Steam locomotive, Big Boy, restored, touring midwest

Too bad it's not coming East. Would love to see it. There's another one (not running) rusting away down at Steamtown in Scranton.

 

This thing rolled into Ogden, Utah, about 20 minutes north of me, back in May. I didn't dare brave the crowds to try and catch a glimpse but saw plenty of videos. It was nuts; not only were all the hotel rooms in and around Ogden sold out for the Golden Spike celebration, but when Big Boy came through the canyon into Ogden it looked as if nearly all traffic pulled off the freeway to catch a glimpse.

Train enthusiasts don't mess around.

 

Union Pacific seems to keep a good amount of heritage stuff on the rails. I wonder if their corporate bean counters disapprove.

 

I know it took something like three years to restore this particular locomotive. UP retrieved it from a museum in California six years ago to being restoration. It had been at the museum since the sixties.

Pretty cool that they were willing to put the money in to do the work. Judging by how it was received I'm surprised they don't hook up some passenger cars and charge a premium, I'm sure they'd sell out quickly.

Anyway, there's a pretty good write up on this train here: https://jalopnik.com/people-are-very-excited-about-this-big-boys-whistle-1834476351

 

Union Pacific's Heritage Fleet

No other railroad in this country has retained its historical equipment and honored its past like the Union Pacific. The preservation of its fleet speaks to the high value UP places on its heritage and its role in America's history. The fleet itself dates back to 1912, but most of the passenger cars are closer to a half-century old – built during the height of passenger train travel. Each car is unique and chronicles a different chapter of Union Pacific's past. For more than a century, they've transported iconic individuals – presidents and senators, generals and soldiers, artists and architects, singers and actors – people who influenced and transformed America.

 

Only 15 years in service originally. Technology sure took a leap.

I wonder if that thing is all that safe in the modern context of risk management holding sway. That's one big pressure vessel flying around the countryside right at the front. Might be why they didn't sell tickets to ride? They surely would have sold as many as they could tow behind.

Did the US not go in for streamlined steam like the Brits? Big Boy looks like it could have rolled out of a Western flick.

 

Actually, watch the video, they did sell 2 cars' worth of tickets for one leg of the trip - $3000 for a regular passenger car, $5000 for the dome car. (Proceeds to some charity.)

 

Thats one of the coolest damn things I've ever seen. As a historian, I'm fascinated by steam locomotives. I was just at The Henry Ford Museum about 10 days ago and i spent some time checking out their collection of steam locomotives. I also rode the steam train around Greenfield Village. I never get tired of steam trains.

 

I kind of wonder the same thing. But hey, it won't experience this particular problem.

 

How fortunate that UP was able to preserve some history. My great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather were both engineers on the New Haven Railroad (my great-grandfather was working during the transition away from steam into Manhattan). None of the New Haven steam locomotives were preserved, not even the beautiful I-5 Hudsons. Not for lack of trying--they tried to give some away for preservation, but there were no takers.

There is a Chinese-built replica of a New Haven steam loco in Essex, Connecticut. It's rather pricey--around $550 last I checked--for a special "hands on the throttle" class and the opportunity to operate it. You have no idea how much I'd love to do that; it would be a sort of connection back to my great-grandfather. (Meanwhile, I get my rail fix as a volunteer trolley operator at a local museum.)

 

I love Dreyfuss's work. I also love how similar the loco is to the Eversharp Skyline fountain pen, which he also designed.

 

Yep, you are correct regarding the D,M & IR Yellowstone. I believe one survived as a static display. They toiled away in the middle of nowhere and got little publicity.