Thread: Big Boy photos

They would have been an incredible engine in their time. Looks like two cylinders on each side. What sort of HP are we talking Brian. Any statistics?.

Originally Posted by Bearman

They would have been an incredible engine in their time. Looks like two cylinders on each side. What sort of HP are we talking Brian. Any statistics?.

All on Wikipedia. They weighed 600+ tons.

Originally Posted by Bearman

They would have been an incredible engine in their time. Looks like two cylinders on each side. What sort of HP are we talking Brian. Any statistics?.

Thanks Brian and very jealous that you have had a chance to see them in real life.

Hi Bearman and if you go to YouTube and do a search for Big Boy, you will see a heap of old “films” of the monsters.

Also do a search for UP 3985 or UP Challenger. This is the “SMALLER” sister to the Big Boy but is still the largest active steam engine in the world.

There are heap of present day VIDEOS of the Challenger.

They certainly are an impressive locomotive!!! Just comparing them to the 60 class Beyer Garrets that operated on NSW railways in the 1950's and 60's, the Big Boy weighs twice as much as a Garret (just under 600 tons v 265 tons) and could pull twice the load (rated 3600 tons v 1100 tons). These figures are rough. As I have mentioned before, (on other Threads) I have watched double header Garrets pull loads up the Fassifern Bank and I remember them as an impressive sight. The Big Boy would have been REALLY something.

Here are a few of the overexposed photos of 4023. This is the best I could do with them. 4023 is in the Lauritzen Gardens, part of Kennefick Park, high on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River and the I80 bridge towards Council Bluffs. I was told the movers had great difficulty getting it in there. It came by road on a low loader. The surrounding streets are an old part of the city and quite narrow.

These locos were built to pull heavy freight trains over the Wasatch grades between Cheyenne and Ogden. Prior to the Big Boys double heading was used on this section. Ogden was then a major rail centre with four main lines joining or crossing there and up to 200 trains per day entering and leaving Ogden yards. The expected speed in freight service was 60 mph. They were also capable of passenger service if required and a top speed of 80 mph was the requirement there.

One almost laughs when comparing this with many Qld. Railways country services in the steam days. Average speeds not much more than 20 mph on some runs.

I had a look at some of the u tube vids yesterday. They certainly were an impressive steam loco. 625 tons, 132 ft long, 300psi pressure and capable of 80 MPH. Even had an auger conveyor to load the coal into the firebox. They would have been an incredible loco in their time.

Here is the biggest diesel loco ever used by the UP. It is also in the park at Omaha. Two x V20 EMD's. Would sound lovely under full load on a grade.

Originally Posted by Ausfree

They certainly are an impressive locomotive!!! Just comparing them to the 60 class Beyer Garrets that operated on NSW railways in the 1950's and 60's, the Big Boy weighs twice as much as a Garret (just under 600 tons v 265 tons) and could pull twice the load (rated 3600 tons v 1100 tons). These figures are rough. As I have mentioned before, (on other Threads) I have watched double header Garrets pull loads up the Fassifern Bank and I remember them as an impressive sight. The Big Boy would have been REALLY something.

The advantage of the 60 class over engines such as this is that, OK, they had half the tractive effort, but they could run on any track in NSW. Compare for example the Victorian H class, the heaviest locomotive ever built in Australia (and lighter than the 60 class), which was only ever able to operate on the Wodonga line despite being built with the western line in mind - the necessary bridge upgrades never happened.

John