Trains – September 2019

AA combination of factors

made Big Boy No. 4014 the

candidate to be restored. Per-

haps the most important factor

was the dry climate of Southern

California, which preserved

4014’s boiler better than other

Big Boy locomotives. Most of

the Big Boy’s critical parts,

from the air-brake system to

injector nozzles, were largely

intact. Other Big Boys had

parts removed for other loco-

motives. Lastly, volunteers at

the RailGiants museum on the

Los Angeles County Fair-

grounds maintained No. 4014

to the best of their ability by

painting the locomotive and

even lubricating specific parts

— preserving those joints and

connections from damage. See

“Yes, They Could Handle It” in

the Big Boy Back in Steam

special issue available at

KalmbachHobbyStore.com.

— Trains staff

After the 150th Golden

Spike excursion, will there be

other chances to ride the Big

Boy 4014? — Daniel Milten-

berger, Jacksonville, Fla.

AUP’s steam program posts a

schedule for locomotive trips at

http://www.up.com/heritage/steam/

schedule/index.htm. Besides the

May 12 excursion behind No.

4014, the locomotive was sched-

uled to pull an excursion bene-

fiting the Union Pacific Muse-

um on July 15. A map of the

locomotive’s July and August

tour of the Midwest is presented

at the left, but with the excep-

tion of the July 15 run from

Omaha, Neb., to Boone, Iowa,

via the famous Kate Shelley

Bridge, the rest of the tour was

all display events and demon-

stration runs. The locomotive

will pull public excursions

Oct. 12 and 13 in Southern Cal-

ifornia to benefit the RailGiants

museum of Pomona, Calif.,

which traded the locomotive to

the railroad in 2014. UP has yet

to announce the route or timing

for that trip, which would

include a lengthy ferry move.

— Trains staff

Chances to ride behind Big Boy No. 4014, seen at the summit of the

Wasatch grade for which it was built, are infrequent thus far.

54 SEPTEMBER 2019

ASK TRAINS

Why was No. 4014 picked for restoration

over all other displayed Big Boys?— Tom Otoski, Dayton, Ohio

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N © 2019 Kalmbach Media Co.

TRAINS: Rick Johnson

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Newly rebuilt Union Pacific
4-8-8-4 Big Boy No. 4014 struts
near Peterson, Utah, on May 12,
2019, as it travels eastbound
through the Wasatch Mountains
near Ogden. Behind the tender is
4-8-4 No. 844. The two were on
an Ogden-Evanston, Wyo., one-
way excursion. Of the eight Big
Boys left, this one was deemed
to be in the best condition for an
operational restoration.
Two photos, TRAINS: Jim Wrinn

4014’S MIDWESTERN

TOUR ROUTE