Rebuilding the UP 4014 Big Boy 2020 HD 

I am 68 yrs old , I was raised in Schenectady , N.Y. , where the big boys were built . A close friend of mine , his dad worked at the ALCO when these were being built . One story he relayed to me from his dad is , when they had to lift the boiler to place it on the frame , they would sent someone up into the power house that powered the crane , he would have to take a 2 X 4 and hold the safety switch in so they cold lift it high enough .

The successful refurbishment of 4014 to running condition by Ed and his crew has to be one of the greatest engineering accomplishments of all time. Even though the principles of steam are relatively simple, the implementation of it all and the attention to detail with this locomotive is incredible. My mind is blown.

Thank you Union Pacific for restoring Númber4014 back to service.

Hello Ed Dickens. I'm a few months north of 70 years and raised for the major part of my life in Ohio. A few years of that time was spent very near a two track Baltimore and Ohio right of way and very young when there were a couple steam locomotives around as well as propellor and reciprocal engine powered aircraft at the USAF base nearby. Most of my early memories however are of the F and G series diesel electric locomotives and the later and not as asthetically pleasing rectangular or better put boxy looking EMD diesel electrics. There was a lot to be said for the rounded, streamlined appearance of the nose of those F series engines. I retired in 2019 from a 35 year long career as a long haul trucker. Many was the time that I passed by or through Cheyenne WY going East or West. I regret never having the the time to stop and have a look/see at the U & P Cheyenne Yard. A tour of that steam shop would have been an absolute delight and fascination for this old guy. Millions of wide eyed questions would have come to mind. Now as I get nearer the end of the road of my life's journey I find myself looking back and thinking if only. Well that is the way of things sometimes and hindsight is as it has been said 20/20. Thank you very much sir for posting this video. It salves the unrequited itch of that mechanical engineer that my maternal grandfather saw in me and hmm, the fascination with mechanical objects that I've never outgrown. All the best to you the the U & P folks. Especially those at the "Steam Shop" 4014, 844, truly marvels of mechanical engineering. PS. I cannot begin to imagine the engineering and machining that went into this rebuild/overhaul. Well done gentlemen. Well done indeed.

If a book that chronicled the process of getting the Big Boy back on the rails were published, I would be standing in line with my wallet opened up to buy a copy!

Never thought I would see a BIG BOY return to steam. My undying thanks to all those men and women responsible for this mammoth reconstruction

So glad 4014 is operational again, especially since most of his brothers were scrapped.

Saw you in Denton, Tx on 8/13/21. How impressive. When I first saw you were coming probably at least a month ago, I knew I wanted to see Big Boy. My great uncle worked on the trains on the B&O in Ohio. I'm not sure if he was flagmsn with the lantern or conductor and there's no one living who would. I can't tell you how excited I was Thursday night, couldn't even sleep!! I was like a little kid before Christmas. A once in a lifetime experience. Thank you all for all of your hard work restoring and making the Big Boy come back to life and sharing with all of us. Ed, I was so happy to see you were here in person. Thank you again. I waited from 330 till you arrived, thought I was going to have to leave due to the heat, but I made it the entire time, guess I'm tougher than I thought. They say if you want something bad enough you find a way, I really wanted to see the locomotive so I did. God bless y'all 🙏 on your journey.

Why would anyone give this video a thumbs down???? Obviously someone who has never had to fabricate anything by hand nor has any idea American history. Thumbs up from me Ed!!!!

The team that has been assembled in Cheyenne is very very special! The wealth of craftmanship and knowledge is a working treasure! Thank You to Mr. Dickens the crew and The Union Pacific for making this all happen. I have been a fan of the UP since I was young and a true fan of steam. I have been on the 844 I have been in the shop there and we were there when the 3985 was pulled out from it's display spot by the station. Thank you with all my heart for the steam program and the history it maintains

A tremendous effort of craftsmanship, ingenuity, and all-in teamwork. If you haven't yet seen Big Boy in person it's something to truly look forward to!

Happy to see that there is an operable 4-8-8-4 Big boy. Thanks to all who contributed to making it happen!

Wow! Ed and his crew are great ambassadors for U.P. Great presentation.

