Product Description
Thunder at Castle Rock
Union Pacific 4014 Big Boy
The ground trembled as it rolled by. Was it the immense power and weight of this behemoth, or the Earth shaking in fear from that very fact? The Big Boy- the largest steam engine ever built for daily service- was the steel stallion of the Union Pacific’s line. Weighing in at 1.2 million pounds and delivering 7000 horsepower to the 16, 68” drive wheels- the Big Boys were designed to tackle the Wasatch Mountains’ steep grade of 1.14% between Green River, Wyoming and Ogden, Utah.
The first Big Boy rolled off the American Locomotive Company’s (ALCO) assembly line in 1941. 25 were built with production ending in 1944. Eight survive, but only one operational exists- the 4014. That locomotive was restored by UP between 2014 and 2019. Unless it is on tour in the summer months, the 4014 can be seen at the Union Pacific’s Steam Shop in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
An articulated steam engine with a 4-8-8-4 configuration, it was designed to haul 7,200, 000 pounds but often pulled up to 8,400,000 pounds (4,200 tons). Overall length of the locomotive and tender was just shy of 133 feet. Its height was 16 feet, width 11 feet- a formidable leviathan compared to most locomotives of the day. At full throttle, it would consume 11 tons of coal and 12,000 gallons of water an hour. Put that in your boiler and smoke it.
