Literally thousands of fans have lined up to catch a glimpse of the worlds largest superstar ... and it's not Godzilla. No the monster in question isn't a Hollywood terror but the newly restored Union Pacific 'Big Boy' locomotive 4014 which is now on a cross country tour to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad.
Related: Girl and Goliath Santa Fe 4-8-4 Steam Locomotive 3751 Limited Edition Print
History:
UP No. 4014 was part of the first group of 20 Big Boys, classified as 4884-1. In December 1941, ALCO delivered No. 4014 to Union Pacific, which placed it in revenue service. Designed to haul 3,600-ton trains over Utah's Wasatch Range, No. 4014 and the 24 other Big Boys routinely pulled trains of up to 4,200 tons. No. 4014's last routine repairs took place in 1956.
No. 4014 completed its final revenue run on July 21, 1959, just hours before the last revenue run by any Big Boy. It had traveled 1,031,205 miles (1,659,564 km) during its twenty years of revenue service. Union Pacific retired No. 4014 on December 7, 1961. All of the Big Boys were retired by 1962, their duties assumed by diesel locomotives and gas turbine-electric locomotives (GTELs). Union Pacific donated it to the Southern California chapter of the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society in Pomona, California, where it became one of the eight Big Boys preserved around the United States.
In late July 2016, UP officials announced that restoration work on No. 4014 had begun under Heritage Fleet Operations director Ed Dickens. No. 4014's driving wheels were sent to be repaired by the Strasburg Rail Road in Strasburg, Pennsylvania. To convert the coal-burning locomotive to run on No. 5 fuel oil, the firebox grates were replaced with a fire pan and an oil burner. In March 2018, it was reported that the process of putting the locomotive back together had begun; ten months later, the locomotive's restoration was nearly finished.
No. 4014 was successfully test fired on April 9, 2019, and on May 1 at around 9 p.m., it finally moved under its own power for the first time in over 59 years. The following day, the locomotive left Cheyenne on its first test run to Nunn, Colorado and return.
Upon the completion of the restoration, No. 4014 joined the railroad's No. 844 (FEF-3 4-8-4) and No. 3985 (Challenger 4-6-6-4) in excursion service. No. 4014 also became the world's largest operational steam locomotive, displacing No. 3985, which was the largest operational steam locomotive until it was taken out of service in 2010 due to mechanical problems.
No. 4014 made its first excursion run amid the celebrations marking 150 years since the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad. Following its May 4 christening at the Cheyenne Depot Museum, the locomotive — along with No. 844 — traveled to Ogden, Utah, making several brief stops in communities along the way. No. 4014 arrived at the city's Union Station on May 9, and departed on May 12. It derailed on May 16 while entering the yard at Rawlins, Wyoming; it took three hours to get the locomotive back on the rails. It then continued its journey the next day, and finally arrived back in Cheyenne on May 19.
Look for the 4014 to come to your area sometime this year. Keep track of it's progress at 2019 Union Pacific Steam Schedule.
No comments:
Post a Comment