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UP Locomotive 4004, Big Boy (HFF and HBM)

This is a static display of a Big Boy steam locomotive, the largest ever built.

You can view our videos of a relative of this engine passing by at:

swansongrp.com/4014

and

www.ipernity.com/doc/2543754/49660724//in/album/1261348

The park is located in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Note the well-placed bench for enjoying the view of this remarkable machine.

There are others in static display throughout the U. S. Of course, I also have photos of the 4014, which was restored and has been running through the U. S. starting in 2019.

Thank you for all of your kind comments. Yes, this was the largest, with a combined weight (tender and engine) of over 1,000,000 pounds. It did indeed create the tractive force of two locomotives, and was created partly to prevent the need for a "double header", where two locomotives were tied together to provide more pulling power. One crew could operate this "double sized" engine. These engines were built during WW II in order to haul heavy freight over the Rocky Mountains (primarily Cheyenne, Wyoming to Ogden, Utah) at a uniform speed of 45 miles per hour. That is, they maintained that speed up steep mountains and down steep canyons. Other compound locomotives were built at that time, almost as massive as the "Big Boys". In addition, very powerful non-compound road engines were built at the same time, such as UP 844 (which see). Those engines were designed to haul pretty much anything, and could achieve speeds of 90 miles per hour.

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20 comments

Fred Fouarge said:

Interessant zitje om de locomotief te bekijken Hbm Robert
3 years ago ( translate )

Jaap van 't Veen said:

Impressive !!
HBM and stay well.
3 years ago

Nouchetdu38 said:

EXCELLENT SHOT Robert!!!!!**********************
3 years ago ( translate )

Pat Del said:

What an engine !
3 years ago ( translate )

Berny said:

Big, bigger, biggest!
HFF and a happy weekend!
3 years ago ( translate )

Annemarie said:

most beautiful
Happy coming weekend:)
3 years ago

Herb Riddle said:

Thats a big-un Robert. Yes an iconic engine here and nice to see it here in Ipernity. Well done.

HFF, enjoy the weekend. Herb
3 years ago ( translate )

Erika+Manfred said:

HFF, have a fine weekend and stay well
3 years ago ( translate )

Stephan Fey said:

A steamy HFF, Robert!
3 years ago

Ecobird said:

That looks massive Robert. Beautifully captured
HFF and a good weekend to you
3 years ago

Robert Swanson replied to Ecobird:

See my notes. Tender and engine were 1,000,000 pounds. It is an awesome experience to have the 4014 run past where you are standing.
3 years ago

David G Johnson said:

An amazing machine - almost like two loco's in one - it must have fantastic pulling power -
Have a fine weekend Robert''' (HFF) and keep well... // Dj.
3 years ago

Robert Swanson replied to David G Johnson:

See my notes. Yes it was a compound, so that one crew could operate the equivalent of a "double header".
3 years ago

trester88 said:

Beeindruckend!
3 years ago ( translate )

GrahamH replied to Robert Swanson:

You seem to confuse compound and articulated. It is not a compound. It is a Mallet style articulated. A compound loco uses steam first in one set of cylinders then a different set of cylinders before the steam is released to the atmosphere and this is part of the original Mallet design. Big Boy locos use fresh steam from the boiler to each set of cylinders.

From: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Pacific_Big_Boy

The Big Boys were articulated, like the Mallet locomotive design, though lacking the compounding of the Mallet.[10] They were built with a wide margin of reliability and safety, and normally operated well below 60 miles per hour (100 km/h) in freight service. Peak drawbar horsepower was reached at about 41 mph (66 km/h).[11] The maximum drawbar pull measured during 1943 tests was 138,200 lbf (615,000 N) while starting a train.[11]
3 years ago