UP had to tease us steam fans, and made sure the "4014" on the Big Boy cab was visible while clearly it was the 844 pushing it, making it a rare sight. Good job on making it look look like what we all have been yearning to see, double head UP Steam!
I am BIG into History! Great work on a very difficult but extremely rewarding project! I know you must have an amazing group of dedicated employees at your company! Congratulations to everyone involved. 👏 👏 👏
So excited! I think I speak for many when I say as soon as I find out when her first trip under steam is going to be, I'm packing my bags and heading for Wyoming.
Keep up the good work. You guys should do a very simple but regular update videos where you just pan a camera in front of the Big Boy and its parts as you strip it down and work on the parts. A video like that would be quick and easy to make with little to no editing time.
Excellent report Ed and Austin! looks like Big Boy 4014 had help from his sister 844 getting his hitch in his getalong jumpstarted off to a new kickoff in the Steamshop side yard! great to hear of your progress guys! and, of your successful Denver Post Cheyenne Frontier Days run! oh, to have been a part of that would have been a dream come true for me! keep me in mind, as I still have my dreams you know......
How can anyone not love the Union Pacific "Big Boy(s)?" Their a personal favorite and I just like using their name whenever I can!!! It's great to see progress on restoration!!
Even though I am an 80s baby, I have always been awed by steam locomotives. I think it is a wonderful thing you are doing to bring the largest and most powerful steam locomotive back to the rails. It would be awesome to have you bring the locomotive down to Texas, like you did with 844 for the 100th birthday of Harlingen, Texas back in 2010. The Big Boy has always been my favorite steam locomotive. I wish the other Big Boys that are out there can be restored at some point like #4017. Again, thank you for what you are doing at Union Pacific.
I remember seeing 4014 as a static display at the fair ground in Pomona. I haven't lived in the area since 2003 and I just found out about it undergoing restoration. very cool!!!
Can't wait to see it run. I thank you, Union Pacific for dedicating the resources and investment into heritage while running one of the biggest rail operations in the world.
Almost done the 4014,, I look forward to seeing news and TH-cam videos of it on its first trip under its own power in 60 years. I’m not able to see it going to Ogden. I hope it comes to Minnesota soon.
The helmet the guy on the turntable is wearing looks like the kind they put on kids to keep them from banging their head against the wall, pretty funny.
@Austin 'Stone Cold' Hawkins And the fact that 844 probably has a little bit more horsepower then your standard diesel. 4014 weighs over a million pounds and it takes a lot of horsepower to move that much weight.
That thing barely even fits on the turntable. also, seeing those two dudes sitting inside the boiler like that really puts into perspective how astonishingly huge these things are.
844 don't shunt like common yard switchers (yard shunters)! That's 96's or 4466's job! 844 is an important tender engine, find another yard switcher to pull the Big Boy 4014 to the turntable when restoration began, Tender Engines Don't Shunt!
They had better use it for what it was made for once it's restored.... put it on the front on a freight so we can truly see it's strength and let it re-live again. Just don't use the diesels with it
+Ferroequus Domain I understand that totally.. but just remember back in the old days before dynamic breaking.... the old girls ran for years. My original comment was meaning, it would nice to see the true pulling power of the big boy on it's own.
Big Boy has a tractive effort of 135,375lbf. An AC4400CW has a starting tractive effort of 180,000 lbf and a continuous effort of 145,000lbf. An SD70ACE has a monstrous starting tractive effort of 191,000 lbf and a continuous effort of 157,000 lbf. An ES44AC has a starting tractive effort of 183,000 lbf with a continuous effort of 166,000 lbf. So, modern diesels will outdo it.Train tonnages are higher than they were when the Bigboy ruled the rails.
I don't know where you get your figures from but those of us who actually run them use the calculation of equivalent axles of power (EAP). AC44's 12.1 SD70ACE 12.0. That translates to roughly 120,000 lb tractive effort. The big difference is a diesel has that power available from 0-70mph. A steamer gains it's peak horsepower in a narrow band. And unfortunately for steam lovers the diesels do it cheaper.
