 went through, especially to the front engine and the frame. It wasn’t tracking straight when it was removed from service for boiler problems.
There might come a day in the future when we see a Challenger and a Big Boy double heading again, don’t give up hope, all that needs to happen is for leadership to decide they’ve got a lot of the parts and the people to make the rest and turn the money loose to do the rest of the work to get it going again.
One can not simply understand these engines by reading or watching a video, one has to experience them in person. The massive size, the weight of the steel, the smell, the oil, the radiant heat, the smoke, the startling sounds you hear with your whole body, the fear of moving parts, the monumental manual labor, the unstoppable force barreling through nature and civilization alike. The experience will leave you with more understanding than anything else.
Big Boy stopped overnight in Alpine, TX on its tour. My brother, his wife, their daughter and her son saw it both days. My brother said it was awesome to see the Big Boy, it is HUGE, and to see it start off again with stream and smoke. That engine is alive, not a brunch of iron.
I saw the Big Boy rush by the Kirkwood train station, which is a suburb of St. Louis, several years ago. The thing most amazing for me was the noise. It was like thunder slowly approaching as it neared and kept getting louder and louder as it passed. It pulled the Union Pacific business car train.
Technical facts can often make a viewer's eyes glaze over, but this narrative is very good and respectful.
We have one of those Iron Giants here at Kenefick Park in Omaha, Nebraska. It is #4023, and train fans in the neighborhood come to the park and wash it and keep it looking clean for tourists. It's a colossal piece of train equipment if you ever get a chance to size one up in person. It's probably one of the few in decent shape that could be restored as 4014 has been.
Please give equal time to the ACTUAL largest, heaviest, most powerful, but less glamorized Chesapeake and Ohio H8 Allegheny 2-6-6-6 built by Lima Locomotive from 1941-1948. Lima built 60 of these monsters for the C&O (#s 1600-1659), and 8 for The Virginian railroad. C&O #1601 and 1604 still exist, in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI, and the B&O RR Museum in Baltimore (The C&O took over the B&O to form the Chessie System in the mid 60s. The railroad now operates under the name CSX, since 1981.)
The C&O versions hauled huge coal trains over the Allegheny mountains from WV and VA to the port of Newport News, VA. This locomotive generated 7,500 drawbar horsepower, and engine and tender far outweighed any locomotive in its class. The firebox of a "Big Boy" would literally fit inside of the firebox of an Allegheny. The firebox was so heavy, that it was the only locomotive to require a six-wheel trailing truck (hence, the exclusive 2-6-6-6 config). They represented the ultimate and pinnacle of steam engine technology. The "Big Boy" that we so often hear about could not hold a candle to the Allegheny in terms of sheer size and power, as well as in beauty; symmetry of proportions, and aesthetics. And yes, I am an expert in this little-known niche in railroad history, and a model railroader. My enthusiasm for the Allegheny was handed down from my father, who was a C&O officer for 40+ years.
I can provide many links to prove my statements here, but I'm sure you would prefer to do your own research. Please do a video on the Allegheny, the TRUE largest, most powerful locomotive ever built.
hmm, learn something new everyday
Yes, I agree. The Allegheny locomotives also had an interesting history. When they were delivered by Lima locomotive works to the C&O, Lima lied about how heavy they were. It wasn't until many years later that the C&O found out. The C&O sued Lima and Lima almost lost money on building the locomotives because of it. The C&O didn't realize howw powerful and fast these locomotives were until the mid 1950s when they were transferred form the coal fields of WV to the lines west of Russell KY. Once on the lines to Columbus OH and Toledo OH, the C&O was able to see how powerful and fast they actually were. Check out the book Allegheny: Lima's finest.
aua2 isn’t the Penn RR class Q2 the most powerful?
@@davidgriffin9412 Interesting. Thanks. I have this book, but I did not recall about the weight dispute.
@@CommieCat According to some sources, yes. Although, the Q2 was a "duplex" type loco, not an articulated like the Allegheny. The PRR rated the Q2 at 7,982 HP based on their own measurements at their Altoona shops. However, the Allegheny, at least early on, was used for mountainous coal drags which didn't fully utilize its potential. Its boilers were actually capable of producing 8,000 HP, which became more apparent when (as UA-cam commenter David Griffin points out in his reply), the C&O began to use them on their lines in Ohio. Here's a link to this info:
web.archive.org/web/20080127121645/www.steamlocomotive.com/allegheny/
Oooh Simon! You just referred to the Big Boy as a really big TRAIN! That's sacrilege! The Big Boy is a really big LOCOMOTIVE!
