How much HP did the big boy have?

The trend toward size and power culminated in the 1.2 million pound, 6,200 horsepower 4-8-8-4 Big Boy. The Big Boys were built for power. They did the work of three smaller engines, pulling 120-car, 3800 ton freight trains at forty miles per hour in the mountains of Utah and Wyoming.



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Normal Operating Power for the steam engines was about 1700 Hp per shaft, 3400 Hp total. Max Power output of the engines was about 2500 Hp per shaft, 5000 Hp total.

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Twenty-five Big Boys were built exclusively for Union Pacific Railroad, the first of which was delivered in 1941. Of the eight remaining Big Boys in existence, No. 4014 is the only one operating today. The Big Boys were about 133 feet long and weigh 1.2 million pounds.

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A caboose is a train car that is usually at the end. If you are pulling up the rear, you could call yourself the caboose. The engine is the first car on a freight train, and the last car is usually the caboose. Besides being last, the other feature of a caboose is its use by the crew.

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The Yellowstone was the largest steam locomotive ever built. While the Big Boy might claim the title of largest operating steam locomotive, the Yellowstone tops it in terms of weight. Relatively few Yellowstone locomotives were manufactured: only 72 in total, which were divided into five different classes.

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World's most powerful electric locomotive Shen24 by CRRC for coal cargo service in China. China: The 28.8 MW 24-axle six-section locomotive develops starting tractive effort of 2,280 and continuous tractive effort of 1,596 kN reaching 120 km/h. Its official operation began in June 2021.

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On 3 July 1938, Mallard broke the world speed record for steam locomotives at 126 mph (203 km/h), which still stands today.

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