How a Steam Locomotive Works (Union Pacific "Big Boy") 

Ayo is that Hyce?!?

@@apersunthathasaridiculousl1890 it is! :D

No big boy 😜

:P@@evil_me

carl is gonna be pissed

sir, please put this on paper an more detailed.

Excellent video. Since the conversion to oil, perhaps an added animation of those changes could be added.

A beautiful story and thank you for sharing it

Great story!

I am blown away by the quality of this production! I wonder how you did it...I guess a computer was involved. Do you start with a whole lot of photos and factory drawings? I have a small aeroplane (Barber Snark) that is only one of 5 built in NZ. The designer-builder said his computer holding the drawings crashed ... I wonder if I could recreate the Snarks drawings, similar to yours?.... Allan (in Australia).

I couldn't imagine! I would be completely overjoyed.

Well... There definitely were more than just one 😉

Otto Jabelmann, was the chief designer, an employee of the Union Pacific.

All without the aid of a computer, CAD-CAM or electronic calculator.

God level thinking 💯

You tube should be all DEI and 1984!

These channels offer consumable content by masses. That doesn't mean is a reliable source.😂😂😂

In University we had a Engineering Prof whom spoke very direct, cold sense of humor a no nonsense type of guy, we all respected him. On our last day, we, 200 + students gathered in the auditorium for one final class one final lesson with him. Telling us, “ so you think you know it all? I’ve only taught you the basics, now get out there and learn, learn, learn, learn and the day you stop learning…I want you to kill yourselves! “ Not a one of us didn’t know what he meant, he had such a love of Engineering he always had a new book on his desk he’d picked up somewhere in his daily or weekend travels…. This author reminds me in a way of my Professor, determined to learn and have others learn.

Absolutely True

Everyday is a schoolday!

The other thing is that they will probably still work! Not as contemporary cars.

​@@tomaszbrzeczyszczykiewicz4082 One Big Boy was actually restored to working order.

Considering these machines were designed on a drawing board, without computers, we cannot but admire the engineers who made them.

Amazing how powerful one steam locomotive aka Big Boy is and was. I can watch and watch these episodes letting little by little sink in. So fascinating. ❤ I love it.

I ❤ 🚂🚃🚄🚅🚈🚞🚝 I have a folder on ''transportation'' thank you chou chou chouuuu :)) --------------------------------------- Btw, here's something you may find interesting. :) The name of my country has nothing to do with the interesting and delicious bird ''turkey'', well let me explain. :) Name of my country has always been Turkiye, that is Turk-iye, where the -iye suffix means ''land of/belonging to''... ...just like the Latin suffix -ia in such countries as Latv-ia, Roman-ia, Eston-ia, Austr-ia, Austral-ia etc etc. Another example; decades ago Czechoslovakia Republic changed it's name to Czech Republic and a few years ago changed that to Czechia (that is Czech-ia). Anyways, most likely the Latin -ia suffix was derived from the Turkish version -iye, as Turkish is much much older. Because in old times people of different languages could only pronounce it as their languages allowed them, we got various differences in spelling like Turchia (in Italian), Turquie (in French) and Turkey (in English) all trying to resemble the pronounciation of ''Turk-ia'' thus Turkiye. Mind you this was way BEFORE the animal we currently know as 'turkey'' was found by the europeans when they explored the north americas.... ...they came across the bird and thought it was a specie of the fowl/chicken they had been buying from the country of Turkiye at the time, so they named the bird ''Turkey Fowl'' meaning ''Turkish Chicken''..... ....just like how a dog breed is known as German Shepherd (because it's from Germany), Rhodesian Ridgeback (because it's from Rhodesia), American Bulldog, British Terrier, Greek Harehound etc etc. In time you don't get to call the Greek Harehound as simply as ''Greek''; or you don't call the British Terrier as ''British''; or the German Shepherd as ''German'', but in time the Turkish Fowl started to be called just ''turkey'', and has been going on for hundreds of years. Now in 2023, this is causing confusion, especially when we have people across the world unable to point to their OWN country on the atlas, this ''confusion over the naming'' needed to be corrected. So my country decided to rectify this confusion that has been going on for so long and corrected the name in other languages to Türkiye, which it always was, we basically didn't change the name of our country, we changed the mistake made in the English language. : ) So, there's some tid bit information for you to have a great day, if you read upto this point you have a great night too, ohh just have a wonderfull life. : ) Best wishes. ;)

I was thinking that as well. I just went to the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay again and this would be great to have by their Big Boy 4017.

These videos should be shown in mechanical engineering classes! This is top-notch stuff.

This should be shown at Museums today that way we can understand how steams run. My dad as a kid grew up on a farm and he said he could see the trains going by the farm. I asked my dad how many cars did you count. He said at least over 100 or more. My dad got me hooked on trains at a young age. I have a Ho scale train set and would love to own a Big Boy in the Ho scale.