Diesels are only stronger cause the research has gone into them to improve them Had steam engines had that extra 40 years of life they'd be superior In any case the only diesel I like are Peterbilts
You're really dragging out this restoration project, aren't you? They built a whole fleet of these locomotives from the ground up back in the 1940s, using the technology of the day, in one-tenth the time of this single-unit rebuild.
Micha Grill fuel oil, not petrol (gasoline). I too would prefer coal but economics prevailed. There are no more coal towers and that tender eats 20 TONS (I think) of coal at a time. There no more retail coal dealers any more anyway...so the only way I see coal refueling is to place a couple of hoppers straight from the mine at sidings every couple of hundred miles or so on a siding with a clamshell bucket crane... NOT happening...fuel oil is also 2x as thermally efficient as coal and it doesn't set weeds on fire along the right of way (I know rare but convince the FRA and UP of that...). Still what other company has done this so thank you UP, and up yours Perlman for ordering EVERY NYC steamer scrapped because he wanted NYC to be considered so modern he didn't even want the public to see steam in a museum...No more Niagaras (which would give 844 a run for its money...) or Hudson's (a crime not to preserve a Dreyfuss Hudson from the century...). The only reason 2 Mohawks (Mountain's) were saved is supposedly some employees hid them from management...
Three questions: 1) Is there an estimated completion date? I remember hearing it as being 2017-2019, has it been delayed? 2) Why did you transport 4014 all the way from California when 4004 is less than a mile away? 3) What's the status of 3985?
I can answer #2 despite not working for UP. Apparently, they surveyed all the surviving Big Boys, and of them, 4014 was in the best mechanical condition and would thus require the least work to get her running. Even though this meant a much longer move to get her to the shop, this meant that she'd cost less overall to get functional and would presumably have the longest lifespan before something critical broke and they had to have her down for major repairs where they had to fabricate a new part.
To answer question #3, 3985 is on the back burner and will not be running again for a while. That's what I have been told by Ed Dickens at least. 3985's FRA boiler time ran out so it needs a complete rebuild before it runs again. As I've been told by Ed that won't happen until after 4014 is completed. Though given that they've gone straight into rebuilding 4014 now that 844 is back in steam, they might take some time off once 4014 is operational before they start on 3985.
#2. The UP Big Boy 4014 was selected for restoration because out of the other surviving big boy locomotives, 4014 was in a better condition than the others especially the boiler, It would cost the UP steam crew lots more money one the of the others besides 4014 because of the condition they were in, and #3. UP Challenger #3985 will run again, but not until the restoration of UP 4014 is complete, Plus the Challenger has a lot of things wrong with it , they did refurbished some of the parts but they did't refurbished everything, its also waiting for a new firebox. #1. The Locomotive UP Big Boy #4014 will run again on May 10, in 2019 next year for the Anniversary of the Golden Spike along with UP #844, and the UP Challenger #3985 will probably or maybe run again in 2021 or 2022.
I know this has already been answered but even the 4005 in Denver is in a locked museum where the only tracks are the ones it sits on. They have to demo the museum to pull that one out and besides 4005 as aforementioned was the only big boy in an accident as a matter of fact you can still find the bug hole that is left near the switch that the 4005 had it's accident on
Dear Union Pacific... this might be a hard request, but can you keep some of your SP and CNW locomotives in their old paint schemes instead of repainting them? Besides it costs more money to repaint them than to leave them be, and us railfans also love those engines too! Thank you for your hard work, UP. Yours truly, The Average Railfanner
Nick Stewart UNION PACIFIC I AM FILING A LAWSUIT IF YOU DON'T REPAINT SP 343 AND THOSE TWO CNWs BACK INTO ORIGINAL PAINT!!!!!!!!!!! THAT IS IT, IF YOU DON'T, I WILL WORK FOR BNSF INSTEAD.