Yet you probably call the thing that powers your phone a battery.
The standard railway definition of a train goes something like "A locomotive with or without cars displaying flags or markers." I am tapping old memory, but that should be close to accurate.
Technically a locomotive can be a train by definition.
This was a good presentation by someone I suspect is new to the train thing.
I caught that, as well. ;)
_It's a shame what the guy that now owns the SR 4501 2-8-2 did to it. It and it's sister locomotive were rescued from being cut up 60yrs ago, painted Green/Gold/Silver. You could spot the 4501 a mile away and crowds would form to see it. Then after it was retired, some mentality decided to paint the 4501 back to Freight Black. She was never popular as Freight Black like Big Boy was!!_
_Shame, the 4501 is unrecognizable now. She and the Big Boy were my favorites. What that new owner did was equal to buying a Richard Petty Daytona 500 winning racecar and painting it back Brown. WHICH WAS STUPID!!_
I'll always remember her like this ua-cam.com/video/D2VCoNDwOhs/v-deo.html
@@Darndiddlyarn a battery is a combination of cells, so the battery in your phone is a battery.
I was young I just remember bits but the awe is always there. It was Massive chunks of American Steel everywhere. 300psi of steam working to pull all that weight thru the Rockies is amazing to this day. In the early 70s I remember my grandfather taking me to the station and seeing the Huge diesel electric engines bellow out tons of black smoke (before the emissions hit) to power those gens to ease the load on down the track. I remember them being wayyyyy to loud for today's standards for sure, my kids don't like the radio loud. Those engines always were my favorite thing as a boy , even when BB Chevys and Hemis roamed everywhere , those engines were BIG POWER to this kid
Simon, if you EVER get a chance to ride on the train with the 4014 do so. It is truly a magnificent piece of machinery and history, and a thrill of a lifetime.
when i was little, my dad took me to see 4014 when it was on the fairgrounds in pomona, then we watched it get moved for the trip to wyoming for restoration, and i made sure to catch it when it finally returned to socal. always a wonderful sight to see.
Snoopy. You got lucky! I had to work the day they moved her across the Fairgrounds and I am damn well going to see her live in operation the first opportunity I get!
I stood next to the 4014 when it passed through SW Louisiana in 2021. You must stand near it to appreciate just how enormous and powerful it is. Videos just don't do it justice. It hisses, creaks, clanks, clunks, spurts hot steam and water, emits huge amounts of heat, groans, and just exudes power. Many kudos to the skilled men and women, the UP brass, and especially Ed Dickens - whose visions made this restoration possible for us railfans to enjoy. There's just nothing like it. It is mesmerizing. Hard to realize it was designed over eighty years ago without the help of computers, CAD-CAM, and/or CNC. I hope they restore more of these magnificent steam engines!
Thank you for sharing information about the Big Boy. My grandfather worked on the Big Boy. I was to young to remember. He died before I had a chance to ride on one. I am so proud of my Grandfather. So thanks again for enlightening me. I can watch this over and over with a smile and share it with my family.
Since they got Big Boy 4014 back on the rails, it just happens to go within short distance of our house west of Kansas City once or twice on every tour. It's an awe-inspiring machine.
