# BIG BOY COLLECTION



## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

HAD NOT SEEN THIS BEFORE. THOUGHT IT WOULD BE OF INTEREST


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Looks to be of good quality.


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## scooby (Dec 22, 2008)

man i was borne 70 years to late


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## Grant Kerr (Jan 2, 2008)

I have this and it is extremely informative. Each big boy is shown in number sequence and footage of each in action as well.


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## Dave -- Use Coal (Feb 19, 2008)

Art,
These engines look almost as good as the ones owned by Steve and Caleb.


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

ALMOST HAH


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

REMINDER OF STEVE'S AND CALEB'S BB'S


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## Rod Hayward (Jan 2, 2008)

Appearently there are going to be a lot of Big Boys hanging out at the YMCA tomorrow, at least up to mid day


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## Trains (Jan 2, 2008)

Looks like those shots are off the Pentax's DVD Big boy's. Very good DVD covers all the Big Boy's from 4000 to 4024.


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## Steve S. (Jan 2, 2008)

It is great that someone had the foresight to get these monsters on film shortly before they would never roam the rails again. Yes, it's a awesome DVD.







If you are a Big Boy fan it is a must have.


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## AsterUK (Jan 2, 2008)

There was a rumor a few years ago that Hollywood was going to shoot a movie called 'Big Boy' which would feature a restored locomotive. Did I just dream that or was there such a plan and if so what happened to it? 
Andrew


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## Engineercub (Oct 18, 2008)

I've heard about that and also heard that the plan was scrapped because of the cost involved Andrew. It's unfortunate as we'll never get to see a BigBoy run anymore. 

-Will


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

An awfull lot of folk thought that movie was a scam. Even though a museum in Texas went along with it for a while and allowed some publicity photos to be taken, they never entered negotiations to allow their engine to be touched by anyone. Many thought that the promoter's claimed choice of engine to restore was a dead giveaway as to the real intent of the promoter. The supposedly selected engine was one of the worst preserved of all the Big Boys that still exist and would require some repair work that is deemed, by those that know such things, as being nearly impossible to accomplish... i.e.: nobody has THAT much money! As I remember the movie story line, it would probably be a poor movie, too, and not make much at the box office.


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## AsterUK (Jan 2, 2008)

Thank you Bill and SV for confirming that I didn't just dream it. Its good to know I'm not going mad after all!

What a thrill it would be to see one of these mighty monsters on the tracks again. But sadly not in our lifetime. 

Well this quality DVD may make up for that disappointment. I shall order a copy tomorrow!

Andrew


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## Steve S. (Jan 2, 2008)

In 1998 it was announced that Big Boy #4018 on static display at the then called "Age of steam Railroad Museum" located in Dallas Texas would be restored to running order for a movie to be called "_Big Boy _". Here is the original link that is still on line. http://www.bigboy4018.com/news/ You can imagine how excited train enthusiasts were. It was said at the time that it would cost between $700,000 to a million bucks to get the job done. It was to no one's surprise that funding fell through and the whole project came to a screeching halt. I went to the Dallas museum this past summer to look at #4018 and while she may never run again, the Grand Old Lady had been cosmetically repaired and painted back to her original scheme in 2007. It is an incredible feeling to stand next to one of these true Monsters of steam.


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

STEVE,
I ORDERED THE 'BIG BOY COLLECTION' THAT I WILL SHARE WITH YOU AND THE GUY'S. LOOKS LIKE I WILL BE FREE TO RUN STEAM THE NEXT TIME YOU RUN.
IM HOPING DR RELEASES ME TOMMOROW.


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## AsterUK (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Steve S for the website link, all my questions are now answered.

When Governments are bailing out the Banks Worldwide for $1,000,000,000,000 (that's a Trillion US Dollars!) then it s sad that for the sake of a Million Dollars a Big Boy can't be steamed again! Think of the joy it would bring and the increased tourist revue for visiting to see the monster in steam again.

