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.
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. Because of their great length, the frames of the Big Boys are “hinged,” or articulated, to allow them to negotiate curves.
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.
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.
Jim Wrinn was quoted in USA Today as estimating the cost to restore the 4014 at roughly $4 million. If I remember correctly, Stephen Lee was the engineer on the 844 trip.
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.
The heaviest train ever hauled by a single engine is believed to be one of 15,545 tonnes (34,270,820 lb.) made up of 250 freight cars stretching 2.5 km. (1.6 miles) by the Matt H. Shay (No.
The world's longest and heaviest train operated on June 21, 2001, between Newman and Port Headland in Western Australia. The train operated 170 miles (274 km) with 682 loaded iron ore cars.
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.
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.