BIG BOY 4017 at the NRRM in GB was the favorite exhibit when I Steven Solway, was the official tour guide, and full time paid employee from 1984 to 1989. Whether the groups were school children from kindergarten on a field trip, or then a group of senior citizens on a cross country bus tour. During the guided tour, the 4017 was still sitting outside, at first in front of the McCormick Train Pavillion on North track 1 and 4017 was pushed inside during the winter months to protect it from I've and snow. But in 1986 the former managers decided to Sandblast 4017, and use bright Yellow Paint as the primer coat. But those managers decided to switch some other engines and cars around to New spots, but sadly 4017 derailed the 4 middle drivers when the diesel switcher pulled it over the old rotted ties. Then we had to wait 5 days until the weekend, and the C&NW RR sent 2 of their GP-7 Diesels to pull 4017 back on track, and using a 50' Foot Gondola car as a spacer car. Finally after nearly 3 hours of dangerous work, they succeeded in getting the wheels back on top. The rails were repaired. And the 2 GP7's pushed 4017 backwards onto the new outside display track, and over the next 2 weeks, 4017 was finally repainted black with whitewalls on the drive wheels. The plan by the Board of Directors was to build a new Northside extension wall. But sadly that wall was Never Built. 4017 sat outside again for 14 years, and the new paint was completely destroyed. But in 2001 the new Exhibition Hall was built. 4017 was repainted black again, at even greater cost. Then shoved inside the framework of the new Exhibition Hall. And the walls built up around. And trapping 4017 permanently. It would be necessary to rip down the entire Southern wall to remove 4017 outside again !!
There’s a video on here of 4014 leaving the restoration shop in Las Vegas... the sound of the whistle sounds like it’s waking the dead... and it’s not until it’s right next to the camera that you realize just how massive this is.
Joe R M..... Just curious - where or how, did you come up with " There’s a video on here of 4014 leaving the restoration shop in Las Vegas..." ??
@@Romans--bo7br
ua-cam.com/video/jvP59TCMePI/v-deo.html
fun fact, these engines were so big, and the parts were so big, they had a engineer the big boys own set of tools to service it, as the regular tools used on other engines were to small.
Thank you Simon for covering this! As a big fan of trains, it really made my day to see you made this video! Have a nice day and stay safe!
I watched the Big Boy 4014 come through Texas last year. It was awe inspiring. It was massive
Got to see 4014 go through Nowata, OK during the grand tour in 2019 with my 2 year old son. Absolutely mind numbing how big this is in person. The video and pics don't do it justice. It's massive.
Simon and researchers.
I think you miss understand the term "articulated" as it refers to the Big Boy.
You see the Big Boy was built on the Mallet concept.
The main frame did not bend or flex as you stated, it was in fact rigid.
What articulated was the two engine units (and the leading and trailing trucks), such that you could have 16 wheels being driven by four pistons, for great power and traction, but in two rigid groupings of 8 making corners easier to navigate.
The whole idea of articulated locomotives (of various designs) was to get the power of two regular rigid locos in one.
Since the rear engine unit is integral to the frame and the front unit pivots against it I think "hinged" is actually a pretty good laymen's description.
Just like bogies were invented to keep carriage straight whilst pivoting on track changes.
Last rode a steamer pax train in 1968.
The black loco had a big smile painted on the front boiler access plate!
Me? A boomer getting old!
Beyer _ Garret.
@@MegaBoilermaker Big Boy was a Mallet. So was the Challenger, so was the Y6B and most other North American articulated types.
Beyer Garratts had a double articulation with both leading and trailing tenders and were popular in Africa (particularly South Africa and Zimbabwe/Rhodesia) and Australia.
@@twentysevenlitres very close. out of the locos mentioned only the y6b was a mallet, the others termed rather simply as just simple articulateds. mallets are compounds with the same articulation.
"Deemed acceptable to not aggravate the many rotating parts within the locomotive" is just a fancy way of saying
*If this thiccccc boi went any faster it'd blow itself apart in a puff of smoke*
Eh...not really. From talking to people who actually worked on it back in its heyday, it COULD handle higher speeds with little issue, but this would’ve increased wear and tear on the moving parts and that meant more maintenance and more frequent replacement of said parts (not to mention cleaning of the boiler and firebox), which UP didn’t want to have to pay for if they could avoid it.
The REAL limiter on the speed of the Big Boy (and all subsequent locomotives) are the rails. Most curved rails in the US, especially in cities, turn too sharp for a locomotive going faster than 60 mph/100 kmh at MOST - any faster and the train will jump the track and derail. This is part of why high speed rail for passenger service never really caught on in the US other than in a handful of places - mostly on the East Coast, because nobody wants to go through the hassle of laying new track for it (and in many cases, they CAN’T).
Yes
Since steel was being collected for.WW2, how where they able to build these trains ?.