Tickets are not being sold for No. 844's upcoming trip to Memphis, it's a private trip. There are no additional excursions planned at this time, but keep an eye on upsteam.com, facebook.com/unionpacific or twitter.com/up_steam for new announcements.
UP had to tease us steam fans, and made sure the "4014" on the Big Boy cab was visible while clearly it was the 844 pushing it, making it a rare sight. Good job on making it look look like what we all have been yearning to see, double head UP Steam!
Probably not possible but a Big Boy shop live feed would be awesome!
it would be possible, i think. not that hard to set up
Hi mate. Your new shop would be perfect for the restoration of one of the steamers. No?
My shop is not near big enough, just the flue tubes in one of those big steamer boilers are probably longer than my shop!
I am BIG into History! Great work on a very difficult but extremely rewarding project! I know you must have an amazing group of dedicated employees at your company! Congratulations to everyone involved. 👏 👏 👏
So excited! I think I speak for many when I say as soon as I find out when her first trip under steam is going to be, I'm packing my bags and heading for Wyoming.
I love seeing people are as enthusiastic about restoring and preserving pieces of mechanical history like this big boy as I
The excitement is building, great job guys thank you for keeping us informed!
- Balerio
Thanks for keeping us all up to date! I'm very excited to see her running again!
It's lookin' good for the 4014, shout out to The Union Pacific Steam Team !
Ya, can't wait for the old girl to to be back on the rails!!!
Keep up the good work. You guys should do a very simple but regular update videos where you just pan a camera in front of the Big Boy and its parts as you strip it down and work on the parts. A video like that would be quick and easy to make with little to no editing time.
I SO want to see the Big Boy alive and belching steam again! Glad to see that 4014 is in the works! Good work gents.
Congratulations on the mammoth task you guys have undertaken. I take my hat off to you all. Look forward to seeing UP 4014 with a full head of steam.
I can't wait to go over to the US and see this magnificent locomotive in action
Excellent report Ed and Austin! looks like Big Boy 4014 had help from his sister 844 getting his hitch in his getalong jumpstarted off to a new kickoff in the Steamshop side yard! great to hear of your progress guys! and, of your successful Denver Post Cheyenne Frontier Days run! oh, to have been a part of that would have been a dream come true for me! keep me in mind, as I still have my dreams you know......
Fantastic job gentlemen you should be very proud of what you are doing. keep up the great work!!!!!!!
Impressive progress. It's going to be good to see the Big Boy running.
When this is ready to run again, I will travel from Denmark to the States.. I need this in my life!!
LIve Feed from the shop showing the Big Boy would be GREAT! Could check in every day on what is going on.
Doubleheading already? Man it's official, 844 and 4014 double head before 4014 can even move on its own
+Aaron Peavler/Geomodelrailroader Railroad Photography A real spin. :3
yeah, even if it was possibly more so that they didn't need to tie up a switcher to move it.
Most excellent news to see a "Big Boy" coming back to the road, although "844" will always be my favorite :P
How can anyone not love the Union Pacific "Big Boy(s)?" Their a personal favorite and I just like using their name whenever I can!!! It's great to see progress on restoration!!
You guys and the rest of the Steam Crew, are the BEST.
Well done up date, with excellent objectives. Cool.
• Cheers from The Detroit & Mackinac Railway 🚂
I'm very excited to see the 4014 operate next the dis assembly stage
God bless Union Pacific for doing this! Can't wait to see her roll.
Makes me wonder when the last time a northern was coupled up to a big boy. Now it's time to let the fun begin!
Even though I am an 80s baby, I have always been awed by steam locomotives. I think it is a wonderful thing you are doing to bring the largest and most powerful steam locomotive back to the rails. It would be awesome to have you bring the locomotive down to Texas, like you did with 844 for the 100th birthday of Harlingen, Texas back in 2010.
The Big Boy has always been my favorite steam locomotive. I wish the other Big Boys that are out there can be restored at some point like #4017.
Again, thank you for what you are doing at Union Pacific.