Surely this can be monetized and sold for such incredibly detailed work on 3D animation software and intricately researched mechanical engineering principles 🚂🚂 Incredible!! 😮

crazy how all this is done without computers. titanics steam engines are a marvel

In Ireland they were called locomotive drivers and many of the Irish drivers during a rail strike in the late 1990’s to early 2000’s took offence at being referred to as train drivers as opposed to locomotive drivers which most drivers on the network were at that time.

I imagine that the locomotive engineers were required to understand much of the physics and physical principles involved with operating and controlling such large machines.

@@SBCBears unlikely more likely how to operate them

@SBCBears - these guys were akin to modern airline pilots of their day. They likely weren't familiar with, say, fluid dynamics calculations, but they were certainly conversant in principles of engineering and physics. Not just the steam cycle, but air brakes and the arcane characteristics of train braking. On top of that, to be qualified to drive a route, they needed to know every bridge and crossing and its mile marker. Then there's the handling of the consist (the makeup of the train.) Imagine driving a 3-mile consist down a 1-mile downhill grade: gravity on the downhill will make the train pick up speed, right? Well, no. It depends on the track grade before the downhill and how the consist is made up. Say it's an uphill grade prior and an evenly loaded consist, the uphill gradient will dominate train dynamics until the locomotive's a half mile past the *_end_* of the grade. Until that point, the back half of the train has not reached the downhill grade; it's still going uphill. Maybe few would be dismissive of the steam engineers, but I think few people really appreciate all the expertise that went into the job.

My dad was a fluid dynamics/heat transfer engineer but always taught me that the original engineers more than deserved the title because "When everything is powered by essentially a finely controlled pipe bomb, you want to make sure the guy who's in charge of said bomb knows exactly what he's doing".

What has “fluid dynamics” got to do with this?

@@Lividbuffalo it's the fact that some substances can behave as if they were liquid, in the case of locomotives the steam they use behaves like a liquid thanks to the conditions it is submitted to

@lividbuffalo at 8:41 he's describing the steam injectors and how the shape of the nozzles affects the pressure vs volume, and that's all fluid dynamics and bernoullis principle

@@Lividbuffalo Water!

@@Leshotene Steam does not behave like liquid, both gas and liquids are fluids.

Magnificent still!!!!

What is the app that he used for the design

at the end of the video it is indicated: Blender 3D

It's totally insane when you sit back and look at how dangerous and amazing these machines are.

This particular machine was designed at the end of the steam engine era, so it makes sense that it would be the most intricate. It basically contains all the advances and small improvements made since the very first steam engine. It's fantastic.

@@TheNefastor There are still some improvements that could be made to the design shown. Instead of wrapping the boiler around the firebox a firebox insulated with firebricks would keep the smoke hot until it is fully combusted reducing cinders embers and particles in the smoke and fuel consumption at the same time. The heat can all be harvested at the flu pipes where their is plenty of surface area. Uniflow pistons where the steam inlet and outlet are separate keep the steam hot better as it enters the piston. Compound locomotives with triple expansion cylinders were also made.

@@MrMonkeybat perhaps, but you get my point.

@@TheNefastor Yes there is obviously a lot of clever features which were not there in 19th century engines.

Being negitve and hating rad tech is hip and cool these days, you know R & D has met its goals when all cool people have a little cry about it. Boo hoo it works.

Who's negativity?

Progress is good and the working conditions on the Big Boy or any steam engine were horrible. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be amazed by its engineering

I prefer steam over diesel

No one hates steam. :-) Some people do hate some of the fuels used to heat the steam, sometimes for very good reasons. Understanding the difference between fuel and steam can sometimes be difficult for some.

When I was in 6th grade my father took me and my brother to the museum of transportation in St Louis Missouri where they have a big boy on display I remember sitting in the engineer's seat I was very camera shy but my mother took several photos of me in the cab that I have still to this day im 43 my bro was 4 years younger he just passed from cancer and my dad's been gone about 10 years now I'm so glad for the memories he said one day I would appreciate that he took us there this was in the 90s Im pretty Shure none of the remaining big boys at the time we're functional

Where abouts in New England? I worked at a corrugated company that had an older navy gentleman come in and train us for our 2nd fireman’s license

I second that.

Now imagine how much effort it took to engineer and build the actual locomotive.

This guy not just also narrates it, but makes the music? Incredible

1:03 *capable of pulling 5 MILE LONG trains. You're under selling how much a Big Boy could haul 😉

Nice run-on sentence. Why did you bother putting a period at the end, when you didn't bother to put any throughout?

​@@menow.Who hurt you?

@@thecallankids4718 An English teacher with leather garters and a riding crop, if you must know.

@@menow. Leather garters and a riding crop? 🤔 Kinda sounds like a good time. 🤣

Cool story bro

I agree, especially since Big Boy has so many additional complications not found on earlier/smaller steam locomotives. Very well explained.

But it is CAD.

