Union Pacific 4014

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Union Pacific 4014
Union Pacific "Big Boy" Number 4014 on static display at the RailGiants Train Museum in Pomona, California, United States
Union Pacific "Big Boy" Number 4014 on static display at the RailGiants Train Museum in Pomona, California
Type and origin
References:[1]
Power typeSteam
BuilderAmerican Locomotive Company
Serial number69585
Build dateSeptember 1941
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte4-8-8-4
 • UIC(2′D)D2′ h4
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Leading dia.36 in (914 mm)
Driver dia.68 inches (170 cm)
Trailing dia.42 in (1,067 mm)
Wheelbase72 ft 5.5 in (22.09 m)
Length
  • Locomotive: 85 ft 7.8 in (26.11 m)
  • Overall: 132 ft 9+7⁄8 in (40.48 m)
Width11 ft (3.4 m)
Height16 ft 2+1⁄2 in (4.94 m)
Adhesive weight540,000 lb (244,940 kilograms)
Loco weight762,000 lb (345,637 kilograms)
Tender weight342,200 lb (155,219 kilograms) (2/3 load)
Total weight1,250,000 lb (566,990 kilograms)
Fuel typeNo. 5 Oil (Formerly Coal)
Fuel capacity28 short tons (25.4 t; 25.0 long tons)
Water cap.24,000 US gal (91,000 L; 20,000 imp gal)
Firebox:​
 • Grate area150 sq ft (14 m2)
Boiler95 in (2,400 mm)
Boiler pressure300 lbf/in2 (2.1 MPa)
Heating surface:​
 • Firebox720 sq ft (67 m2)
 • Tubes and flues5,035 sq ft (468 m2)
 • Total surface5,735 sq ft (533 m2)
Superheater:
​
 • TypeType A
 • Heating area2,043 sq ft (190 m2)
Cylinders4
Cylinder size23.75 in × 32 in (603 mm × 813 mm)
Performance figures
Maximum speed80 mph (130 km/h)
Power output6,290 hp (4,690 kW)
Tractive effort135,375 lbf (602.18 kN)
Factor of adh.4.11
Career
OperatorsUnion Pacific Railroad
Numbers4014
NicknamesBig Boy
First run1941
Last runJuly 21, 1959
RetiredDecember 7, 1961
RestoredCommenced August 2013
Current ownerUnion Pacific Steam Shops, Union Pacific Railroad, RailGiants Train Museum (Moved out for restoration since late 2013)
DispositionUndergoing restoration for excursion service, and will be based on Cheyenne, Wyoming, in roundhouse once restoration is completed
.

Union Pacific 4014, or UP 4014, is a Big Boy-type (four-cylinder articulated 4-8-8-4) steam locomotive owned by Union Pacific Railroad. 4014 was retired from service on July 21, 1959, and donated to the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society in Pomona, California, in December 1961. The locomotive reached its destination in January 1962 and was thereafter displayed in Fairplex. In 2013, Union Pacific 4014 was moved to Union Pacific's Steam Shop in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where it is now being restored to running condition. When 4014 returns to operation, it will displace UP 3985 as the largest, heaviest, and most powerful operational steam locomotive in the world.

History

UP 4014 was one of 25 4-8-8-4-class locomotives developed by Union Pacific and Alco to overcome problems with its 4-6-6-4 Challenger-class locomotives. UP determined that its goals for the new class could be achieved by making several changes to the existing Challenger design, including enlarging the firebox to about 235 by 96 inches (5.97 m × 2.44 m) (about 155 sq ft or 14.4 m2), lengthening the boiler, adding four driving wheels, and reducing the size of the driving wheels from 69 to 68 in (1,753 to 1,727 mm).[1][2]

The Big Boys are articulated like the Mallet locomotive design, though without compounding. They were designed for stability at 80 miles per hour (130 km/h), allowing a wide margin of reliability and safety, as they normally operated well below that speed in freight service. Peak horsepower was reached around 35 mph (56 km/h); optimal tractive effort, around 10 mph (16 km/h). The locomotive without the tender was the longest engine body of any reciprocating steam locomotive in the world.[3]

Alco delivered No. 4014 to Union Pacific in December 1941 and it was retired on December 7, 1961.[3][4] 4014 traveled 1,031,205 miles (1,659,564 km) for Union Pacific during its 20 years in service.[1]

The last revenue train hauled by a Big Boy (No. 4015) ended its run in the evening of July 21, 1959.[5] 4014 completed its last run earlier the same day at 1:50 in the morning.[5] Most were stored operational until 1961, and four remained in operational condition at Cheyenne, Wyoming until 1962.[6] Their duties were assumed by diesel locomotives and gas turbine-electric locomotives (GTELs).[7] Of the 25 built, eight were preserved at various locations around the United States.[3] In 1961, Union Pacific donated 4014 to the Southern California chapter of the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society; it reached its destination of Pomona on January 8, 1962.[8]

Restoration

UP 4014 being moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming for restoration.