I remember seeing 4014 as a static display at the fair ground in Pomona. I haven't lived in the area since 2003 and I just found out about it undergoing restoration. very cool!!!
Great news! It's been so long since we've gotten any Big Boy news I was starting to worry that the project had gotten nixed!
Can't wait to see it run. I thank you, Union Pacific for dedicating the resources and investment into heritage while running one of the biggest rail operations in the world.
impressive Lashup of two UP Giants :) Well done! look forward to seeing more!
Good job fellas, take your time and be safe!
You all do impressive work to keep history alive. I only wish I could help. What an awesome machine!
I can't wait to travel out to Wyoming to see the big boy and feel the earth shake as it thunders by.
+W. J. Maximus Chaney
the camera won't be able to get a still video 😂😂
Love hearing about the progress, keep up the good work
wow the 844 can pull and push that heavy 4014. loved it. now move the 3985 she needs some attention too
looks like the 844 can do yard work too
So excited about the 4014! Shout out to the UP Steam Crew! I can't wait to see her thundering down the rails!
thank you we are looking forward to more Updates On youtube On 4014
J'attends avec impatience le jour ou elle effectuera ses premiers tours de roue seule,,déjà surpris par l'avancement des travaux
superbe travail
this is the one most of us have been waiting for ,, please do lots of videos on her , wtg on the 844 , now its the BIG BOYS turn , YA
I love the way that UP 844 played part of the Big Boy Project!
I Love what you guys do. I wish there was more video of 4014's tear down and rebuild.
so excited cant wait to see it on the rails again
Almost done the 4014,, I look forward to seeing news and TH-cam videos of it on its first trip under its own power in 60 years. I’m not able to see it going to Ogden. I hope it comes to Minnesota soon.
Looks like 844 is taking Big Boy out for a walk!
Thats awesome that they used 844 to push the big boy onto the turntable
I'm so excited. I can't wait to see him
Thanks for the update!
You guys are awesome!
Thanks for the update of China's big boy thank you
good job UP!!! keep going and it will run again!
Great job men........
The helmet the guy on the turntable is wearing looks like the kind they put on kids to keep them from banging their head against the wall, pretty funny.
You guys should fire up 3985 and triple head 844 4014 and 3985. That would be a historical sight!
Is there gonna be a documentary of the big boy restoration
Maybe!
I just realized... it has to be pretty rare with turntables large enough to actually being able to handle these behemoths?
The Big Boys are actually 6 feet longer then the turntable at Cheyenne. There is 3 feet of overhang on both ends of the locomotive
Is there a full length video of the UP 844 pulling the Big Boy?
Pretty cool that they used 844 to move the Big Boy, but don't they have an old SW shop shunter?
@Austin 'Stone Cold' Hawkins And the fact that 844 probably has a little bit more horsepower then your standard diesel. 4014 weighs over a million pounds and it takes a lot of horsepower to move that much weight.
Amazing. I'm surprised the project isn't on hold for longer due to needed funds for PTC.
I dare you guys to try and move the 4014 with just man power XD
We need at least one trailing unit. I think it should be the DD40 so there is dynamic breaking. 4014 would lead. NOW THAT IS A GOOD LASHUP
Dda40x
Can't wait!
and it will be great if they can give him the original whistle!
I'll take any update I can get on this project!
That thing barely even fits on the turntable. also, seeing those two dudes sitting inside the boiler like that really puts into perspective how astonishingly huge these things are.
Yes! Keep up the great work!
YES!!!!!!
You know that turntable was saying "again at last!!!!"
844 don't shunt like common yard switchers (yard shunters)! That's 96's or 4466's job! 844 is an important tender engine, find another yard switcher to pull the Big Boy 4014 to the turntable when restoration began, Tender Engines Don't Shunt!
Woohoo!
And then after 4014 maybe we can see 3985 back up and running?
