@@1x_rj_x1 DPed locomotives don't struggle either. That big boy is doing something we do in modern times. It is called distributed power, or DP. We have locomotives that are controlled from the head end by radio further back in the train. Before that, we had helpers on the rear of the train used to push us up grade.
This is by far the best of 4014. No whisel, no wheel slip, no drama.... just doing what she has always done. Shove freight. Thank you for this recording of her.
There was wheel slip and rightfully so. (EG 3:51 mark) Happened a few times in its journey. One major slip it had was just after it attached to the consist and started taking up slack. Once the slack was taken up and moving , it slipped bad. 4015 helped it with a nice "nudge" but returned to high idle shortly thereafter. I say rightfully so because not only did it have to push 11K tons of almost dead weight, from a dead stop, it had to haul its own consist to boot.
@@IAmAnonymyz Obsolete? Absolutely. But is there also just somethings Diesels can't do that steam can? Also absolutely! She's old and largely obsolete, but she's still sometimes the only thing for the job!
As a UK steam enthusiast of 70 years, I am not the slightest bit surprised at this tremendous display of steam superiority. This is what the Big Boy was designed for after all. Steam is an amazing power source and is what drives the turbines in nuclear power stations.
Again, to be fair, this is not a demonstration of "steam superiority". I saw on another video of this same event where a local railfan remarked that long and heavy trains commonly stall on Blair Hill, and in this particular case it happened because one unit out of a multi-unit consist had a minor breakdown, and the remaining units had difficulty only because the rails were wet. He said that whenever a train stalls here, it's normal procedure for the next train that comes along to help it over the hill. So clearly, modern diesels do this job while pulling full-size trains of their own and nobody thinks twice about it. I'm a big fan of the Big Boy and am thrilled that it was resurrected it, but let's not overstate what's happening here.
@@ericl2969you need to do some research. The average steam locomotive is 4 to 10 times more powerful than a diesel locomotive. The frequent maintenance of a steam locomotive versus a diesel locomotive is what made them go out of use.
Early models, yes, they were definitely inferior in terms of power. But current models like the ET44AC is nearly twice as capable with 2/3s the hp and half the length. With the tanker the big boy was over 130 feet long. Where as the aforementioned diesel is under 75 feet. But still...this is awesome seeing it do what it was built to do and showing it still can with ease. All that being said, some experts say that there wouldn't be much difference if companies focused on steam instead.
@@northernKaizerhp has absolutely nothing to do with pushing or pulling power it's the 138,240 ftLb of torque is what makes bigboy far more powerful than any diesel could ever hope to be
Thats historical there. You guys really caught something special there. Manifest breaks down, big boy comes up at near 100 years old, just says hold my drink, ill show you young bucks what its all about.... Love it
To be fair, this locomotive isn't doing this in spite of being old. It's doing it because it was resurrected from non-usable condition to like-new condition, and at tremendous expense. The two ideas are not at all the same.
Finally, the restored Big Boy has done what she was designed & engineered to do - AWESOME!!! Thanks to the UP Steam Team for making that dream a reality! And thanks for bringing us trackside via this video!
@@Bryan-Hensley Why are you on every thread moaning about the diesel locomotive? Let's set aside the myriad of safety reasons for having the diesel, or it's need as a much better source of power for the cars. Lets sat it's just there to help, which it really doesn't sound like it is really, but still, if it is; The diesel engine doesn't magically cancel out the power stroked out by the 4014. Multi-unit operation was standard back in its hay day, Big Boy 4003 would double team with 4012. Even still standard even today, and if the the Big Boy can work with the new tech, as opposed to against it, that can only help it's image, not hinder. We can all see it's an 80 year old articulated reciprocating steam locomotive, lets use some brains here.
here in the netherlands a steamtram locomotive from hoor medemblik pulled an NS electric ICM ( intercity material ) its not comparable, but a steam tram locomotive is 5 times as small as big boy!
The old 4014 still has what it takes, and then some. I live in Cheyenne, and I watched the Big Boy get restored. Nice to see she can still do a job, when asked.
Very impressive to see this footage of a steam locomotive in freight train helper service in 2023, big boy 4014 delivered an amazing performance right here as an unexpected savior for a stalled freight train.
@@emrilbennett8704 i was there that day by pure coincidence and actually got to see 4014 hook up with the stalled freight train ,,listening to it as it starts to push there is nothing else on the planet that shakes the ground the way this monster does ,,it had a tremendous wheel slip when it was first starting out the front engine unit broke traction and the whole area shook
Listening to the sound as 4014 does its work it seems to me that there is still plenty of power in reserve. 4014 could shift a train of double that length. What a magnificent piece of machinery.
