RailScene USA Focus: Big Boy's Little Sister - Riding the Challenger UP # 3985 in the cab
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- Опубліковано 23 бер 2019
- Big Boy #4014 now rules the rails once again but before that the largest operating steam locomotive in the world was its "little sister" - the mighty Union Pacific "Challenger" #3985 which was restored to steam back in 1981 until her retirement for overhaul in 2010. At the height of her powers I was lucky enough to film her in 1999 on her way to the Sacramento Railfair in the company of the "Living Legend" #844 in almost the exact same formation as #4014's 2019 formation (there was no diesel on our trip and #844 was the lead machine!). Best of all was a footplate "cab ride" through the Carlin and Palisade Canyons in Northern Nevada which I was able to record for posterity. Riding in the cab with Engineer Bob Krieger and Fireman Jack Whelehan (who describes what being a fireman on the world's largest steam locomotives is like) were six UP employees - and me. This is what it will be like to drive the "Big Boy" - and, perhaps one day it will be possible to ride in or behind the two massive machines as #3985 is scheduled for the next overhaul now the Big Boy is back - wow!
The start may be slow, but once they get going the performance is phenomenal! We hit a maximum speed of 60 mph (shown as 56 on the speedo!) shortly before arrival at Battle Mountain and the noise and action has to be heard and seen to be appreciated . . . .
Join us all and - Ride The Challenger! It takes nearly 40 minutes.
Update! Sadly, UP have now officially announced that the Challenger won't be overhauled and their steam program will consist only of 844 and the Bog Boy in the foreseeable future . . . - Фільми й анімація
4014 is officially under steam
This video is looking like a adventures of up 844 & 3985🍿🍿
THANK YOU SOOO FOR THE BEAUTIFUL RIDE, NOW I CAN REST MY SLEEPY EYES! SWEETEST DREAMS, GOD BLESS LIFE! FANTASTIC! 💪🌹🙏🌹🌞🌎❤
I'm so delighted to have been able to record this mighty engine for people such as you to enjoy. It was the greatest ride of my life!
This is what happens when engineers get a hold of your hot water heater
What an awesome experience that must have been for you with both engines rolling along. One wonders who will get the privilege of filming the Big Boy with the 844 when they double head in May. Hopefully somebody will film it in 4K and put it on UA-cam for all of us to enjoy. You have brought to life my HO scale Challenger.
Like you, I have a model Challenger - and an 800 (#838) - but in N Scale. They bring my experiences in 1999 back to life! I wish I could have been the one to repeat it in the Big Boy next month but circumstances make it impossible. I hope this delay to 844 so it can double-head the Big Boy isn't a sign that there are problems with getting the latter completed.
Im not a train fan but these things are incredible machines! Glad to see 4014 alive again gonna be neat to see it roaring down the track!
I saw the 4014 parked and releasing steam and blowing his whistle i call it a he because BIG BOY its in the name the 4014 is classifeid as he. Anyways I saw it parked on the track near a railroad crossing in Altoona Wisconsin engineer blew the whistle because people were on the tracks getting pictures of it. 2 toots the engine was about to move. We left before it started moving sadly
It must be a chore to operate double-headed giant locomotives like that
You certainly wouldn't say that if you met the crew - they all - and I mean, all - did it with joy in their hearts and total dedication. The locomotive crew and the support crew were there because they wanted to be and the camaraderie between them all was infectious. They knew they were doing something special and I believe the double-heading just added to it for all of them. I salute them - all.
@@Railscenevideo.... "Amen" to That!!..... but, sadly.. that was in the years of Steve Lee's reign in the Steam Shop... from what I understand, it's not "quite the same" around there these days under the Politically & Corporately Correct overseeing of "Mr. Ed". True? Yes? No?
@Southeastern777 Believe it or not, I have stabilised it! I've also converted it to widescreen as it was filmed 4:3.
I looked at the stabilised version and cut the stabilisation back a bit as, to me, the incredible shaking conveys the excitement far more than a smooth ride. Not that the Challenger wasn't smooth - the ride was quite superb and she never indicated any instability even running at 60 miles an hour - all that phenomenal power and size still ran superbly on UP's obviously top-notch rails.