@@alanardanowski5904 the original design wasn't though was it, when the men that thought these machines up, standardised parts didn't exist, they even had to design and build the tools to make the machine, an unfathomable task, screws nuts and bolts were all one offs, crafted by men using fire and sweat to bring into existence something that had never been done before and the industrial age begins

Just to add: Made in wartime, so everything would have been harder to source like raw materials, machinist, and engineering staff.

@@fex77k when you think about the origins of the steam engine in England, 1698. No electricity, no machines, no power tools, not even a reliable accurate measuring device. The USA didn't even exist. You just can't fathom the task.

Cringe

@@Whiteyy191 Ass take.

I suggest the unrelated channel saVree he does similar CGI videos showing things ljke this

People like you are the reason this art can stay alive. Butterfly wings can cause a hurricane.

​@@RobertCraft-re5sf To Jake O'Neil, this guy has no idea what he's talking about. I started watching a "SaVree" video... saying that "its not on your level" would suggest that SaVree is even in the same universe as Animagraphs - and saying that would be offensive. Dude, SaVree?! Are you kidding? "He makes similar videos" - whut?! He may try to cover similar subjects, but to call his work "similar" to animagraphs, is simply delusional.

CERTAINLY!... Then, we will see just how "simple" a Diesel-Electric engine will appear by comparison to those large Steam Locomotives!

Well, remember that by the time this machine was designed, "they" had been making steam locomotives for 100 years or more.

Have you seen the UP 4014 they restored? Very amazing to see on RU-vid.

@@electron2601 yeh! Especially that clip of her acting as a rear end helper to brute force a stalled freighter over a peice of railroad

Check out the UP4014 - resurrected and it comes out to play!

Tbh, though obsolete in many respects I think there is still a niche place for them. There is no diesel locomotive in the world that can do what it does, and so really when you need something big moved, provided you have the infrastructure for it, it can be the best option. Of course many diesel locomotives could do the same thing if needed in most cases, but there probably still are a handful of cases where the old girl is really the only thing up to the task.

@@__-fm5qv The main reason they're obsolete is they're much more costly to operate. It's probably much cheaper to throw a second, third, or fourth engine onto the train instead of using a steam locomotive.

Pretty cool to have a better understanding how the trains fully operate. N scaler also.

During the 150th Anniverary of the completion of the Continental railroad, Big Boy made several stops through out Nebraska. Saw it at Omaha and then the next day when it came through to Fremont. Hearing that old whistle is something amazing. The old girl has character that diesel electric just do not have.

That is something I day dream about. I consider you very fortunate like the rest who have ever seen any 4-8-8-4’s in person.

@@Ratkill9000 be

Hey @animagraffs... I know some people who know some things here. ;)

Id love that too. Jared Owen has his own vids on the Titanic. Check him out. He isnt as fully detailed as Animigraphs are but hes hella good still too.

Similar principles. Just much larger in scale

@@Falkirion ​ One thing I've never found the answer to: did ship boilers use sea water or did they carry fresh water, just like steam locomotives?

@@anthonyalles1833 They carried fresh. Salt water boils at a higher temp and would cause issues dealing with the salt when boiled.

They really are like a beautifully animated version of the "How things work" kind of books curious kids tended to have.

@@mrflamewarsI remember those.. they were/are great books.

Hell yeah

Next up from Animagraffs: How the World Works

@@doit2win And after that "how American government works”… can’t wait for that one.

Jake and I chatted for quite a while back and forth about valve gear. It's one of the most challenging things to get spot-on, geometry wise, in any model. One of the lengths must've been a smidge goofy, preventing that lever from being the right length always - it's a little detail but the rest of valve gear was so brilliantly explained :)

Agreed! 👍@@Hyce777

You found the proverbial dust pile under the rug! lol, yeah it's not supposed to be spongy. It's metal. I noticed it at render and had to leave it to get the project out the door at that point. Fixing it would have proved intense ... I wish I could show y'all my insane rig for the valve gear (maybe I will at some point!). The final result is easily understandable visually, but the rig in Blender turned out to be a tangled mess despite all my efforts to make it easy to use and pain-free. There's just so much sneaky movement piled into each part that it's hard for 3D software to calculate it all, so many movements must be 'faked'. Once you've faked something, if you need to adjust or add complexity, it gets even messier. SIGH.

@@animagraffs I'm nor really surprised that trying to fix that length would lead to other problems! But that's not a "dust pile", let's say a tiny crumb! The way you dealt with this Big Boy is amazing!..and you went through it all! Hats off to you! The result is just spectacular!😍

Nice Train

aw, solidarity brother. Relax and learn about trains with us :D

Praise the Lord!

huzzah!

It blows my mind that people built this before calculations could be done electronically. I want to be able to do this one day,

@@Meyer-gp7nq Then go study mechanical engineering. You can have a taste of all of this at a university. 😉

Wholeheartedly agree