I’m, 25, I’ve lived in Michigan all my life, been a fan of steam since childhood and never took a trip to Cheyenne and it’s one of my biggest regrets. Ed Dickens and his team are the best out there for steam heritage. 844 and 3985 were the best of the preserved steamers and now big boy 4014 has taken that place with 844 and the challenger and 5000 class are part of RRHMA. Having locomotives like these around and those from the past or what show the survival and early generation of railroads built them to the fullest and help to maintain and run them well

I had the extreme pleasure and honor of meeting Ed Dickens in Coffeyville, Kansas on November 16. I use the photograph of me shaking his hand with both of us standing beside 4014 as my 'wallpaper' picture on my computer.

WOW!! I am so impressed, what a feat they accomplished resurrecting this amazing machine!! My kids and I have been up in the 4014 many times over the years when it was stored at the Pomona Fairgrounds. I am so happy they brought this beast back to life!! Fantastic guys!!

Hats off to Union Pacific for sponsoring this Heritage. It is absolutely the best public relation exercise and can not be valued enough. Well done UP and all involved. I live in South Africa and would love to see these steam locomotives. Currently out of the question with this Covid nonsense.

I met Ed when I rode one of the trains pulled by 4014.

Looks like an amazing crew. UP. Like no other.

Great video very educational I had the pleasure to get to see the Big Boy 4014 here in Las Vegas Nv when it came back in 2019 I also got to meet Ed Dickens at that time as for trains hes a Hero to me for doing what he did for the Big Boy

The first time you guys ran the big boy it was sad to see the front engine piston Rod packing I think that's what it's called right there where the the engine hooks to the crosshead that was sipping a lot of steam the first time you ran the big boy I'm glad you guys took it back to Cheyenne and got that fixed you could tell that engine was down on power because the steam was seeping out of the cylinder packing the big boys running good now and I was glad to see that engine come through again in October and I watched it go down Weber Canyon by far the coolest thing I have ever seen thank you for rebuilding the big boy been one of my favorite locomotives my whole life peace out to the world have a great day

Fantastic project, amazing to see the work that goes into that rebuild. Ed is a treasure - fantastic level of knowledge and skills!

Awesome video, Americans you should be PROUD that such machines kept your country rolling ,and if most of you just donated a dollar it will be still rolling in another 100 years time .

Oh Lord! I love ❤️ this locomotive! Could look at him all day! The definition of masculinity!!!!

Just imagine, It took the UP guys several years to rebuild the 4014 and it took the manufacturer less than a year to build several, and they had to make ALL the parts from scratch. No wonder locomotive companies quit making steam locomotives. I would like to see the Heritage group rebuild other UP locomotive so they have a working example of as many as possible. I know that is not really possible, but just imagine them having a 4-12-2 again.

An important piece of history. The pinnacle of steam railroad technology. Hopefully they will keep them running for now on.👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Excellence and eloquence is: Ed Dickens .

Wonderful to see alI these Engineering projects come to life. But expensive, time consuming. Many more to be done yet. SS United States, Lockheed Connie's. Many. And talk is cheap.

Absolutely thrilling, loved it!

thank you for a good presentation .

I thought UP would invite Steve Lee to be at the controls of 4014, at least one time, as a "thank you" for all he did for the steam program during his years working at UP. Maybe there's some bad feelings between him & someone at UP. I remember Steve Lee talking about the UP steam program on The History Channel back in the mid-1990's. That program is here on RU-vid, "Trains Unlimited: When The Giants Roamed". Steve said in that program that we would never see a Big Boy out on the high rail. Too many turns that would need to be straightened & too many bridges & trestles that couldn't handle the weight. Steve has been at the controls of 844 & 3985 during several train shows on RFD-TV. And a big Thank You to Union Pacific.

Great presentation. 👍🏻

Truly appreciated this video, thank you so much. Very informative. Most remarkable accomplishment. Love Ed's frequent reference to Team Work, yet clearly his heart and head are full of knowledge, understanding, experience, and creativity. 'nuff said.

He's almost unrecognizable without his hard had, goggles, and work-safety attire!

Ed is my superhero

Diesel electric locomotives are so much simpler. It's mind boggling how they kept a fleet of steam locomotives running.

Very interesting. Thanks a lot for this presentation.

What an awesome video 😁😁😁 very well done work guys and congratulations!!! 👍👍👍🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

Like & Cheers from The Detroit & Mackinac Railway 🚂

Thank you, it was great to listen to the presentation.

Here's a hint: When the presenter is saying "you can see here ...." you might actually want to show the image he's talking about that the people in the room were seeing, not a side on view of him talking while presumably looking toward that image himself.