But she did shake, letting us know that she was alive and kicking - you could feel every stroke of those massive cylinders and the force they produced.
It was, put simply, the nearest I can imagine to Heaven!
@@Romans--bo7br Steve Lee should not be around steam locomotives. That’s why Ed is so aggressive when it comes to maintenance, and why he doesn’t accept anything less than the best.
This is the coolest ride around. You're sure to be noticed when you pull up in a Challenger.
Looks like there having much fun!!!! I know I would...
HAS GOT TO BE THEE BEST CAREER EVER! FANTASTIC! GOD BLESS ALWAYS! 🌹🌞
Amazing!
It’s been a while since 3985 made an appearance on the rails. Let’s hope that this overhaul happens for real!
EDIT: Never mind it has been retired.
EDIT 2: Railroading Heritage of America has it now!
why does it need a overhaul did anything happen to it?
Hasn’t run since 2010, so it’s gonna need work before coming back.
David Ng too late! 3985 has been officially retired
@@the_gp9_802 Yes I am aware.
They could always bring it out of retirement someday. I don't see them scrapping it. Maybe a long ways away. But it could happen. Imagine a triple header with big boy 844 and 3985. That would be great publicity
Yes it is sad to know that 3985 is retired. But wouldn’t it be cool to see 4014 on lead with 3985 in tow and 844 pushing behind for a run?
It would have been magnificent to get both cab views in the 844 and 3985 at the same time on this trip
Indeed, but it was pretty unbelievable that I got permission to do one of them, let alone both!
@@Railscenevideo true that true that epic shoot hopefully when the time comes we can get a triple header cab shot with 844, 3985, and 4014 haha!
I miss 3985. The big boy 4000 class is an impressive and marvel of engineering but (hot take incoming) I believe the Challenger was the superior class due to its versatility in both passenger and freight service. Also shoutout to Big Jack Wheleham, the best name for a railroad man.
Great ride.
Thanks for the video
Phil, RRHMA is already working on 3985’s rebuild right now! Apparently volunteer crews have been working on her soon after she got delivered, they have a ton of her parts already stripped and being readied to send out to Howard Steel for remanufacturing. I remember hearing they’re planning to have her done in 2 1/2 years and she’ll be doing excursions for the museum❤🎉🥳
@@SweetSunrising
SO KOOL I was there chasing from Ryndon then hung out at the yard ran I80 filming raced to Palisade crossing 19.20) hyw278 thats ME ..who took this anyone from Elko? Remember Sonny the MailMan?
Brother.
Man!!! it doesn't get much better than this, but if one could only wish for a top-of-the-line Go-Pro steady cam...I'd have NO other wishes in my life but to be there in person and experience the constant "banging...the heavy pitch, (port and starboard), the ear-splitting noise, the constant "betrayal" of both water glasses, (why hasn't somebody come up with "'summipin" better to fix that situation?), the long hours, the dirt and grime, and lost loved ones, ('cause there's NO woman on the planet that would put up with that s^^t for a second... you know who you are), but GOD BLESS YOU Amigo's! If it weren't for you and yours, this Country would be totally void of REAL 1920-1945 reborn steam locomotives, (Eh!, jealousy won't get me anywhere right?). Out!
Well, unfortunately the latest official word from the Steam Team is that no restoration is planned for 3985. Apparently when 3985 was originally retired, she still had some hours left on her. After Steve Lee and his team put her through the shops, they pretty much ran those hours out over the years and now the 3985 would need the same wheels up rebuilding that 4014 got. And at the same cost! Understandably, UP is in no mood to spend that kind of money again so soon after the 4014. Over the years I've had a lot of railfans tell me that they went to see the 3985 because it was the "closest thing" to watching a Big Boy run again. Now that a Big Boy IS running again, one wonders how much attention the 3985 would still get. Right now I guess it's a moot point.