@@johnbockelie3899 Because it wasn't. The scrap drives and stuff like that? Mostly done for morale purposes by allowing civilians to feel like they're contributing to victory. Very little of the metal collected in scrap drives was even melted down until after the war. The reality is that the US just had so much resources and industrial capacity compared to everybody else (in 1945 we had as much industrial output as the rest of the world COMBINED, just to give you an idea of how utterly FUCKED the Axis was once they "woke the sleeping giant") that we could have a full-on war economy and still have resources to spare for other things.
@@z3r0_35....roughly 70 years after coming out of an almost apocalyptic civil war and we have the greatest industrial capacity the world had ever seen. Combine that with the 66 years between Kitty Hawk and the Moon...Well, how unbelieveably fucking fantastic is that! Damn, what an incredible bunch of do it or die trying Americans. My ancestors were a big part of it. Thank you America, past and present. I salute ya!
I live in Ogden Utah. I was able to volunteer for the sequesential and worked in the train yard and by the 4014 Big Boy and also the 844 steam engine. It was completed and came down from Cheyenne Wyoming to celebrate the occasion of the joining of the transcontinental railroad. It's an amazing engine and it was a wonderful experience meeting so many train lovers from around the world.
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why I love the USA.
- Canadian
One of my favorite things.. in green bay Wisconsin, the railroad museum has one indoors. It is staggering in person. Truly awesome.
When I was a kid, dad would take us to that museum in Green Bay. Back then it was out where we could climb on it.
If you think it's big, imagine being 6 or 7 years old & climbing all over it.
I saw one of these up close and in person in static display at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, CA. I now live in the Four Corners Region of the U.S. We have two operating narrow gauge railways in the area, the Durango & Silverton RR (which also operates vintage diesels as well as steam engines) and the Cumbres & Toltec RR, which operates steam locomotives exclusively. I recommend the latter of the two both for the rolling stock as well as superior scenery on the route from Chama, NM to Antonito, CO. A lot of the route of the Durango & Silverton is through developed areas while the Cumbres & Toltec route is much more natural landscapes.
Seeing one of these in person is truly awe inspiring.
When the power goes out and the electronics fail, the big boy will still be running.
Doubt it will
If that happens, everyone, and I do mean everyone will be scurrying around trying to get enough food, to keep from starving to death, to worry about a loco. As much as I like it.
Best wishes
Same goes for diesel-electric locomotive and it is much simplier machine...
No power, no electronics means no oil, coal, or gas and so no steam.
@@carlthor91 Worrying about a locomotive is highly conducive to the survival of a civilized society. Trains deliver food, products, resources, labor and news/mail. Without a method of mass transport what you're left with is scattered, isolated villages and the odd local feudal warlord
You really need to see it to believe it, you can't get closer than maybe 10 to 15 feet to them when they roll in, the heat coming off them is incredible! The steel this beasts are amazing...seriously heavy-duty.
It's worth noting that there might be a possible error at 3:58-- The wheel highlighted is one of the smaller ~30" tender wheels vs. the 68" drivers located on the actual locomotive
They don't care. Just crank these out across multiple channels half the time not bothering to make their stock footage line up to the narration. It is what it is.
I noticed that too and found it somewhat amusing, but I still enjoyed. In 1978 I was working for GE in Schenectady. The ALCO facilities where these machines were manufactured were leased by GE for steam turbine manufacturing. ALCO was still painted on the glass windows. Wish I took a picture. All redeveloped now.
Not to mention that Simon mentions the frame being articulated. To my knowledge, the frame was rigid the length of the loco, the front engine unit is what was articulated.
@@jaysecure The way i understand it, The frame has the job of holding the bearings for the axles, the cylinders, and the leading/trailing trucks. The rigidity of the boiler means that, besides a HUGE slinding bearing that supports the boiler in one spot over the front wheel assembly, there is no frame that stays with the boiler as the wheelset articulates.
bob joe
Not sure what you are saying. The Challengers and big boys were articulated locomotives.
We have one in our city. It's unbelievable when you stand next to it. You can't imagine what it might be like to actually ride in it. It's truly awesome.
My great grandfather drove one of these. Still to this day I am inspired by this beast of an engine. Fell in love with trains when I was young. Though they aren’t my passion anymore. They still hold a special place. Steam locomotives are a wonder. The Inyo is my favorite.
