What is the biggest steam locomotive Big Boy?

(KMTV) — Fans from all over the country come to the Men's College World Series, but some folks come from just as far to see the temporary attraction parked across the street. They are here to see the Union Pacific's Big Boy.” It is a 1.1-million-pound steam locomotive that is the world's largest in operation.



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Weighing in at 1.1 million pounds and measuring nearly half a football field in length, the “Big Boy” locomotives were designed to haul heavy freight for the Union Pacific railroad over the mountainous regions of Utah and Wyoming.

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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. With power, though, comes weight - larger cylinders, pistons, drive rods, boiler and firebox.

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4014 restoration cost, but Wrinn estimated at least $4 million based on similar restorations. The result will be one of just six to eight steam engines still operational on mainline U.S. railroad tracks. “Living Legend” Northern No. 844 has remained in service since 1944.

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2023 Schedule In 2023, Big Boy No. 4014 visited Omaha on the Home Run Express during June.

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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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The class J-1 and J-3a Hudsons of 1927 had 79 inch drivers. They were fast, powerful, very well proportioned, good looking, and may have been the best known steam locomotive. Honorable Mentions: CMStP&P Class F7.

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If the diesel engine referenced is the modern diesel electric locomotive that has been accompanying 4014 in its travels, my understanding is that Union Pacific utilizes it to assist with overall fuel efficiency and to provide regenerative braking. This helps with operating costs and provides a better level of safety.

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Its girth requires a 4-8-8-4 wheel configuration to keep it rock-steady on the rails. With a puny 7,000 horsepower, Big Boys had a maximum tractive power of 135,375 pounds, all to pull huge loads of freight across steep grades in Utah's Wasatch Mountains and the Rockies.

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Wyoming. The Big Boy locomotives weighed more than one million pounds and were 132 feet, 9 inches long. Stood on its end, one would be the equivalent of a 13-story building. Each one cost approximately $265,000 to build, or about $4.4 million in today's money.

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The Big Boy No. 4014 steam locomotive rolled out of a Union Pacific restoration shop in Cheyenne for a big debut after five years of restoration. It then headed toward Utah as part of a yearlong tour to commemorate the Transcontinental Railroad's 150th anniversary.

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Mallard: The world's fastest steam locomotive | National Railway Museum.

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