Railways
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Austrian locomotives photographed in Lindau, on Lake Constance.
Scarry Knight:
Joey Schneider - MSN - 12 July 21
“Big Boy No. 4014, world’s largest steam locomotive, hits rails for cross-country tour next month; stops planned in Missouri and Arkansas”
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - One of Union Pacific’s original steam engines returns to the rails next month for a cross-country tour.
Big Boy No. 4014, the world’s largest steam locomotive, will embark on a 10-state, month-plus-long tour starting Aug. 5. “The Big Boy 2021 Tour” begins in Cheyenne, Wyoming and is planning for dozens of stops through Sept. 7.
This marks the steam engine’s first tour in two years. The locomotive was restored in 2019 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad’s completion. The Union Pacific Railroad Company says Big Boy No. 4014 was an instant sensation for families and people of all ages during its last tour.
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I used to brake on the Chicago & NorthWestern. Just out of high school. Proviso Yards was said to be one of the largest freight yards in the world.
Least exciting job of the many I did there? I pulled plenty of pins at the top of the "hump" to separate freight cars and send them rolling downhill into the switching network. Humping freight up top; nice, safe, boring work.
The skate setters at the bottom got to stop the first cars rolling onto an emptied track, set some brakes to keep them from rolling right through. Not the world's least dangerous job. Working solo, boarding moving cars to set the brake. They don't all stay on the rails. Boxcar doors were known to fall right off. Footing could be pretty bad. Track that got a lot of grain cars? Hillocks of spilled cargo and rat infested.
It can get a mite chilly in Chicago. Middle of winter, dark of night, ice storm, the railroad keeps running. Garbled radio call played over the speakers; shut down the hump one such night I was there. I didn't have to pull another pin until they found the man and the lower piece of his leg, hauled them to the hospital.
We had heavy radios and signal lanterns that were quite dim. Most of the time I didn't even have a radio. Hand signals in daylight, lantern at night. Communications were not always clear and complete.
I was working between cars, standing between the rails, centering a drawbar and opening the knuckle so we could "squeeze 'em" and make up the train. Turns out another crew was working to make up the same train from the other end. I looked over my shoulder to see that the other locomotive, a quarter mile away, was squeezing them right on top of me. Dropped the drawbar and jumped right quick. Somebody senior to me f***ed up bad, but I never found out who. Union brother, whoever it was.
I quit at the end of January, when I was due to be 'promoted' to skate, working regular night shifts. Let's just say I had health concerns. It was one of my smarter career moves, not that logging was much safer. At least it is done in daylight.
Riding around in the cab of a commuter scoot like the one posted above was quite cushy in comparison to making up trains. My home town was on the western line of the C&NW. It runs through places like Wheaton, home of Captain's Choice.
This is close enough to a rail yard for me these days:
Thank you Count! I hope to catch it this time.Scarry Knight:
That Big Boy 4014 is going on ‘tour’!
Joey Schneider - MSN - 12 July 21
“Big Boy No. 4014, world’s largest steam locomotive, hits rails for cross-country tour next month; stops planned in Missouri and Arkansas”
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - One of Union Pacific’s original steam engines returns to the rails next month for a cross-country tour.
Big Boy No. 4014, the world’s largest steam locomotive, will embark on a 10-state, month-plus-long tour starting Aug. 5. “The Big Boy 2021 Tour” begins in Cheyenne, Wyoming and is planning for dozens of stops through Sept. 7.
This marks the steam engine’s first tour in two years. The locomotive was restored in 2019 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad’s completion. The Union Pacific Railroad Company says Big Boy No. 4014 was an instant sensation for families and people of all ages during its last tour.
I remember seeing the Big Boys and Challengers thunder through Grand Island Nebraska and racing mail trains along the old highway.
What a joy to a kid like me.
What a joy to a kid like me.
A few more from the time a couple of years ago that 4014 came through town:
In 2006, I had a mate who was living in Munich and we hatched a plan to spend the week at the Oktoberfest. Singapore Airlines (at the time) had no direct flights to Munich, so I flew in and out of Zurich and got the train. It stopped on Lindau as well to change locomotives - a very picturesque way to travel.
