Anyone heard anything lately about restoration progress on the Big Boy at the Cheyenne Shop?
I don’t think we’ll be hearing much until her first steam tests a few years from now.
Seems like there would be updates on dismantling, parts inspection condition, refurbishing, machining, manufacturing of unfixable parts, repair, assembly etc. something similar to what UP did with the 4014 at Pomona California.
The 4014 has been outside the shop with the crane, things are being done. I am not surprised that there haven’t been any updates, they have enough going on in that shop right now.
Ohh I thought it was done last last week ?? Wow their slow , lol
This may not be news to any of you guys, but it was to me. I recently read that 4014 will be converted from burning coal to #5 oil. Some old literature I had about that Big Boy (and the other locomotives in the collection at Pomona) had suggested that the necessity of fuel conversion would be a deal-killer for ever putting 4014 back into operation. I’m glad that that was NOT the case. We can probably look forward to a story, eventually, about what all went into changing that part of the engine’s workings.
Apparently when the Big Boys were first put into service, UP took one and tried to convert it to oil. They didn’t use enough burners, though, and could not produce enough heat for it to work, so all the big boys were ordered as coal burners.
Lucky thing they weren’t oil burners! WWII fuel rations would have probably kept them from running!
This time around, however, UP will be using enough burners to make it work.
I kind of wish they were going to run 4014 as coal burner, though. Wonder why all their steamers are oil burners? (That’s probably a stupid question.)
All four thousands were delivered as coal burners, 4005 was selected for conversion using a burner from a FEF, fuel consumption not performance doomed the project…
Dave
Exactly, and the fact that the UP didn’t want to spend the $$$ for line side refueling stations. It was planned from the beginning to convert the 4014 to oil, otherwise it would be limited to traveling in Wyoming only.
Aaaaaaahhhh… I see, the situation’s reversed! Now they don’t want to spend money building coaling stations! ha!
The way I understand it, UP was tired of fighting grass fires from all the sparks hitting the ground. (Diamond stacks somehow aren’t an acceptable solution.) This wasn’t a problem in regular service with the daily passing of steam.
Oil fueling’s a lot easier. It’s easier to refuel with a pump than a bucket loader, especially since more than likely all the coaling towers are gone, or at least gutted. And oil does put out more BTU’s than coal does.
And if they have to they can burn diesel fuel. The CP did it with their showpiece steamer. It’s oil fired as well and doesn’t care what it burns.
Everyone’s going to miss that coal smoke smell though, but hey, you can’t have everything.
Yes, refueling with oil from a semi is MUCH easier than having coal staged at various locations along the route. And no worry about any line side fires.
Oil conversion was the plan with 4014 from the beginning. The entire interior cab front panel with valve control wheels and such will be replaced.
The stoker motors, auger will be removed, along with the grates, ash pan, jets, blast plate and so on. I wonder if a single burner will be used or a dual burner set up???
Probably a duel burner set up, when 4005 was converted to test how well big boys would run on oil, one wasn’t enough.
Of course, UP will most likely make one large custom burner for 4014.
I am looking forward to seeing just what they end up doing, and how well they are able to fire the 4014. I know they have the drawings from the 4005’s conversion so we will just have to see.
No need to re-invent the wheel…a two burner design does exist that could fulfill a 4000;s requirements courtesy of the late Espee which developed and licensed a sucessfull burner and jet system used on all of its late model steam but excelled on the AC’s and 4400’s, Santa Fe too employed the design with equal sucess.
Dave
Guess no one else cares much about it on this forum. Here is an update. http://www.up.com/aboutup/special_trains/steam/photos_videos/bigboy/2014_august.shtml
No one seems to be addressing the simple logistics of resupply. The typical coaling tower was capable of depositing the equivalent of a old standard hopper car of coal in the tender in a matter of seconds. Take the Reading T-1 tender water capacity of 30,000 gallons. That would take the typical fire truck 30 minutes to fill up, stabbing any schedule. And not a peep out of anyone on where you drop the ash pan! Bye the way, Firelock76, I was always taught that carbon was more BTU dense than hydrogen. How does oil turn out to be more BTU dense than coal?