Wyoming’s Big Boy 4014 Locomotive Rescues Freight Train Stuck In Nebraska
The rescue was captured on video by YouTuber Otto the Railfan, and in just over 12 minutes you can watch Big Boy 4014 creep up behind the freight train, hook on, then power up as it begins to push.
Gleaming black and looking sleek, Big Boy was actually working for the first time in more than six decades, and it appears the engineers were having as much fun as those looking on.
The video then cuts to a railroad crossing, where an eclectic mix of rusted railcars, some with colorful graffiti, trundle by until Big Boy 4014 comes into view, it’s telltale 1940s steam engine chug-a-chugging unlike any that have likely crossed those tracks for decades, a strong white plume of steam spouting from the back of the locomotive.
After about 20 minutes, the freight train was able to pull away and finish the route on its own and Big Boy 4014 resumed its trip back to its home base in Cheyenne, UP says, adding that, “Big Boy was in the right place at the right time to help keep our network open.” https://cowboystatedaily.com/2023/07/10/wyomings-big-boy-4014-locomotive-rescues-freight-train-stuck-in-nebraska/
The time stamp 9:26 is why there are sand valves. Excellent video, thank you.
That’s my Boy
Even doing a little burn out
Thanks for posting the Big Boy 4014 vids, what a bad ass steam engine. Those lucky engineers.
That second video isn’t Big Boy, it’s UP 844. Here’s one of her cruising at 75mph:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRTYNxtbnjI
Now, join us in the thrilling days of yesteryear, when steam power ruled the world. UP 4014 Big Boy, in all of his glory:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KlU745GzUQ
Volume up, please.
Thanks for the links, enjoyed watching.
Very cool!
Can’t believe I missed the passing of the UP 4014 Big Boy. Know exactly where the railroad crossing is they filmed it at in Mountain Home. Disappointed I didn’t see it in person. Awesome to see the video!
Union Pacific takes both Big Boy and 844 out occasionally to stretch their legs and if you sign up you can get advanced notice of when they do it.
https://www.up.com/heritage/steam/club/index.htm
Thanks, I joined, I want to see one of these steam engines in person.
Watched it come through Claremore couple years ago, fantastic site to see. When/If time allows gonna take a ride to fully check the bucket list.
Having been in England in the late ’50s and early ’60s, I grew up loving Live Steam!
I appreciate The Good Stuff, CederQ!
We were blessed a few years ago to visit with and gaze at ‘4014’ when it spent an entire week in El Paso for maintainance. When it left we followed it almost all the way to Van Horn, TX. What a magnificent sight as it roared along I-10. A true piece of Americana and history… gave me a chill it did.
I was lucky enough to see 4014 choogling eastbound thru the small town of Hershey, Nebraska (just west of North Platte) in June. The whistle sent chills down my spine! An uncle was an operating engineer for Wabash RR for many years, in the age of steam. Wish I’d had the intellect to ask him more questions about it.
Thank God that in today’s corporate world of avarice, short-term opportunistic thinking and wokeism that UNION PACIFIC keeps these beasts alive and operating!
I was a car hauler for almost 20 years. I worked out of a rail head. Before they made those enclosed cars, you wouldn’t believe the condition some cars arrived in. Some would be railway taxicabs, hobos would sleep and defecate in them. I can’t tell you how many times you’d see a guy in the railhead that clearly didn’t belong there and they’d ask where they were. Took a Jeep Cherokee to a dealer once that had at least 22 bullet holes in it, all 4 tires were those mini spares, all glass shot out of it. Lot of people didn’t realize that the way a car came into a railhead, that was the way it was delivered. Had a rail car come in once that derailed and turned over and all the Monte Carlos were wrecked. Took forever to get them on the truck. I could tell you stories. Wasn’t until the late 1990’s that dealers didn’t have to tell a consumer about the damage a car had on it.
There’s a reason car salesman is a four letter word.
Back in the days when freight trains had cabooses, the conductor and flagman ( rear brakeman) would not be permitted to occupy the caboose when a locomotive that large and powerful was tacked on to the rear to assist . Should the train being assisted bust an air hose and dynamite the brakes, the pusher could quite possibly crush the buggy and the tail end crew. The crew would ride the pusher until it was safe to occupy the caboose again.
In the ’60s, UP ran some Massive, Gas-Turbine-Electric Locomotives out West, as big as the 4-8-8-4’s and in the final versions, even more Powerful. I have a Book, Turbines Westward, that has hundreds of Pics, and a lot of them are the Turbines running the Mountains with 150 Cars and a ‘Big Boy’ as the Helper on the Upgrades. Like the Steam Locomotives, the Turbines were Fuel and Maintenance Hogs, and were retired for Multi-Unit Diesels that are more reliable and efficient.