Yeah you could clearly hear that 4014 wasn't really working that hard because there wasn't that many cars behind it I mean those cars and one locomotive and an old caboose can't really weigh that much but it's impressive I still keep promoting that UP should put her to work pulling freight once or twice a year and advertise it on TV and radio and make a big thing of it I bet a ton of people would show up to watch 4014 do what she was designed to do and that's pull freight I love that the restorer but they got to put her to work.
It also helps that steam engines are usually not too picky about what they use for fuel, so I place high odds that UP might run her on a biofuel of some kind as a sort of PR trailblazer.
@@__-fm5qv That's 1/3 of the reason that 4014 keeps a diesel helper around: traction. Once she gets going, my goodness does she go, but until then, she might need a little help. The other two reasons are braking (same problem as getting started) and providing electricity to the passenger cars.
@@longrider42It’s drivers slipped multiple times. It definitely was being pushed to its limits. You’re probably one of the deluded people who goes around saying the Big Boys pulled 5 mile long trains while in regular service.
It's a heavy train even for two diesels (one possibly damaged) a Big Boy, lots of stack talk and the radius bar was pretty far down. As @emd6459 commented the front drivers were slipping at 3:52, highlighting a tradeoff on the design, the front and rear drivers can't be controlled separately, if one slips, power has to be reduced on both. So yeah this is it, this is a Big Boy going pretty much all out and it's amazing.
That train wasn't that large. If I had to guess, the stalled train had a mechanical issue. Given it is the stupid UP, they probably cut traction motors out instead of replacing them. Too expensive. NS did the same thing. Talked to an official who told me "Those traction motors cost $100,000. We can't replace them." I responded, "You do realize that without traction motors we can't move the train; right?"
844 with Steve Lee helped a stalled freight and there is video of 3985 pulling freight also. The UP is a freight railroad, good to see the heritage guys haven't forgot. A very light bit of work for an engine as capable as a 4000!
Would love to hear from the actual engineer and fireman on how 4014 reacted to being asked to so a little real work? Cheering in my seat to hear the sound of the engine under load.
She was certainly "hittin' the double lick" towards the end of the video. As a young kid neighbors who worked with steam on the N&W explained the sound when big Mallets were working hard and the engines were slightly out of sych, it was the sweetest sound to be heard. I'm sure there were smiles when the sound of 4014 working on the push passed thru the Pearly Gates.
Going off a rough estimate of what it was pulling plus what it was pushing, they were probably getting a little past half throttle at points. Certainly doing work but it could do a lot more if needed.
Impresionante la potencia de esa máquina, no sólo tira de su propio convoy, sino que además apoya a otro mucho más grande (y pesado). Me alegra que haya países en los que estas preciosidades aún estén bien conservadas y en uso
In the late 1960s and early 70s, me and my cousins had the privilege of being able to play on the 4004, at Holiday Park in Cheyenne Wyoming as kids. Now it's fenced in.😢 It never gets old watching the 4014 running.❤😊
4014 was designed and built to haul heavy freight trains over the Rockies. It's really amazing that this locomotive can shove an 11,000 ton train, pull its own and still have plenty of power to spare. it's an amazing sight to see.
@@PereMarquette1223 Yeah. One broke down, and reportedly the remaining units still had enough power but the rails were wet and they lacked traction. My understanding is that it's common for trains to stall here and that they simply get a push from whatever the next train happens to be. Happens all the time - no big deal.
The UP #844 did the same exact thing years ago and didn't fail to impress either. Unfortunately the UP #3985 didn't have this same opportunity but it was the only UP steamer to actually pull a freight train. It handled that APL stack train like so finely.
That video of UP#3985 pulling the double stack container train was awesome. Also even after railroads has officially dieseled, there were still many steam locomotives helping the diesels over the hills like AT&SF #5000 "Madame Queen" at Raton Pass. She is now diaplayed in Amarillo Texas.
I used to visit her in Pomona as a static display and watched her get pulled up Cajon Pass to get the refit in Cheyenne. So satisfying to see 4014 working on the rails.
Not only was Big Boy in the right place at the right time, but it showed just how powerful it really is. These locomotives used to pull huge trains over Sherman Hill by themselves. This kind of assist was kids play.
