Back in August of 2021 the world's largest operating steam locomotive, 4-8-8-4 Big Boy #4014, toured through the South and Midwest stopping at several cities and towns along the way. On the 23rd the famous locomotive ventured into central Louisiana and I fought off Covid symptoms to capture photos of it as it made a brief stop in Bunkie. Despite the grueling heat there was a large crowd of onlookers as the enormous locomotive slowly rumbled into town just after eleven in the morning. Its stay may have been just a brief stopover for maintenance, but I provided the enthusiastic onlookers a great view of this operating piece of American history.
Union Pacific's Big Boys: The complete story from history to restoration - $36.62 @ Amazon.comAs I mentioned I was just recovering from Covid at the time so my stamina in the blazing heat was extremely diminished. Regardless I had a passion to capture images of the locomotive that I used to sit in the cab of, before the Union Pacific restored it to working condition, when it was on display in Pomona, California.
On that day my ability to take photos was extremely limited and I felt blessed to have gotten any images at all. That being said, I was still somewhat disappointed with the photos.
Yesterday I was going through some of my files when I came across the folder with my photos from that day. I decided to give them a long look and I ultimately decided to rework several of them to see if I could edit them in ways that would bring out their strengths.
After a fair bit of work I have to admit that I am now in love with these images and I wanted to share them again in their new glory.
Twenty-five Big Boys were built exclusively for Union Pacific Railroad, the first of which was delivered in 1941. The locomotives were 132 feet long and weighed 1.2 million pounds. Because of their great length, the frames of the Big Boys were "hinged," or articulated, to allow them to negotiate curves. They had a 4-8-8-4 wheel arrangement, which meant they had four wheels on the leading set of "pilot" wheels which guided the engine, eight drivers, another set of eight drivers, and four wheels following which supported the rear of the locomotive. The massive engines normally operated between Ogden, Utah, and Cheyenne, Wyo.
There are seven Big Boys on public display in various cities around the country. They can be found in St. Louis, Missouri; Dallas, Texas; Omaha, Nebraska; Denver, Colorado; Scranton, Pennsylvania; Green Bay, Wisconsin; and Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Big Boy No. 4014 was delivered to Union Pacific in December 1941. The locomotive was retired in December 1961, having traveled 1,031,205 miles in its 20 years in service. Union Pacific reacquired No. 4014 from the RailGiants Museum in Pomona, California, in 2013, and relocated it back to Cheyenne to begin a multi-year restoration process. It returned to service in May 2019 to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad's Completion.
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