The first "Big Boy" 4014 steam locomotive was commissioned for Union Pacific Railroad and delivered in 1941. These massive locomotives were built to haul heavy equipment in support of the war effort (WWII), and normally operated between Ogden, Utah and Cheyenne, Wyoming. The Big Boys are 133 feet long and weigh 1.2 million pounds.
Due to their great length, the frames of the Big Boys are "hinged" or articulated to allow them to negotiate curves. They have a 4-8-8-4 wheel arrangement, which means they have four wheels on the leading set of 'pilot' wheels to guide the engine; eight drivers on the first engine; another set of eight drivers on the second engine; and four wheels trailing that support the rear of the locomotive.
Number 4014 was retired in December of 1961 after traveling over a million miles. Union Pacific reacquired it from Rail Giants Train Museum in Pomona, California in 2013 and relocated it back to Cheyenne, Wyoming, for a multi-year restoration. It returned to service in May 2019 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad's completion.
The seven other remaining Big Boys are on public display in St. Louis, MO; Dallas, TX; Omaha, NE; Denver, CO; Scranton, PA; Green Bay WI; and Cheyenne, WY.
As the era of steam locomotives drew to a close with the dawning of the more efficient diesel engines, the machines that had helped build American cities, transported critically needed goods during World War II, and connected the nation from coast to coast, were quickly being relegated to scrap yards. By the early '60's, trains were being powered by diesel engines. In 2019, Big Boy #4014 was returned to Cheyenne, Wyoming for restoration. Since being brought back to life, #4014 has traveled 7,000 miles through 14 states, nearly 100 cities, and countless small towns and stretches of farmland as part of America's 250th anniversary celebration.
The restoration of #4014 is a fitting symbol of the enduring strength of the working-class communities it visits. Experts had widely dismissed the idea of restoring the 600 ton locomotive to working order as impossible. Big Boy #4014 reminds us of an anxious nation that the sweat, ambition and community spirit that originally built America, still lives. It was merely waiting for the whistle to wake it once again.
Enjoy the video of Big Boy #4014. Big Boy #4014
No comments:
Post a Comment