Sadly, that seems a very realistic viewpoint. I'm just glad I had the opportunity to film the old girl back in the dying days of the last century when she was still "the most powerful working steam locomotive in the World". I may be biased, but I think the Challengers, with their bigger driving wheels, look just rather more elegant than the Big Boys, the latter just look brutally powerful.
Personally I prefer lineside photography, but, boy, that must have been some experience!
So do I - usually. But this was the most exciting time - EVER! I also have about 2-3 hours of lineside and arial footage from that run.
Cheers,
Jeremy
Thanks Jeremy. I look forward to the lineside footage! Will it be on this channel?
It depends on how popular this clip is! If people want more, I can do it, but I'm going to wait a while to get feedback first. If you watch it right through you will see a sample of the lineside stuff at the very end.
Jeremy
So I looked again, right to the VERY end - and I see that you knew Dave Goodheart. I enjoyed his company (and his friend Victor Hand) on a rail tour of Russia, way back. '91 maybe? Anyway I do hope you can manage some more - tantalisingly moor-ish! Alan
Hi Alan,
Dave Goodheart had met my friend Bob in England so when we decided to visit the States in May 1999 to follow the Overland route from Cheyenne and the train headed by #844 and #3985 to Sacramento Bob conrtacted Dave and asked him along. Dave knew the crew of 3985 and we got privileged access to the Cheyenne UP shops before the locos left, this cab ride and a flight across the Great Salt Lake to film the train crossing the causeway from a helicopter. We all also drove I80 to whole way to capture footage of the train in many places. It was wonderful!
Sadly, Dave passed away some 10 years or so ago, thus my dedication to him at the end of this film.
Jeremy
20:56 SP detector Mile Post 529.7 4-8- miles per hour no defects no defects total axle 1-2-8. A detector working properly with 2 bix steam locomotives...that is cool.
I hope to see the 4014 and the 3985 double heading someday! Too bad some bright boy at UP decided the 3985 is no longer wanted because of 4014 being in service. They have announced they are giving the 3985 to another steam program for them to overhaul and use for that group's excursions.
3985 is in poor mechanical condition, too poor to warrant doing the work on it for UP. That’s why it was donated. Ed loves 3985, and he felt the best chance it had to run again was donating it to RRHMA.
@@blackbirdgaming8147 Yeah right...that's why the day before 3985 was retired it ran 70mph across western Nebraska and eastern Wyoming...Oh and pulled the 10,000 ton 10,000 foot Circus Train into Denver just a few weeks before.
@@MTHDCS That is simply a testament to the durability of the engine that Steve could beat the shit out of it even when it was in poor condition, and it would still run. Recent photos from the tear down have shown questionable tube sheet welds, as well as a fair bit of scale and sediment in the boiler.
The front engine has not been out from under the locomotive since the 50s, and was not known to track well because of this.
The dynamo was a known problem on 3985, so much so that a hammer was rigged to a cord that was labeled “If dynamo quits, pull this hard.”
Coal dust was found in telltale holes of staybolts. The locomotive hasn’t been coal fired since 1990.
At one point towards the end, a Lempor exhaust was trialed to improve draft and thus make steaming better, instead of doing the sensible thing and keeping the boiler interior clean.
Ed Dickens notes that 844 consumes 10 gallons of fuel per mile, and 125 gallons of water per mile. 4014 consumes 23 gallons of fuel per mile, and 250 gallons of water per mile. In comparison, 3985 consumed 35+ gallons of fuel per mile, and a proportional increase of water consumption.
But go ahead, think I’m some foamer who hasn’t done the research.
#7! 🌹
Big boys. 3985 up
So guessing Steve Lee of he hadnt retired by this video or Ed Dickens is driving 844
Is hot in that cabin box train is burning up with fuel hot water sizzling 🔥💧
It wasn't particularly hot. As it was oil burning there was no need to open the fire hole and the insulation kept the cab cool.
What's the sound at 21:25
You should have shown the wheels at 60 but after all great video and work
Remember this was 21+ years ago and we didn't have all the equipment we have today which would have meant I could have done many more amazing things - especially no drones and no micro-cameras we could could have set up along the engines. I'd love to have a cab ride on the Big Boy today and use all the modern techniques; I only had the one camera - and it was a BIG one - on that occasion.!
