Severe Weather - March 30, 2025

This is just filler content because I don't really do blog post, but I guess I will start doing that now. Anyways, here is the history of Union Pacific Steam Engine 4014:

The Big Boy class was developed by Union Pacific and built by the American Locomotive Company in the 1940s to handle the 1.14% eastbound ruling grade of Utah's Wasatch Range. A team led by UP's chief mechanical officer Otto Jabelmann adapted the design of the 4-6-6-4 Challenger, 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 diameter of the driving wheels from 69 to 68 in (1,753 to 1,727 mm). The locomotives were equipped with a Hancock long-bell 3-chime "steamboat" whistle.

The Big Boy was articulated like the Mallet locomotive design, although without compounding. It was designed for stability at 80 miles per hour, allowing for a wide margin of reliability and safety, as steam locomotives normally operated well below that speed in freight service. Peak power was reached around 35 mph (56 km/h); optimal tractive effort was maintained up to around 10 mph. It is longer than two city buses and weighs more than a Boeing 747.

Credit: Wikipedia