Come to think of it, send it to the UK and well fix it up a treat. But you might not get it back again! 
Andrew


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## Steve S. (Jan 2, 2008)

Hello Andrew. You folks in the U.K. seem to appreciate the "Steam Rail Road Herritage" far more then most in the U.S. do. I too wish that one of the eight Big Boys remaining where in the U.K. because I believe that you all would take a lot better care of it. You might even find the means to get one running again. If not, you would at least keep it painted and under cover out of the elements. I am sad to say that on this side of the pond, most (not all) could care less and would just as soon see these priceless pieces of history go under the torch and hauled off as scrap. They are way too busy keeping up with their I phones, I pods, Blackberries, sports cars that they can't afford and the good old " Keep up with the Jones mentality". I hope that some day soon you can stand next to one of these incredible machines in person......................there is nothing quite like it.


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

ARE THE VIDEOS STILL SHOWING UP ON THIS THREAD, IM GETTING NOTHING BUT BLAXK SCREEN ,SOMETHIN GONE WRONG


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## weaverc (Jan 2, 2008)

works for me[/b]


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

THANKS CARL, SOMETHIN I DONT GET,. FOUND THE PROBLEM. I HAD THE WRONG ADOBE FLASH PLAYER.


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## AsterUK (Jan 2, 2008)

Hello Steve S. Yes we are good at preservation in the UK and not just railways! We preserve anything and everything because as a nation we live in the past. We admire the US because you guys live for today and tomorrow and we are sad that you don't always value your rich heritage as we feel you should.








Leaving these beautiful locomotives like the Big Boy in the open air with no prospect of a reprieve to a life in steam again seems like a total waste and disrespectful to an earlier generation who built and operated these monsters and valued them for what they represented and achieved.

Just my 2 cents. Andrew


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

I think it was in an interview on one of the Pentrex 'Big Boy' videos that Steve Lee, V.P. of Steam Operations at U.P., stated that they would like to run a Big Boy again, but the infrastructure no longer exists to be able to handle an engine of that size. There are only a couple of turn tables (still extant at that time) big enough to hold it and they are only a few miles apart, meaning the engine could never travel very far. There are also many places where the track has been realigned such that the clearances are too narrow and track curvature are too sharp for a Big Boy to operate.

Even the Challenger (3985) that they run is too big for some places it has been taken... Mr. Lee stated that they "remodeled" a hopper car parked on a curve when the Challenger passed by... The Challenger didn't fare too well in the encounter either and required repairs to the Fireman's side running boards at the front and piping from the front mounted compressors before it could continue.

Big Boys are marvelous engines, fantastic to see even just sitting cold and dead, and a stunning wonder to behold in operation, but way too expensive to operate and maintain, both from the standpoint of just the physical engine itself, but also in the infrastructure of the railroad to support its operation.

Even the English preserved locos would be cold static displays or lost if it was not ecconomically viable to keep the tracks and RR in service (for reasons other than just simple preservation) where they presently run.


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## AsterUK (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi SV.

I don't know how exactly things work in the USA but I find it hard to believe that the most powerful nation on earth cannot handle a heavy engineering project like restoring a Big Boy. I would also ask if a BB was built to a larger Loading Gauge than any other US based railroad locomotive? 

It is often the experience over here that some ‘tin pot’ executive who gets given a title like ‘head of steam operations’ with a mandate of whatever else you do we don’t want any steam operations screwing up our traffic schedules, so go out and kill it. They then come up with all the stuff about can’t be done, can’t find the manpower, can’t find the drawings, can’t get the coal until everyone says forget it. What has to happen is that folks have to get together and take on these people and show some ‘can do’ attitude.

Over here a bunch of guys got together and built a brand new express passenger locomotive from scratch. Lots of people in authority said it can’t be done because the infrastructure no longer exists to build a steam loco in Britain. Well the loco got built and its called ‘Tornado’ and the whole nation (not just the train nuts) got a thrill from the achievement. Andrew


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## Charles (Jan 2, 2008)

Andrew
Even if there was funding we still have the problems of: track rights, insurance, qualified/experience staff and monies for operational costs. An example is the recent closure was the Grand Canyon with all that it had going for the operations there was no desire by the National Park to keep steam as prime motive power. In the most recent history there has been huge loses to steam operations: N & W, C&O 614, are just a few of the long list.


The limitations had even put the National Steamtown restorations into "bone yard" status.

Keep a stiff upper lip that steam will continue for the younger generation....


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By AsterUK on 04/05/2009 4:24 PM
Hi SV.

I don't know how exactly things work in the USA but I find it hard to believe that the most powerful nation on earth cannot handle a heavy engineering project like restoring a Big Boy. I would also ask if a BB was built to a larger Loading Gauge than any other US based railroad locomotive? 