Which steam locomotive was leading the UP steam doubleheading on 3985 many years ago
It was #844 all the way . . . you can see it ahead of the Challenger on which I was riding.
Railscenevideo where was big boy 4014 then
It was still in pamona
@@rileysanesh9238 It was quietly rusting away in a California outdoor museum.
Hi Guys
What now......?
Such a beautiful video but you need to stabilize your camera!!!
I trust you said that in jest - the shaking in that massive cab on that massive locomotive was incredible - I can still feel it today!
Reading the Description, I think you mean Nevada not Nebraska
You're so right! I'll change it now! Thanks.
Why the chuff sound is not heard clearly at high speed
Because (a) the engine is going fast so the "chuff-chuff" just becomes a continuous roar and (b) the noise in the cab drowns it out.
@@Railscenevideo thanks bro for explaining
What about the northern. 844's big boy's little younger sister
More of a cousin than a sister, I'd say.
@@Railscenevideo is challenger 844's sister or a cousin
Errrmmmmm . . . what on earth do you mean?
@@Railscenevideo I mean steam locomotive
@@Railscenevideo what do you mean a cousin of northern please explain
ive seen the 4014 in real life but not his little sister
I'm the exact reverse!
@@Railscenevideo i can tell from this video
@@Railscenevideo challenger is big boys little sister by about.... 2 years and also happy 2021
3985 is big boys older sister as in born before not after
That's why I call the Challenger Big Boy's little sister (it's smaller) and not older or younger - in fact, since this Big Boy was a 1941 built example and this Challenger a 1943 built one, it's a younger machine anyway!
WRONG AGAIN big boys where built after the challengers because the challengers where overwhelmed with all the frieght demands make sure you do your research next time before you start running your mouth
@@robertkohen3366 I'm afraid you're the one that needs to do your research. Big Boy no 4014 was built in 1941 and Challenger no 3985 was built TWO YEARS LATER. So which one is the older one???!!
@@robertkohen3366 actually, Railscenevideo is correct here. In fact, it is true that the 3985 is more like the younger sister to the 4014.
Not only was 3985 actually built 2 years after the 4014 (1943 vs 1941), she is actually part of a class of Challengers (4664-4) that was designed *after* the 4884-1 class of Big Boy (which includes the 4014), incorporating many design improvements learned from the Big Boy. Hence why the 3985 looks so much like a smaller Big Boy.
It’s the earlier class of Challengers (CSA-1 and CSA-2-themselves based off of the 9000 class 4-12-2 locomotives) that are accurately considered to be the older sister to the Big Boy. Those were of a much different design, especially externally, from the later class of Challengers.
www.steamlocomotive.com/locobase.php?country=USA&wheel=4-6-6-4&railroad=up#341
Was that enough research for ya? 😉
*THUNDEROUS APPLAUSE*
little brother you mean. trains are boys and ships are girls. so you should always call a train he not she
You should also know that locomotives aren't "trains"!
What a waste. Two locomotives needed for thatrain? Would rather seeach locomotive working harder pulling it's own train.
Hardly. If they hadn't had the built-in obsolescence of two locomotives for a 1,500 mile journey they would have had to have a diesel and that would have been horrendous. As it was, they had trouble with one in California and had to return the train behind a diseasel anyway, by which time we had returned home and it didn't affect (thank goodness).
Robert Gift.... There is an old saying among those who ply the oceans of the world for a living, and that is.... "A ship blows its horn the loudest and most frequently when it is in the thickest of fog". Is that saying - comprehensible to you?
Your saying does not apply here. Much more interesting having two trains each pulled by onengine working harder. They did not need two locomotives for thatrain.
_"Is that saying - comprehensible to you? If Not... then try this one... "It is better to be thought of as a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt"."_
Better to convey the message. What others think of me is of no importance.
Mr Gift: Are you OK? Really, everyone else I have ever come across loves to see a double-header: one engine on a train is commonplace. "Need" and "want" are different things.