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  • Union Pacific UP Big Boy 4014 Steam

  • Discussion about the Union Pacific operations past and present. Official site can be found here: UPRR.COM.
Discussion about the Union Pacific operations past and present. Official site can be found here: UPRR.COM.

Moderator: GOLDEN-ARM

 #1528734  by Backshophoss
 
A working steam loco will weigh more then a dry loco(no supplies on board)
AGAIN, UP 4014 Will never leave UP trackage,so forget about a doubleheader with NW 1214 now inactive!
 #1532079  by mcgrath618
 
Backshophoss wrote: Thu Dec 19, 2019 2:24 pm A working steam loco will weigh more then a dry loco(no supplies on board)
AGAIN, UP 4014 Will never leave UP trackage,so forget about a doubleheader with NW 1214 now inactive!
Hasn't it already left UP trackage and gone onto BNSF trackage? Or am I misremembering?
 #1532236  by eolesen
 
mcgrath618 wrote: Mon Jan 27, 2020 2:23 pm Hasn't it already left UP trackage and gone onto BNSF trackage? Or am I misremembering?
It left UP rails, but again, UP facilities had at both ends of where the locomotive was moving, and pre-existing liability insurance coverage on that line.

Going onto foreign rail absent pre-existing trackage rights appears to be a non-starter.
 #1533291  by ConstanceR46
 
the problem in this case involves a lot of politics, too. UP perfers their steam to run on their lines and nobody else's steam to run on their lines - that translates into not wanting the big boy to have to move on other railroad's tracks. in addition, to get to the east you'll have to negotiate with NS, always forgiving and supportive of preservation programs, and/or CSX
 #1540818  by D Alex
 
alzubal wrote: Fri Apr 24, 2020 6:06 pm The link will not work
It's a year old, and was probably only for the stops planned last year.
 #1576728  by D Alex
 
It seems like every video I see of 4014 since she was put back into steam has her surrounded by big, billowing clouds of it, even at speed. some videos look like there is so much steam coming off of her that forward visibility is essentially zero. I've seen enough working steam locomotives, and many pictures of locomotives working in the day to know that this is abnormal. Why is so much steam being lost to the atmosphere? Are the seals loose? Do they deliberately loosen valves to spew steam ALL THE TIME for any reason other than, hey, it's a STEAM locomotive? Are they trying to make up for the lack of coal smoke now that it's an oil-burner? Is the engineer just clueless on how to conserve their water? Do they just carry so much water that they just don't care? Do the 'suits' just want to see clouds of steam?
 #1576734  by eolesen
 
Why do you care what they do with their locomotive?......

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 #1576737  by photobug56
 
I can only imagine that this monster locomotive, 1.2 million pounds worth, needs to run a lot of steam to get and stay moving. A Big Boy is essentially 2 large locomotives in one with a shared boiler.
 #1577367  by D Alex
 
Yeah, it is a big locomotive. I was wondering if anybody here might have some inside info? I'm suspecting that they are bleeding-off a lot of steam to keep the pressure lower than it was originally designed to run at. It seems that every time they take it out, it's paired with a modern diesel which is well capable to handle the majority of the draw, and that 4014 is there mostly for show, maybe adding a bit of extra pull when needed. A few years ago, UP connected their one working Challenger to a container train solo and got some really good film from that, but so far I haven't seen 4014 pulling anything alone.
 #1577390  by photobug56
 
I'm guessing that in most ways 4014 is in better shape than when brand new. They do often have a diesel in the consist but I've not heard of it ever being needed to provide motive power. The Big Boys were designed to handle far heavier loads than it has to on tour. I think Ed Dickens would beg to differ from your analysis.
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