It is often the experience over here that some ‘tin pot’ executive who gets given a title like ‘head of steam operations’ with a mandate of whatever else you do we don’t want any steam operations screwing up our traffic schedules, so go out and kill it. They then come up with all the stuff about can’t be done, can’t find the manpower, can’t find the drawings, can’t get the coal until everyone says forget it. What has to happen is that folks have to get together and take on these people and show some ‘can do’ attitude.

Over here a bunch of guys got together and built a brand new express passenger locomotive from scratch. Lots of people in authority said it can’t be done because the infrastructure no longer exists to build a steam loco in Britain. Well the loco got built and its called ‘Tornado’ and the whole nation (not just the train nuts) got a thrill from the achievement. Andrew 






!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Steve Lee is no "TIN POT" executive given the title of "Head of Steam Operations"! He is a Steam Man through and through. U.P. is the only Class 1 RR to still be running their own Steam Locomotives... 844 (Northern/4-8-4) is the only Steam Locomotive that was NEVER retired and 3985 (Challenger/4-6-6-4) was rebuilt by volunteer U.P. employees using U.P. corporate facilities and equipment. Both those engines, plus the Centennial and E-8 Diesels are maintained by U.P. on their nickel and the Steam Operation is a money maker for U.P. as well as a public relations arm of the company.

YES! They don't want anybody "playing trains" to screw-up their primary purpose for existing... that of hauling freight... but U.P. is not one of those companies that is anti-anything that doesn't fit some narrow minded concept of business ecconomics.

"Big Boy" is a HUGE locomotive and requires a larger loading gauge (no, not track gauge) than nearly any other locomotive. It normally ran only on a short section of track up and down Sherman Hill. There is no infrastructure left to maintain them. Sure, somebody could build a new one from the ground up, sure someone could build a whole railroad based strictly on the idea that it would provide a place for the Big Boy to run, but there is no ecconomic viability to do so. 

"Tornado" has a place to run and there is an ecconomic base to have created it and to keep it running, but only because there was a RR still extant to be able to run it. If the tracks it runs on were to lose all traffic that pays for its upkeep, the tracks would be sold for scrap and Tornado, fine, excellant, jubillant, glorious Steam Locomotive that it is, would need rubber tires to go anywhere at all.


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## GG (Jan 1, 2009)

I think that where there is a will then surely there must be a way. 

Semper, you reflect on economics, the Big Boy project, if one does mount, would be different. This would take public and private money to create a run and would not be for profit I say. 

Quite the challenge. 


gg


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## Steve S. (Jan 2, 2008)

Being realistic about it, I realize that (like I posted earlier) their are just not enough people that give a hoot about Steam Engines or trains in general here in the U.S. I would be happy if their was just enough interest to keep the ones that are on static display maintained as to not allow them to rust and corrode away from the elements. I think that one is kept indoors, but not sure about that. I realize that it is like believing in the "_Tooth Fairy_ " to think that one will ever run again but it is sad that there is not even enough interest to keep them all at least looking great on static display. But we can spend millions building art museums that display some of the kookiest looking stuff just because the right influential person calls it "Art". Go figure.


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## AsterUK (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi SV

Just wanted to say thanks for the insight in your last message. I am glad to hear that the UP is steam friendly.

Things are done different in the UK and USA, not better or worse but just different. Tornado was built with private money and runs on a publicly funded network. The reason this happens is that folks still like steam trains and so they can be run at weekends when traffic is lighter. Safety checks are very stringent but locos are maintained to a high standard or they get banned from the public netwok.

Tornado has been designed to run up to 90mph to avoid too many conflicts with passenger services which run on some of the same routes at up to 125mph. As I said at the start, things are done different here.

Andrew


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## Chucks_Trains (Jan 2, 2008)

Big Boy was originally designed to conquer the Wasatch mountains from Ogden, Utah to Green River, Wyoming and were later operated over Sherman near Laramie into Cheyenne. Infact Big Boy's were cleared to operate the whole road from Los Angeles, Ca. to Omaha, Neb. but were never called upon.

Here's something of interest...
http://forneymuseum.org/News_BigBoyWreck.html


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## AsterUK (Jan 2, 2008)

Many thanks Chuck for the link. Makes interesting but sad reading since lives were lost.

Andrew


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