In my opinion, nothing is more interesting than pacing a Big Boy as it goes down the tracks.... And it has a voice like no other engine.
As I watch this I’m listening to a diesel freight, moving through on the old D&H line, which these big engines were moved through from New York to the west. There’s one statically displayed about, oh 75 miles away from me.....and just to stand next to it is amazing! Thanks for covering one of the American mastodons!
Having lived on the wasatch front my whole life, and being in love with trains sine a kid, never knew the big boy was created to haul through the mountains I grew up near. That’s awesome!
Hey Simon, could you look into the Canadian trans-continental railway, or the Rogers Pass tunnel in British Columbia. It would be cool to learn how the northern Rockies were tamed. Love the channel!!
Yes! I woukd like this aswell
I've driven through Rogers Pass but have never taken the train through it. I live close to the Canadian Pacific main line in Kamloops BC and the number of locomotives on the biggest trains are clearly not for decoration.
@@marsgal42 Since Via discontinued the Canadian over the CPR route in 1989, it costs big bucks now to ride through Roger's Pass on a passenger train. It's free if you hop a freight and don't get caught trespassing, though. UA-cam "Stobe the Hobo Canada by Cargo Train" and "Brave Dave's Big Fat Freight Hop", part 4....
Props to the Union Pacific Railroad for understanding and preserving the history of these amazing machines with both #4014 and #844.
Seen the BigBoy in person here in Houston,TX last year! The Union Pacific 4014 Bigboy well worth seeing under steam. The Hancock 3 Chime whistle shook the Amtrak station my friend and I were standing by the wall when they blew the whistle and we both had to wear ear plugs because it was so loud. Shook the whole ground and the walls. Also with the BigBoy the UP 4141 President Bush Sr. Presidential Locomotive was also with 4014 heading up to College Station. Was a well treated to see both In person.
The "Big Boy" is a locomotive, not a train. A train is a consist; meaning a locomotive with rolling stock in tow. Additionally, a locomotive is not a steam engine or a diesel engine. In the case of a steam locomotive, the engines are the cylinders, pistons and rods that are located usually at the level of the wheels at the front of locomotive. In the case of a diesel locomotive, the engine(s) is/are located within the locomotive's steel sheathed housing to which the cab is connected.
Thank you! now i dont have to make a post myself explaining this again
@@jasonandrew5707 For an outfit with zero knowledge of the Big Boys, I think you all did a bang up great job. Thanks
According to the railroads I worked for a train is a locomotive with or without cars. Railfans should become acquainted with a railroad book of operating rules. Train is defined near the beginning.
@@andywomack3414 nope. A locomotive is just the engine. A train is the locomotive with the cars it's pulling
@@jasonandrew5707 Is that the definition in the book of operating rules which all railroads, at least in my time, published? Maybe it's different now or I might be misremembering, but a locomotive was defined as a train. I should look for a copy among my stuff, keeping in mind it will be 30 or 40 years old. I am reasonably certain of my memory of the definition of "train" found in my copies of both the B and O and Burlington Northern books of operating rules.
I am citing my source. Cite yours.
Probably the last holdout for steam on a Class 1 railroad was Norfolk &Western. They tried to keep steam and did competing experiments with diesel. For tonnage pulled versus fuel ( apparently coal was cheap then), steam was the winner. But diesels beat them at the maintenance shops. Steam locomotives require a lot of maintenance and downtime.
The benefit is personel . Each steam locomotive requires its own crew. You can hook up an infinite number of diesel electrics and run them with only one crew.
@@kurtvonfricken6829 not to mention the fact that unless kept hot all night, steam locos required a lengthy warmup period before they could even move under their own power where diesel locos can move once their air tanks are pressurized (although you still have to let them warm up before pulling any serious weight)
it wasn't just that coal was cheap, N&W was literally surrounded by it. N&W's biggest source of revenue was coal (even up to NS, it still was), so they had an abundant fuel source for their engines. N&W saw no added benefit of the diesel, except make maintenance costs, but even then, they built their own engines anyways. Tractive power was another reason too, the Y6a/Y6b were the kings of the Blue Ridge Mountains, they rivaled C&O's Allegheny and the A-Class had a balance of speed and power that was "superior" over EMD's F. Then you had the J-class, which were considered the Pinnacle of Steam that could out perform E-units. Also the fact that N&W was still building new steam after the "Big Three" (ALCo, Baldwin, and Lima) switched to diesels.
