Huge Big Boy steam locomotive coming back to life

Yahoo News (AP) ^ | April 15, 2014 | DAN ELLIOTT (AP)

[Navy Patriot]

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — In its prime, a massive steam locomotive known as Big Boy No. 4014 was a moving eruption of smoke and vapor, a 6,300-horsepower brute dragging heavy freight trains over the mountains of Wyoming and Utah.

It's been silent for half a century, pushed aside by more efficient diesels, but now it's coming back to life. The Union Pacific Railroad is embarking on a yearslong restoration project that will put No. 4014 back to work pulling special excursion trains.

"It's sort of like going and finding the Titanic or something that's just very elusive, nothing that we ever thought would happen," said Jim Wrinn, editor of Trains, a magazine that covers the railroad industry.

"Something that's so large and powerful and magnificent, we didn't think any of them would ever come back," he said.

[Navy Patriot]

A pre war Northern in 1954, I had to use both hands to release the pawl AND move the throttle.

[Navy Patriot]

Here is Southern Railway consolidation 630 leading a triplehead on that grade last year. Note the Tennessee Valley water car, no water on the line anymore.

[Navy Patriot]

Swannanoah is now one of the Norfolk - Southern main lines, being part of Southern Railway before the 1982 merger with Norfolk and Western, and was renamed in 1990.

N&W was one of the premier heavy steam roads in America refining USRA 2-8-8-2 locomotives to their world famous Y6-B compound engines to move the coal that built much of America over similar grades.

[yarddog]

I finally found some of my pictures. This one was taken at Old Fort just as the train came out of the downgrade.

[yarddog]

I took this one at Ridgecrest then drove down to Old Fort and waited on it to photograph again.

[yarddog]

Another from Old Fort.

[yarddog]

One more.

[Navy Patriot]

Classic American beauty.

[Navy Patriot]

Here she is, and definitely in service in this undated photo.

She has steam supplied while standing in makeup.

[Sequoyah101]

That is the one. Or at least one like the one.

[wardaddy]

[Pelham]

One million pound 6,300 horsepower bump.

[Pelham]

That’s a similar locomotive, a Chesapeake and Ohio Allegheny 2-6-6-6

[dfwgator]