A Pair Of UP Big Boys
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Hans
Scranton, PA. Big Boy 4012
One of the best preserved Big Boys I know. There are 8 in existence. 3 of the photos were taken exactly two years ago during a visit to Steamtown National Historic Site. My first visit to Scranton was back in 2002 and the photo that shows the whole locomotive was taken then. Today with the rumors about bringing one Big Boy back to steam, this could be the candidate. Currently 4014 in Los Angeles County is the preferred locomotive.
Since we just came out with the Big Boy, I thought I would share some travel photos with you all. If you have some Big Boy photos to share, either being the real thing or one of our locomotives, please feel free to post it to our blog or customer gallery.
Los Angeles, CA. Big Boy 4014
Since I was in LA when I wrote the Scranton Big Boy post, I just had to take the trip to see how 4014 was doing. The locomotive is part of an exhibit in the LA Fairgrounds out in Pomona. It is owned by the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, Southern California Chapter.
Unfortunately the locomotive is somewhat hidden by other locomotives which makes a photo shoot challenging. Also, if you want to get close, only the 2nd weekend of each month is available.
The 4014 do not look its best at the moment, but that is due to an ongoing inspection by Union Pacific RR. As you can see from one of the photos, a yellow maintenance rig hovers over the Big Boy. As a railroad enthusiast (aren’t we all) I truly hope that one of the Big Boys will be steaming again. It could very well be 4014. If it happens, I wonder if UPRR will opt for oil instead of coal? Several Challenger locomotives were converted to oil burners, but the Big Boy was tricky due to a special design of the firebox. One unsuccessful attempt was made with the 4005.
Visit railgiants.org for more info on the 4014.
Enjoy, Hans
July 2013
Very exiting news today, UP has bought Big Boy 4014 and it is heading to Cheyenne for restoration. We decided a while ago to produce another batch of 50 Big Boys. 15 of the 50 will be 4014 and the rest new road numbers. Enjoy the link!
Category: Hans' Blog