Yeah, seeing as how all the bearings were hand oiled lead babbit!
@@kurtvonfricken6829 OK. So who is going to drive and who is going to shovel? The Diesels didn't require anybody to shovel. That eliminated one nasty job right there.
Thirty-five years ago, I answered a burglary call (one of many) in Las Vegas. The victim was an executive of Union Pacific Railroad. Being a sensitive sort, while talking to him I rambled on about the wonderful age of steam, and how I missed the old locomotives. The man looked at me like I was out of my mind. "What we lost, when we went away from steam, "he said, "was inefficiency." Solid, no nonsense railroad man...
Hey simon make a video about the hubble space telescope
Seconded.
Seconded.
Seconded.
Don’t do it. It’s a trap
Thirdeded
Me being a Nebraskan. "He said Nebraska, nice."
There's a lot more to Nebraska than author Willa Cather.
@@zendonbuilds948 No there isn't.
@@ElwoodPDowd-nz2si Malcolm X, Marlon Brando, Johnny Carson . . .
i live about two hours south of Promontory Point (Tremonton, Utah) where the golden spike was driven connecting the two railroads. About two years ago the big boy arrived in town unbeknownst to us. about a half mile from my house theres a major rail yard an we could hear the distinct shrill whistle of a steam train. we searched around and finally found it. it was incredible to see in person.
Megaprojects: Big Boy
My Brain: *T H I C C B O Y*
Oh LORD! He CHUGG'EN!
Chonky Boi
damn boy.
DAMN BOY, HE THICC, BOY
THAT'S A THICCASS BOY
DAMN
I'VE BEEN IN ONE OF THESE at the St.Louis Transportation Museum -- I have a picture but I couldn't find it -- truly massive but the actual compartment where the engineer would be is still relatively small.
That museum is the reason I got into trains as a hobby and that locomotive specifically. I have a working ho scale model of it and its one of my favorite things in the world.
Been there myself, even went in the cab and sat in the engineer's seat. Felt like a little kid and it was great!!! And yes, these things are truly massive.
That is where my interest in steam locomotives started as well. It's hard to appreciate the scale until you stand next to one.
The skill needed to operate any steam locomotive is incredible. But four sets of piston drivers, steam pressure, boiler temp, water level, speed, tube pressure everything the engineer and fireman had to watch all at once was just incredible.
@@ramblinman77 While the Big Boy (4006) was the cherry on the top the Snow Clearing Locomotive was impressive for different reasons. My wife loves trains so next time we travel there that is a must stop location.
Big Boy is incredible. My dad worked for the Union Pacific RR for many years. I've seen the Big Boy a couple times. It's awesome!
Many years ago I had an encyclopedia about trains and I remember a quote: "The first Big Boy No. 4000 entered service on 5th September 1941."
Well today is exactly *80 years!*
In the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn MI there is an Alleghany steam locomotive. While only a static display one can stand right next to it and touch it. Its sheer size is quite impressive to say the least. This is the most impressive machine in a building full of impressive machinery. This museum is HIGHLY recommended!
I saw that museum in 1959 as a child and was impressed, took photo of that Alleghany. Great museum, very close to Detroit, basically a suburb.
These giants are a perfect example of what makes a railfan become a railfan. They absolutely embody the brute strength of trains. There's no other human creation that demonstrates the same personality and power of these beasts. Shy of a sonic boom from a supersonic jet, there's no other piece of equipment that can literally shake the earth with such force.
I'm a huge fan of TBBT and this video just made episode 15 of season 7, The Locomotive Manipulation, that much better. Thanks to all involved.... such a good topic
Thankyou for your coverage of the big boys! My grandpa was a fireman on a big boy between Laramie and Cheyenne during WW2
The Big Boy is an amazing engineering masterpiece. I don't think there are enough words in the English language to properly string together to prove how amazing this locomotive is!
@Megaprojects I've seen this in person many times since it's outdoor museum in Omaha is not too far from where I grew up. It is truly impressive!
There were 25 of them total