3985 is scheduled for the next overhaul the minute they got done with 4014
i was kinda hoping for more info it has been a while i understand this stuff is not cheap but just looking for info and plans/ideas
They had better use it for what it was made for once it's restored.... put it on the front on a freight so we can truly see it's strength and let it re-live again. Just don't use the diesels with it
I agree
nah, it's a PR loco now.
Why can't they just fire up the Big Boy right now?
Mr Railfanner
it need alot of maintenance to ensure it's good to go. it's been sitting for like 30 years...
+Ferroequus Domain I understand that totally.. but just remember back in the old days before dynamic breaking.... the old girls ran for years.
My original comment was meaning, it would nice to see the true pulling power of the big boy on it's own.
Great! :-)
Only if Union Pacific would restore the 4014 to be as Galaxy Railways' Big One G8001
I wonder if they're going to restore her whistle.
I hope I get to see 4014 before I pass away from old age(I'm 40 as of this comment).
cool
I would love for this big boy to be given a very long freight assignment.
Uh just to show what it can do compared to those "modern" diesels.
AMEN BROTHER!
SteamKing2160 amen
Big Boy has a tractive effort of 135,375lbf. An AC4400CW has a starting tractive effort of 180,000 lbf and a continuous effort of 145,000lbf. An SD70ACE has a monstrous starting tractive effort of 191,000 lbf and a continuous effort of 157,000 lbf. An ES44AC has a starting tractive effort of 183,000 lbf with a continuous effort of 166,000 lbf. So, modern diesels will outdo it.Train tonnages are higher than they were when the Bigboy ruled the rails.
I don't know where you get your figures from but those of us who actually run them use the calculation of equivalent axles of power (EAP). AC44's 12.1 SD70ACE 12.0. That translates to roughly 120,000 lb tractive effort. The big difference is a diesel has that power available from 0-70mph. A steamer gains it's peak horsepower in a narrow band. And unfortunately for steam lovers the diesels do it cheaper.
Diesels are only stronger cause the research has gone into them to improve them
Had steam engines had that extra 40 years of life they'd be superior
In any case the only diesel I like are Peterbilts
Union Pacific could you repair 844 s'emergency Mars light bracket
Isn't the work on the Big Boy scheduled to be done in about Spring or Summer of 2018?
You're really dragging out this restoration project, aren't you? They built a whole fleet of these locomotives from the ground up back in the 1940s, using the technology of the day, in one-tenth the time of this single-unit rebuild.
kenp3L Steam was plentiful in the 1940's, not in 2017..
I assume that's the same turntable used when the big boys were in service?
Yes, and a 400 hangs over 3 feet on both ends.
I'm glad it's still in place. Most of the original round house is gone.
I've heard it's gonna be petrol fired?! Pf a true steam locomotive is still coal fired! :D
Micha Grill fuel oil, not petrol (gasoline). I too would prefer coal but economics prevailed. There are no more coal towers and that tender eats 20 TONS (I think) of coal at a time. There no more retail coal dealers any more anyway...so the only way I see coal refueling is to place a couple of hoppers straight from the mine at sidings every couple of hundred miles or so on a siding with a clamshell bucket crane... NOT happening...fuel oil is also 2x as thermally efficient as coal and it doesn't set weeds on fire along the right of way (I know rare but convince the FRA and UP of that...). Still what other company has done this so thank you UP, and up yours Perlman for ordering EVERY NYC steamer scrapped because he wanted NYC to be considered so modern he didn't even want the public to see steam in a museum...No more Niagaras (which would give 844 a run for its money...) or Hudson's (a crime not to preserve a Dreyfuss Hudson from the century...). The only reason 2 Mohawks (Mountain's) were saved is supposedly some employees hid them from management...
Seth Kimmel Omg that's a crime against us steam friends! D: XD
Hey guys its November 2017.. wheres the updates
Three questions:
1) Is there an estimated completion date? I remember hearing it as being 2017-2019, has it been delayed?
2) Why did you transport 4014 all the way from California when 4004 is less than a mile away?
3) What's the status of 3985?
