What is it?

I have seen several posts with that tag line, well here is mine.

What is 132 feet long, weighs 1.2 million pounds, puts out 6,300 HP?

This story was in todays paper. joe
X4014 Big Boy

thank you for posting this. As a steam rail fan, I've been hoping to see 1 run for 25 years. Now I may have a chance.

I think the one that has been traveling is a Centennial model, have seen that go by on UP tracks. I saw the big boy that is parked in Cheyenne.

When I was12 my stepfather took me up in the cab of a Big Boy it's big I got to blow the whisle. These are hing that you carry to your grave telling everyone who will listen.
Walt

Thanks for posting this, sure would love seeing it and helping if it was closeby.

I think I saw one of these at the railroad museum in Golden Colorado. I looked at the website and didn't see it, but there is one huge machine there that we looked at in about 1984 or so. It seems like there was a story about it being towed there just recently at the time of our visit.

It's funny, we were taking a driving vacation up through Colorado and then circling back around to the south, spending about a week just sightseeing. We had decided to stop by the museum and spend a couple of hours. That was not a good plan as it turned out. Eight hours later we were being told they were about to close but we could come back tomorrow. Neat place.

I've seen one of those! Live and smokin!

The article says there are 8 survivors on display somewhere, well one of them was making the rounds about 8 to 10 years ago. It came through Fort Worth, twice that I know of.

It came through the switch yard behind the shop, I heard it first, then saw the sky literally blackened by the smoke! It jockeyed back and forth, getting switched to head for Dallas.

Once it parked overnight and I got to go get a close look at it. Really humbling to get that close to something that massive! And realize it actually moves! Looked like they used the drive wheels from 2 engines, combined them to make one huge engine. Best I remember, they were independent of the frame so they could make the turns and inclines and still stay on the tracks.

It had just been "restored" they said, but I think they may have missed a few places, or maybe that's just the nature of the beast, but it was leaking every where and every thing! Steam, water, oil... Pouring from every seam and joint, and what wasn't leaking was covered in thick soot. Funny, the crew was wearing white lab coats! They must have had an unending supply of them because they were constantly changing, everything they touched was nasty!

Both times it came through it was pulling a few of the old UP passenger cars, the ones with the upper decks with windows all around. Not sure who was riding, or if anyone was. One thing for sure, it would not have have been any "Save the Earth" politicians! LOL

Think it was the second trip through, it left the train yard heading for Dallas, and it stopped, just out of sight but I could still see the smoke cloud. It sat there for most of the afternoon. Got home that evening and the news said a homeless man had jumped in front of it, committed suicide.

Never saw it again, not sure where it came from or where it went, my guess it's in a rail museum somewhere.

One of things was in the city pary in Cheyenne, WY, back around 1970.

We were just passing through and saw it.

KEH

The Union Pacific RR still maintains a running Big Boy for exhibition runs. See youtube for lots of pics. They have just reacquired one sitting in California for decades. The plan is to get it to Wyoming to the shop and restore it to running order too. The one in Golden? north Denver, at the Forney Transportation museum, is inside and one can climb up and look in the cab.

That's a neat article. Thanks for posting it.

Thanks, I bet that's the same one we saw, it was outside at the time and appeared as it had just been brought there. It wasn't restored and I seem to remember that it was brought there under it's own power, but I'm not so sure about that now.

We had one go threw my town last year. It actually stopped overnight at the town I work in, so we got to see it close up, an amazing machine I think the drive wheels were 7 or 8 feet tall if I remember right. I didn't get up the next morning when she came threw, but it sure was something to here coming! Never forget the steam whistle!

There has not been a "Big Boy" (4000 series in UP terms) in steam since the late 1950"s. So likley the Challenger is what you folks have seen. It is truly incredible that UP is doing this. The money to undertake this project is huge, and they are thinking 5 years of labour before she will go. Probably the best advertising they could have.

As a child growing up I had two uncles that worked for the rail roads, This led to many cab rides in E8 and 9s GP 7 and 9s Alcos and several U boats as well as several steam excursions with a cab ride on NW 611 J class. These were great until I set my eyes on a Big Boy and got close to one and climbed on board, Au inspiring to say the least, How could something so big move by fire and water! Largest and most powerfull steam locomotive ever built in the world and it was built right here in the good old USA! I even had the pleaser of seeing his little sister the Challenger pounding down the rails some years ago, What a thing of beauty she is! I cant wait till they Big Boy rebuilt and back on the rails in service. Bandit

A challenger is a real close slightly smaller version. It has a 4-6-6-4 wheel arrangement. U.P. has had one of these restored for years. Some of the post's below, I think have mistaking it for a big boy model. There were only 25 big boys made, and none operated by U.P. since they were retired. Maybe moved around for display. They also have the famous 844. The last locomotive ever made for them. It was never retired. I have seen both the 844, and challenger 3985 on numerous occations. Cheyanne Wyoming is U.P.'s home for steam operations and home to these magnificint locomotives. Can't wait to see the Big Boy in operation of excursion.