Huge trains? Curious. What do you consider a "huge train?" I'll beat you to the punch. The "huge trains" back then don't hold a candle to what we run today. My best? (worst) was 31,000 tons. Only 174 cars tho. My longest? 230 cars. Four locomotives, Two DP.
I truly hope the last few remaining engineers and firemen who are yet alive can see these videos of this unique situation of Big Boy doing "revenue work" that they did day-in, day out and enduring massive cinder clouds in tunnels -- a "real moment" for those intrepid steam operators!! Unique modern history moment for steam to save the day!!
Ok, there you go. Just proves that we are wasting our time with these diesel locomotives. They are unreliable and weak compared to Big Boy. Lets just call it what it is!! Steam is King of the Rails!! Time to go back to steam and let Big Boy rule the rails!
Well that would be badass to see 4014 working day in and day out but steam on the rail is an expensive endeavor nobody would go back to that back in the day that's all they had they didn't have diesels to do the work we got today I don't think the guy is saying that steam is superior to anything else He's just saying it's badass that big boy is out there on the rail showing off.
I think some people forget, that back in "the day" trains were shorter/lower overall tonnage. But, the trucks mostly were friction bearing trucks vs modern roller bearing that roll easier, especially in colder weather. Modern freight trains vs what 4014 pulled in her revenue days is apples to oranges. Still was great to see, especially once she found her footing and dug in hard. I would have loved to heard the stack bark in person. Pushing or pulling tonnage stalled on the grade is hard work, you have no momentum to help, your started from dead stopped. Any curvature adds to the load. Impressive no matter what. Hopefully sometime UP lets 4014 pull some revenue freight like 3985 did with the APL Stacker.
Despite being rated for what, 5000 tons; a lot of the rolling stock nowadays is on roller bearings which are easier to move than the old journal boxes hence this scene that we are so glad happened.
You can hear 4014 working hard, but I mean, 11,000 tons back in its peak would have been child's play. I bet this push barely had it breaking a sweat. And, I bet the sound was glorious to hear in person.
To be pedantic, 11,000 tons is the upper limit of what a big boy was rated for in revenue service. It's also not like it was doing this by itself- one of the 2 diesels assigned to this was still pulling the train. If a big boy tried to take an 11K ton train up a 1% grade, it'd need helpers too lmfao
@@rayhankazianga6817The diesel is mostly there as a generator for the passenger trains and brakes for the Big Boy. So that the parts don't wear out too quickly. But while coasting down the tracks? All Big Boy.
Big Boy always has a diesel buddy (mainly for dynamic braking) but i saw no extra exhaust from the diesel. I guess they were letting the Boy have all the fun 😊
I remember seeing the pre-restoration videos of the Big Boy needing to be pulled as it had no power. And now here it is, pushing and pulling at the same time. Truly wonderful. 🥲
So powerful, truly impressive,massive and wonderfully made. These locomotive trains are made and designed that can stand the test of time. Great job brainy and hard working people during those time..✌️💖💪🙏🤩
Dragged its own tonnage too. I honestly believe the engineers that built her don’t truly know her strength cap. Definitely far stronger than what’s on paper
Even today with the modern diesel electric locomotives, a big blast from the past is needed to save the day! All while pulling its own train! Gosh darn that is amazing power.
I'd really love to believe this isn't just a PR stunt. They did the same thing with 844 in the 90s. I used to have the history channel video where it was mentioned.
A lot of comments have been made of other locomotives like the Yellowstones which had a slightly greater tractive effort but the UP Big Boys and Challengers were built for speed! They had better better balancing and a really sophisticated front lead truck suspension . The DMIR Yellowstones were never intended to go 60 mph while Big Boys and Challengers often did. Same goes for the N&W Y6 series, powerful brutes for mostly low speed ore train operations, high speed use was possible but the low drivers would cause the motion to wear rapidly. And then there were the Allegheny's which were a controversial design that was never fully utilized.
What l would like to know is how much of this train was in compression as a result of 4014 pushing from the rear? The skill of a pusher engineer has to be top notch as to much compression could derail any or all the cars in between. This was magnificent, thanks to all that were responsible
Now this is what I call a super rescue. It would definitely make a superb Railway Series story, but with the Big Boy engine as the focus instead of Henry. Normally, I like seeing me a cavalcade of long, heavy trains, but when it comes to getting halted at a railroad crossing having to almost be late for work and sh!t, an exception is somewhat in consideration, philosophically. But trains are cool, railroading sounds like a delight of inspiration I'd so be interested in doing for a honest living. I'm still following that dream, and I won't stop til it comes true. I'll be a changed man forever.