I’m in Australia and I was supposed to go see the Big Boy in September but my father in law had a heart attack and I had to cancel my trip. Now the Aussie dollar is like 53c so Ill never get to see the Big Boy run. I last saw it at the museum in the early 2000’s and dreamed of seeing it run.

i love trains does the steam locomotive in duluth still have train rides still going through covid-19 do you know man nice train yeah i bet that train could pull a lot thanks sir for sharing keep posting videos

The big steam locomotive in Duluth Minnesota still on display in the train museum? How big is it compared to the 4014? The Duluth masabie rail way on the iron range was used for hauling iron ore

It is interesting how many folks still use CAD. I haven't used CAD in thirteen years. All of my drafting is done with a BIM platform and it's all modeled.

It would be awesome if there was a documentary of the restoration

I miss the Mars light in front of 844 it looks weird without it too bad you couldn't convert it over to be an oscillating headlight then that would be badass even though u p never had them I wish there were cool as Rio Grande and Southern Pacific to oscillating headlights but they never did I miss oscillating headlights they were bad ass grab more attention and a lot safer I think in the blinking ditch lights peace out thank you for the video sorry for the rant

I got to see the big boy when it was in college station. You don’t really get a sense of how big it is until you stand next to it. I have a video on my channel if y’all wanna see it.

Meet Ed Dickens.

I'd like to know how much power the 4014 is putting out now that it is converted to oil burning. Does it keep steam up as well as it did with coal? Course pulling 11 or so passenger cars is child's play for the 4014. Ed Dickens-how much power do you think the 4014 is putting out?

I'd LOVE to see Ed bringing 4014 into the Phoenix Az area! (844, or any other steam engine.) steve

1:07:12 Bullard Vertical Turret Lathe, VTL, is the machine tool the part is sitting on.

So 10 minutes in, we've seen the same crew picture HOW many times now?

Why on earth did they opt for conversion to oil instead of staying with coal for which they were designed? Surely not just for greater economics of operational running? When it comes to beauty (and smell!) imho there's nothing to equal coal fired locos.

Haven't watched this video All the way through, yet.... had other things to get done. Did Ed give any definite indication of whats to become of the 3985?? Would be sad to see it just become a "museum queen" and deteriorate further.... or even worse, sold for scrap. : (

I'd of gone here but was out of monies! & was too far to go to now with the state of the world we ALL won't be able to attend these shows for a while

why wasn't the discovery channel or the like allowed to follow this rebuild, and make a sweet for t.v. documentary.?

I love mechanical engines.

They should restore all of them. But thats pretty unlikely

Is the 4014 the longest steam operating locomotive

It's a shame that most railroads don't hire people that like trains - never the less to rebuild antique ones like the Big Boy. From an inside source at NS, I've been told that if they find out you're a "railfan", they will NEVER hire you. unfortunately, most class 1 railroads follow that way of thinking as well. Believe me, I would know. I had to go the route of the shortline railroads to get a job. One think Ed won't tell you is how many people at UP got laid off during 4014's rebuild to cut costs - by no fault of the steam team, don't get me wrong... still, the sacrifices that went into this are more than what meets the eye.

A number of the slides are missing from the video. Too bad.

i dont know nothing about trains but i know all about black beauty that stuff is bad ass...

in the 1940 it would have been rebuilt for tens of thousands of miles

Upload broken at 27.49?

So basically your telling me its better than new!

Is there one oil car (for fuel) or two?

Does the boiler put any weight on the front set of driver wheels?

Ma dream as a kid n still is ta own n operate a steam locomotive engine n have ma own passenger train service A know that's just a dream for me A don't have the money ta afford the steam train engine n the passenger train cars n have the money ta rebuild them n A would love ta learn how ta operate a steam train engine A know that will never happen in ma life time am 48 n all A can do is dream about owning n running ma own steam passenger train service for me that would be a dream come true n A would be in heaven

Hey Ed if it wasn't for us here in Pomona Ca. you wouldn't haqve the 4014, so don't forget about the good people at Rail Giants Museum and you people make sure you check out "Big Boy 4014 the Movie" here on RU-vid, at lest we can get some credit, right Ed, SOB

Does anyone know what branch of military Ed served in and what he did?

The sturdy stool oddly flower because iran extremely coach near a madly purchase. responsible, hurried journey

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