In late 2012, Union Pacific announced that it was interested in obtaining a Big Boy and restoring it to operating condition.[9]

On July 23, 2013, Union Pacific announced that it had reacquired 4014 from The Southern California chapter of the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society, with the goal of restoring it to service.[4]

On November 14, 2013, UP 4014 was moved from its home at the museum, on temporary track, on to the adjacent parking lot, with plans to take it to Union Pacific's rail yard in Colton, California, before its move to Cheyenne.[10] Union Pacific personnel carried out the transfer of 4014 from its display to the cyclone fencing at the northeastern edge of the Fairplex property at several feet from the Metrolink track by attaching tethers to a front end loader, allowing the loader to pull the steam engine across the parking lot.[11]

On the morning of January 26, 2014, UP 4014 (recently re-numbered on the U.P. active locomotive roster to avoid confusion with an EMD SD70M diesel locomotive using the same number) was pulled out of the Los Angeles County Fairplex by the Southern Pacific-liveried diesel locomotive UP 1996[12] (part of UP's Heritage Series of locomotives).[13] UP 4014's destination for restoration to full operating condition was the Union Pacific Steam Shop in Cheyenne, Wyoming under the guidance of Heritage Fleet Operations director Ed Dickens. A compressor was on board of the locomotive to sound the impressive whistle during the trip. On February 2014, UP 3105 (née Missouri Pacific 6027), an EMD SD40-2C, UP insulated boxcar 453665, and bay window caboose UP 24567 (née Rock Island 17149) took No. 4014's place in the museum.[14][15] On May 8, 2014, UP 4014 arrived in Cheyenne. On August 12, 2016, the UP steam crew announced work on 4014's restoration had begun.[16] Part of the restoration includes converting the locomotive's engine into an oil burner, changing its fuel from coal to no. 5 oil. This process will include replacing the coal burning grates with a fire pan and using an oil burner to "flow and atomize the fuel oil into a fine mist." This mist will mix with combustion air, resulting in a fireball that will generate power for the steam engine.[17]

When 4014's restoration is completed, the engine will join the railroad's never-retired 4-8-4 #844 and the 4-6-6-4 Challenger #3985 in excursion service, and will officially be "the world's largest operational steam locomotive," displacing the 3985.[2][3] Union Pacific hopes to return the Big Boy 4014 to active excursion service between 2018 and 2019. The Union Pacific's official YouTube channel regularly publishes "Steam Shop Updates" chronicling the progress on the restoration.[18] Plans for operating the locomotive include the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad in May 2019 and the 75th anniversary of Union Pacific 844 as well.[1][9] The restoration officially began on August 11, 2016, after the 844's overhaul was completed; in May 2018, it was reported that the process of putting the locomotive back together had begun.[19]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d "Big Boy No. 4014". Union Pacific Railroad. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  2. ^ a b "The History of the Challengers". www.up.com. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d "UP: A return to steam for Big Boy 4014". Railway Age. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Union Pacific Railroad Acquires Big Boy Locomotive No. 4014". Union Pacific Railroad (Press release). July 23, 2013.
  5. ^ a b "Big Boy". Southern California Chapter Railway and Locomotive Historical Society.
  6. ^ "4-8-8-4 "Big Boy" Locomotives". www.steamlocomotive.com. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  7. ^ Klein, Maury (2006) [1989]. Union Pacific: Volume II, 1894-1969. Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press. p. 479. ISBN 978-0-8166-4460-5.
  8. ^ "Big Boy #4014 History". Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  9. ^ a b "Union Pacific looking to restore Big Boy for excursion service". Trains. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  10. ^ Union Pacific Corporation (November 14, 2013). "Union Pacific Big Boy Locomotive Begins Journey From California To Wyoming" (Press release). Retrieved November 14, 2013.
  11. ^ "The UP 4014 Project - Nov. 6, 2013". YouTube. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  12. ^ "Fans Welcome Big Boy No. 4014's Return to the National Rail Network". Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 17, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ "Southern Pacific Railroad". UP. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  14. ^ "Big Boy #4014 News". July 23, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |subscription= ignored (|url-access= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ "SD40-2, caboose placed at Pomona museum". Trains Magazine. February 24, 2014. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  16. ^ "Big Boy Work Begins". Trains.com. Kalmbach Publishing Co. August 12, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  17. ^ https://www.up.com/aboutup/community/inside_track/steam-update-03-22-2018.htm
  18. ^ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh3l5IvpX5haUFK5n7yqfs2vIoq_wGTVe
  19. ^ "Putting the 'Big Boy' Back Together". www.up.com. Retrieved 2018-05-03.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Union Pacific 4014.
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