Scarry Knight:
How I envy you & thanx for the shout-out, support and for sharing!
“If you understand physics of how a locomotive works, that knowledge is irreplaceable”. Jamie S. Miller
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Great pictures!
A lot of fond memories watching trains.
Passenger trains, cattle trains, and the Pacific Fruit Express trains were colorful and fun to see.
Getting to oil the wheels on 0-6-0?switchers and 2-8-0 consolidated.
Not to mention the colorful and flashy passenger trains.
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A few days ago, I did a bit of "trainspotting" with my camera. This is the first production model of a new class of diesel locomotive in Germany.
For our British colleagues; can you still buy those trainspotting booklets in which all the numbers of every class of locomotive are listed? With the demise of British Rail, this would seem to be a bit difficult. I must say that I really liked the corporate identity of British Rail.
(By the way, the sign means "Parking of bicycles prohibited" - so much for that.)
For our British colleagues; can you still buy those trainspotting booklets in which all the numbers of every class of locomotive are listed? With the demise of British Rail, this would seem to be a bit difficult. I must say that I really liked the corporate identity of British Rail.
(By the way, the sign means "Parking of bicycles prohibited" - so much for that.)
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When I was growing up (1970s) in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, these were the colors of the engines I saw. Due to our proximity to Green Bay, WI, I mistakenly assumed they were Packers fans! These engines mainly hauled iron ore pellets from mines in the western UP. I am too ignorant to know where they were off-loaded, but I assume Chicago, Gary, IN, or maybe further east to the other steel mills.
By Doris Maricle - 14 Aug 21
"The world’s largest steam locomotive is passing through Southwest Louisiana on Thursday on its historic trek across America.
The Union Pacific Railroad engine, known as “Big Boy No. 4014,” was built in the 1940s to carry equipment over Utah’s Wasatch Mountains during World War II, according to Union Pacific Senior Communications Manager Mike Jaixen. It was retired in 1961 and restored nearly six decades later.
This is the first time Big Boy has gone on tour since it’s post-restoration debut in 2019, when Union Pacific rolled out the legendary locomotive to mark the 150th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad’s completion.
“This is the biggest steam locomotive Union Pacific ever built and it’s the only one in operation today,” Jaxien said. “I think when people see it they will understand how big, powerful and unique of a locomotive it is.”
Of the 25 steam engines built, Big Boy is the only one still in operation today. The others remain on display in museums across the country.
“The steam engine is something most people haven’t seen in many years, if at all,” Jaixen said, noting that steam locomotives were replaced by diesel engines. ”It’s nothing like what we see on the rails today.”
The tour will include brief whistle-stops in more than 90 communities, including Lake Charles and Kinder.
Big Boy No. 4014, the world's largest steam locomotive, will make whistle-stops Thursday in Lake Charles and Kinder as part of its historic trek across America. The locomotive is one of 25 steam engines built and the only one still in operation.
On Thursday, Aug. 19, Big Boy will leave Beaumont, Texas and make two brief whistle-stops in Southwest Louisiana before making its way to New Orleans.
The locomotive is scheduled to make stops [on 19 Aug 21] at 11:15 a.m. thru noon at the Amtrak Depot, 100 N. Ryan St, in Lake Charles and 1:15 thru 1:45 p.m. at the 14th Street crossing in Kinder.
The whistle-stops give people an opportunity to briefly see the locomotive, while the crews perform routine maintenance at the stops,” Jaixen said.
The locomotive will then continue its journey, arriving in New Orleans around 7:15 p.m. Friday, Aug. 20 where it will be on public display, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 21 at the Audubon Riverview Park in New Orleans.
Jaixen said spectators are welcome to take photos of the train’s arrival, but cautions everyone to stay at least 25 feet back from the tracks when taking pictures. He also recommends a 25-50 foot distance to get the best photos due to the massive
size of the locomotive.
Read More: Big Boy No. 4014 in Lake Charles & Kinder
“The railway leaves you speechless and then it turns you into the storyteller.” Unknown AuthorSimilar threads