I can answer #2 despite not working for UP. Apparently, they surveyed all the surviving Big Boys, and of them, 4014 was in the best mechanical condition and would thus require the least work to get her running. Even though this meant a much longer move to get her to the shop, this meant that she'd cost less overall to get functional and would presumably have the longest lifespan before something critical broke and they had to have her down for major repairs where they had to fabricate a new part.
To answer question #3, 3985 is on the back burner and will not be running again for a while. That's what I have been told by Ed Dickens at least. 3985's FRA boiler time ran out so it needs a complete rebuild before it runs again. As I've been told by Ed that won't happen until after 4014 is completed. Though given that they've gone straight into rebuilding 4014 now that 844 is back in steam, they might take some time off once 4014 is operational before they start on 3985.
3985 will run again. At the current time it's just a matter of priorities. The running gear is in pretty good shape she just needs a 1472.
#2. The UP Big Boy 4014 was selected for restoration because out of the other surviving big boy locomotives, 4014 was in a better condition than the others especially the boiler, It would cost the UP steam crew lots more money one the of the others besides 4014 because of the condition they were in, and #3. UP Challenger #3985 will run again, but not until the restoration of UP 4014 is complete, Plus the Challenger has a lot of things wrong with it , they did refurbished some of the parts but they did't refurbished everything, its also waiting for a new firebox. #1. The Locomotive UP Big Boy #4014 will run again on May 10, in 2019 next year for the Anniversary of the Golden Spike along with UP #844, and the UP Challenger #3985 will probably or maybe run again in 2021 or 2022.
I know this has already been answered but even the 4005 in Denver is in a locked museum where the only tracks are the ones it sits on. They have to demo the museum to pull that one out and besides 4005 as aforementioned was the only big boy in an accident as a matter of fact you can still find the bug hole that is left near the switch that the 4005 had it's accident on
Is there a sign up or email site that I can be notified of progress on the magnificent 4014?
will it be possible for 838 or the 4460 to be restored
did you guys use 844 more or less so that you don't need to tie up a switcher?
How about putting raw footage up for viewing? Just a minute or two of edited video every other month leaves one wanting.
If you went through a QZ would you blow the whistle? It says NO TRAIN HORN, so would you blow at the QZs with the steams?
Its October 2017 whats hsppen to the up dates
Can you guys do an October update?
Stay tuned!
I thought it was done by it wasn’t
If 844 can push a stalled train then she can push 4014
can you double head with u p 844
Where's the Mars light on the 844
That's been gone for almost a year. The bracket was rusty, and it wasn't original.
Dear Union Pacific...
this might be a hard request, but can you keep some of your SP and CNW locomotives in their old paint schemes instead of repainting them? Besides it costs more money to repaint them than to leave them be, and us railfans also love those engines too!
Thank you for your hard work, UP.
Yours truly, The Average Railfanner
Only two CNWs and SP 343 are left. Other patched locos will probably be repainted. :(
Union Pacific 2010 Fan
I know, im sad because of these fallen flags. if i could, i would make an organization to save fallen engines!
343 is gone. SP is officially dead.
Nick Stewart UNION PACIFIC I AM FILING A LAWSUIT IF YOU DON'T REPAINT SP 343 AND THOSE TWO CNWs BACK INTO ORIGINAL PAINT!!!!!!!!!!! THAT IS IT, IF YOU DON'T, I WILL WORK FOR BNSF INSTEAD.
Nick Stewart AND CNW
+Union Pacific, I don't understand why there are four dislike? Must be the haters.
Keep up the good work.
No just us BNSF fans.
JK lol ;)
how do we purchase tickets for UP steam excursions? also are there any plans in the future to bring UP's 844 and 4014 to the east coast?
Tickets are not being sold for No. 844's upcoming trip to Memphis, it's a private trip. There are no additional excursions planned at this time, but keep an eye on upsteam.com, facebook.com/unionpacific or twitter.com/up_steam for new announcements.
Is the Big boy the only steam engine that is referred to as a male?
Gоооod