Union Pacific 4014

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 type Steam
Builder American Locomotive Company
Serial number 69585
Build date September 1941
Specifications
Configuration 4-8-8-4
UIC class (2′D)D2′ h4
Gauge 4 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)
Wheelbase 72 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)
Width 11 ft (3.4 m)
Height 16 ft 2 1⁄2 in (4.94 m)
Adhesive weight 540,000 lb (244,940 kilograms)
Loco weight 762,000 lb (345,637 kilograms)
Tender weight 342,200 lb (155,219 kilograms) (2/3 load)
Total weight 1,250,000 lb (566,990 kilograms)
Fuel type Coal (to be converted to No. 5 Oil)
Fuel capacity 28 short tons (25.4 t; 25.0 long tons)
Water cap 24,000 US gal (91,000 l; 20,000 imp gal)
Firebox:
 • Firegrate area		 150 sq ft (14 m2)
Boiler 95 in (2,400 mm)
Boiler pressure 300 lbf/in2 (2.1 MPa)
Heating surface 5,735 sq ft (533 m2)
 • Tubes and flues 5,035 sq ft (468 m2)
 • Firebox 720 sq ft (67 m2)
Superheater:
 ​
 • Type Type A
 • Heating area 2,043 sq ft (190 m2)
Cylinders 4
Cylinder size 23.75 in × 32 in (603 mm × 813 mm)
Performance figures
Maximum speed 80 mph (130 km/h)
Power output 6,290 hp (4,690 kW)
Tractive effort 135,375 lbf (602.18 kN)
Factor of adh. 4.11
Career
Operators Union Pacific Railroad
Numbers 4014
Nicknames Big Boy
Last run July 21, 1959
Retired December 7, 1961
Restored Commenced August 2013
Current owner Union Pacific Railroad
Disposition Undergoing restoration for excursion service, and will be based on Cheyenne, Wyoming, in roundhouse once restoration is completed
Restoration includes conversion from coal to no. 5 oil.

Union Pacific 4014, or UP 4014, is a four-cylinder articulated 4-8-8-4 Big Boy-type 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, CA on December 1961. The locomotive reached its destination in January 1962 and was displayed in Fairplex through 2013. Thereafter, Union Pacific 4014 was moved to Union Pacific's Steam Shop in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where it is now being extensively restored back to running condition. When 4014 returns to running condition, 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 issues with the preceding 4-6-6-4 Challenger class locomotives. It was determined that the goals that Union Pacific had set for its new class of locomotive could be achieved by making several changes to the existing Challenger design, including enlarging the firebox to approximately 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. They were designed for stability at 80 miles per hour (130 km/h). They were built with a wide margin of reliability and safety, as they normally operated well below that speed in freight service. Peak horsepower was reached at about 35 mph (56 km/h); optimal tractive effort, at about 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 Green River, Wyoming until 1962.[6] Their duties were assumed by diesel locomotives and gas turbine-electric locomotives (GTELs).[7] Of the 25 built, 8 were preserved at various locations around the United States.[3] 4014 was donated by Union Pacific to the Southern California chapter of the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society in 1961. It did not reach its destination of Pomona, however, until January 8, 1962.[8]

Restoration

The backhead (controls) of 4017 at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin. These controls are identical to the ones on UP 4014.

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 has reacquired 4014 from The Southern California chapter of the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society in Pomona, 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 so as to avoid confusion with an EMD SD70M diesel locomotive presently using the number 4014; SD70M renumbered UPP 4014) 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. 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]

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 2017 to 2019. The restoration includes a plan to convert the locomotive to oil firing. 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 finally completed its overhaul.[17]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Big Boy No. 4014". Union Pacific Railroad. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  2. 1 2 "The History of the Challengers". www.up.com. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "UP: A return to steam for Big Boy 4014". Railway Age. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  4. 1 2 "Union Pacific Railroad Acquires Big Boy Locomotive No. 4014". Union Pacific Railroad (Press release). July 23, 2013.
  5. 1 2 "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: University of Minnesota Press. p. 479. ISBN 0816644608. OCLC 276175222.
  8. ↑ "Big Boy #4014 History". Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  9. 1 2 "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.
  13. ↑ "Southern Pacific Railroad". UP. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Big Boy #4014 News". July 23, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2013. (subscription required (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. ↑ http://www.up.com/aboutup/community/inside_track/august-steam-8-11-2016.htm

References

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